The Tale of Krishna and Kalia…

Hi there!! Today's story is from a long, long time ago when Lord Krishna was still a small kid. It's about his encounter with the poisonous serpent, Kalia. Let's go…

One beautiful day in Gokul, when the sun shone a bright yellow, and a breeze blew through the tall, green coconut trees, Krishna and a few of his friends had gone to graze their cows. They had tied them to a tree when they went to get some water.

Meanwhile, a huge serpent had swum into the Yamuna, polluting everything in his wake. His name was Kalia. He had multiple heads, with green hoods lining them.
He had swum all the way from his home, to run from his half-brother, Garuda. Garuda had been cursed, that if he ever went to Gokul, he would meet his end. Realising that Garuda couldn't come to Gokul, Kalia bolted to Gokul, where he wanted to make his own home.
Kalia went into the Yamuna with his wives, killing all in sight.
Soon, Kalia had killed all of the animals and plants in the river!!!! He sat in the river, chilling.

Krishna and his friends soon had gone to a faraway tree. They sat down, longing for some water. 
Krishna sent one of his friends to fetch some water for all of them. He had walked all the way until he reached the river Yamuna, which had turned a pitch-black colour. Unsuspecting, he scooped a handful of water and drank it all up. Within seconds, he had fallen on to the floor and died.
Confused, Krishna sent another one of his friends. He soon met the same fate of his friend before him.
Soon, everyone but Krishna had gone to retrieve water, but none had come back. Krishna walked to the Yamuna, where he saw the ghastly sight of his friends' dead bodies. He revived them with his magic and saw that the colour of the water had turned black.

Krishna eyed the water, looking for something, anything, that could've killed his friends.
Suddenly, he saw a slither in the water. He stared at it and jumped into the water. His friends begged him to stay because there was something dangerous in the water, but Krishna didn't pay heed to their pleas.
He swam and swam until he saw Kalia. Kalia attacked Krishna with his sharp fangs, but Krishna averted his bites.
Kaila tried to dig his fangs into Krishna, but he was too fast.
Kalia tried to coil around Krishna and crush him, but Krishna grew huge, blasting Kalia's grasp.
Krishna regained control and started to punch Kalia in the faces. He hit him left, right and centre.

Meanwhile, Krishna's friends alerted the people of Gokul, who came rushing to see the sight. Yashoda, Krishna's foster mother, came crying to the black river.
Meanwhile, underwater, Krishna caught Kalia's neck and lifted him up to the surface. Kalia hissed in pain, as Krishna pulled him above the water. He held him up, and started dancing on his many heads!!!! Krishna assumed the weight of the universe and banged his feet on Kaila's hoods. He roared in agony, as Krishna simply danced on his head.
The people of Gokul stared in awe, as Krishna belted Kalia.
Kalia's wives, who were spectating the fight, pleaded Krishna to let their husband go. Krishna had no intention of letting Kalia go, but seeing the plight of Kaila's wives, he made a deal with Kalia: If he ever came back to Gokul, Krishna would finish him off. Kalia agreed and swam away with his wives.
The city of Gokul had been, once again, saved by Krishna.

Thus, Krishna saved Gokul by banishing the evil serpent, Kalia.

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The Story of the Truthful Cow…

Hi!!! Today's story is a folktale from Karnataka. It's about a truthful cow, who doesn't stop telling the truth even when she nearly reaches the end of her life. Let see what happens…

A long time ago, in a small village off the coast of Karnataka, lived a herd of cows. Every morn, they would leave their small calves in the shed and go graze with their cowherd. Every evening, they would come back and play with their calves. This routine continued every day. 
One day, the cowherd had taken his cows to graze in a different patch. It was in a dense forest, with many big caves surrounding the huge trees.
The cowherd had wandered off, when suddenly a huge tiger jumped out of a cave!! The cows ran amock seeing the tiger. He had a sunset orange coat, with thin, pitch-black stripes lining his body. He had two white tufts of fur under his jaws, which rippled when he roared. His paws had short, sharp claws, which were tinted an ivory colour.

 The tiger lunged at a cow, who ran away in fear. Soon, all of the cows had bolted back to the shed. All but one. Her name was Punyakoti. She had tried to run, but the tiger never let her run away. The tiger had stopped her.
The tiger circled Punyakoti,  waiting to kill her. Punyakoti was biting her lip in fear. She pleaded the tiger, "I shall come back, O Tiger. Please, pretty please let me go," but, the tiger didn't think that Punyaloti would come back. "Hmm… How should I believe you… I think that you are just going to escape…" But, Punyakoti continued, "I shall just feed my child and come back, then you may eat me," The tiger had many doubts about Punyakoti, who begged him to let her go.
Soon, the tiger broke. He scoffed, "If you don't come back, I'll hunt you down and kill all of the cows and calves that live with you. You must come back!!! If you don't…" Punyakoti nodded her head and ran back to her shed.
She saw her calf whining, which made her sob. She came to her calf and whispered, " Hello, my little one. I have to tell you something," her calf innocently asked, "What, ma? What happened? Are you okay?" Punyakoti shed a tear and said, "I have come to see you for the last time. A tiger had captured me and only let come to you to feed you. This is the last time I shall set my eyes on you. I am so sorry," She sobbed along with her calf, fearing that he might also join his mom with her fate. He wailed in agony, as his mom discussed her fate with her friends. They begged her to stay, but she said, "I have made a promise. I cannot go back on it, even if it costs me my life," they wept with her, too.

Soo, it was time for Punyakoti to go back to the tiger. She wished her friends and her calf goodbye and set off.
Meanwhile, the tiger had grown even hungrier. He cursed himself for letting such an easy prey go!!! Pondering over his misfortune, he saw Punyakoti arrive at the cave. He couldn't believe his stars!!!! ‘Here I am, as I promised,’ said the cow, coming up to the tiger. "I have fed my calf for the last time and said goodbye to him. The other cows have promised to look after him. So, now you may kill me and eat me." The tiger, who was moved by Punyakoti's devotion to her promise, shook his head. He thought that Punyakoti would've deserted him, but she stayed true to her word. He sat in front of her and stated, "I cannot eat you," he said. "It is better that I die than eat someone as good and truthful as you." With that, he climbed to the top of his cave and jumped off, killing himself.
Punyakoti rushed back to her shed, where her calf sat in dismay. He looked up and mooed in ecstasy. He ran to his mom, who wept with joy.
She narrated the story of how the tiger had let her go.

Thus, Punyakoti saved her life by being truthful and honest.

Moral: Be truthful, for it could save your life

Thanks for reading The Truthful Cow!!! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!!!!