Mahabharat is the earliest text that tells the story of Krishna, the Lord incarnate. The sixth book of Mahabharat, known as Bhagavad Gita, contains Krishna's advice to Arjun in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. This has formed one of the most illuminating scriptures of the world. The Harivamsa, an appendix to this epic, contains the earliest detailed version of Krishna's childhood and youth. Bhagvad Purana and Vishnu Purana contain the most elaborate details of the life and teachings of Lord Krishna.
According to Hindu scriptures, Krishna was born in Mathura (presently in Uttar Pradesh, India). He was the eighth son born to Devaki and Vasudev, a noble of the court. Kansa, the malicious King of Mathura, was forewarned in a prophecy, of his imminent death at the hands of Devaki's eighth child. Inhibited by the prophecy, Kansa had put Devaki and Vasudev in prison. Krishna took birth within the bars of the prison cell. To protect their child from Kansa, Vasudev smuggled out Krishna and left him to be reared by His foster parents - Yashoda and Nanda, the head of a community of cow herders in Gokul. Krishna grew up among the idyllic beauty of Gokul, Vrindavan and Nandagram. The famous childhood chronicles of Krishna center around his feats against the evil powers
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