At midnight when the eighth child was born, the guards fell fast asleep and Vasudeva’s chain fell off his hands and feet. Wasting no time, Vasudeva picked up the newborn baby, and carrying it in a basket, he started towards Gokul. Gokul was a village of cowherds, located across the Yamuna river, where his friend Nanda lived.
It was a dark stormy night with blinding rain continuously pouring from the sky. When Vasudeva reached the river bank of Yamuna, the river was in spate. The wind and storm were blowing wild, and Vasudeva was in a fix.
“Lord, what should I do,” said Vasudeva in a hopeless voice.
Suddenly a miracle happened, the river parted and Vasudeva walked over the river bed. Throughout the way Vasudeva and the baby were protected from rain by the hood of the great eternal snake, Vasuki. Finally, Vasudeva reached Nanda’s house.
Thus goes the Legend of Lord Krishna’s birth.
An idol depicting Vasudeva carrying his baby, Lord Krishna, in a basket protected by Vasuki. Taken at Millennium Park, Kolkata.