Hindu Mythology

Lesson 7: Krishna

Maidens' Clothes

Stealing the maidens' clothes is by far the most popular childhood tale of Krishna. This incident was an innocent childhood prank. Mr. Munshi has narrated it with masterly simplicity. The following is a summary of his version from his book "The Magic Flute", which is the first volume of his series on the life of Krishna.

By the time Krishna was seven years old, he was both a darling of and a terror to the maidens of Vrindavan. The women loved his cute appearance and radiant face, but hated it (or pretended to) when he stole butter and curds from their homes and shattered their earthen water pots with his sling. They would complain to his mother, Yashoda, who would be compelled to scold or even punish him in front of the maidens. This irked Krishna and he thirsted for revenge.

One afternoon he saw the maidens bathing in a secluded spot in the river, Yamuna. Their garments were lying on the riverbank. Krishna collected all the clothes and scuttled up a tree and ensconced himself in the branches. The ladies came out of the water, laughing at the latest village gossip. Water droplets were trickling down their bodies and their long, black tresses were plastered to their backs like serpents. When they realized that their garments were missing there was a horrific shriek. The damsels covered their nakedness with their arms as best as they could and looked around for their clothes.

They found them hanging on the branches of a tree well out of reach. Then they saw Krishna and realised what had happened. But Krishna refused to acknowledge them and began playing his flute. They begged and begged but Krishna would not relent. After they had pleaded some more, Krishna told them to ask for forgiveness for complaining every now and then to his mother. The maidens readily complied. But Krishna was not through. He dropped one garment. The maidens leapt upon it and Krishna enjoyed the ensuing scuffle till the owner retrieved her garment and put it on. This continued till all the garments were delivered. Then Krishna jumped down from the tree and departed nonchalantly playing his flute. He heard one of the women remarking. "Thank God! He is only seven." And Krishna could not figure out what difference it made whether he was seven or seventeen.

In the Bhagwat Purana this incident is presented in a philosophical manner. At this time the maidens were engaged in a month long ritual in which they were praying to Durga to make Krishna their husband. By bathing naked in the river they had exposed their bare bodies to the demi-God Varun, who resides in all water bodies, thereby vitiating the effect of their prayers. So as not to lose the effect of their prayers, they would have to atone for the sin that they had committed. The atonement was that they come out of the water with their clasped hands held high and then collect their garments. The maiden considered Krishna their God and themselves as His slaves and were more than happy to do whatever he asked them to do.

Optional Exercises

4a. Read the version from the Bhagwat Purana from the text ‘Hindu Myths’ on page 228. Compare the two versions.

4b. Both the above versions are devoid of any eroticism. Yet in popular culture there is an aura of eroticism associated with the event. This is probably because in popular art Krishna is depicted neither as a child nor as a God but as a young man. Being seventeen has made all the difference. Some paintings depicting this event can be seen at the following sites.
http://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/desi...
http://www.zillich.com/fineart/paintings...
(There are two paintings here. Scroll down for the second one)

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