Why should God take human form? This ancient Indian concept is important in the sense that to destroy the devil in one man, God enters another man. Taking birth from a human womb, growing up like any other child, learning the letters, arts and sciences, skills of war, acquiring powers of destruction, at the same time loving and be loved, God as man sets examples for fellow men and women in human behaviour, sets new standards of excellence in every field - family, society and state - for contemporary and future generations. 

The place of birth in Mathura

          When Ram defeats and slays Ravana or Krishna overpowers his maternal uncle Kamsa, they are punitive acts by one man against another. These examples of the triumph of good over evil instils courage and confidence in other individuals. But at the same time the community at large is a terrorised lot and knows that destruction of the super-devil calls for someone with extra-ordinary powers - a kind of superman.

           In Indian mythological stories this divine intervention has another explanation. The megalomaniac - the villain of the period - is a manifestation of the same divine powers given to him in the form of boons by various gods and goddesses. If he is invincible or in some cases even immortal, they are responsible. They had given the boons as reward for deep devotion (Bhakti) and penance (tapasya) with the hope that the blessed person would serve the mankind.

           But these very extra-ordinary powers turn his head. Take the example of

THE GREAT ESCAPE: Krishna, the new-born, is replaced

Krishna, theLord of the Geeta, which is the quintessence of Indian mystical-philosophical thoughts. The immediate cause of his avataar was his own maternal uncle, Kamsa, in their kingdom, Mathura.

           But another sinful empire was emerging in the neighbourhood. It was controlled by people who had strayed from the path of Dharma (righteousness). This was the kingdom of Hastinapur. It came to be ruled by a blind king, Dhritarashtra, when Krishna was still in his teens. The 100 sons of the king - the eldest being Duryodhana - were known as Kauravas, and the five sons of his departed younger brother were called Pandavas.

           The epic of Mahabharata tells the saga of the five virtuous brothers, their common wife Draupadi, their trials ad their tribulations at the hands of the Kaurav cousins and finally the great war for the throne of Hastinapur. Krishna played a crucial role in trying to bring peace between the warring brothers and finally taking the side of the wronged Pandavas and ensuring their victory.

DHARMA ON TOP: The Lord tells Arjuna to kill his cousins

          At the outset of the great war, as the two armies stood on the plains of Kurukshetra (in the present day state of Haryana), eyeball-to-eyeball, Arjuna, the greatest among the archers, refused to fight. How could he slay his own kith and kin, his beloved elders and venerable gurus (teachers)? Holding the reins of Arjuna's chariot, Krishna extolled and inspired him to do his duty to restore 'Dharma'.

           Krishna's words and the question-answer session form the content of the Geeta. With the clouds of guilt cleared from his conscience, Arjuna lifted his bow to wipe the earth of all evil-doers and supporters of Adharma (unnethical acts).

           Thus Krishna's mission accomplished, he returned to his own seaside kingdom of Dwarka on the western coast of India in the present Saurashtra (Gujarat). Geeta is as widely read and revered in the world as the Bible and the Quran.

- An India Overseas Feature