He is the son of Krishna with Jâmbavatî, the daughter of Jâmbavân the King of Bears. To be honest, he grew up to be a bit of a jerk.

Fond of stupid pranks and jokes, there came a time when a piece of his folly backfired badly. Dressing up as a pregnant woman, he taunted some Brahmins by asking: “Which one of you is the father?”

There was a rapid joint response. He was roundly cursed and told he was now indeed pregnant — with an iron club. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was told the club would be the cause of his father’s death.

Horrors! Instant early morning sickness. The weight in his belly grew until in due course it split and a cub club popped out. Just a small one. Terrified it might grow, Samba broke it into pieces and threw them into the sea.

A new scene. Krishna sitting under a bho tree near the seaside meditating in the lotus position. A fleeing deer rushes past and a hunter’s arrow hits the God’s exposed foot. The arrow is tipped with a sliver of iron. Not any old iron. A sliver of iron from that ill-fated club. Exit Krishna.

Yes, against all sensible probabilities, one little piece of iron had been swallowed by a fish and subsequently discovered by the hunter while catching a fish for his dinner. Not one to throw away valuable metal, the savvy hunter made it into an arrowhead. Oops.

Never mind. Krishna didn’t seem too bothered. After all, he could just return to being Vishnu full time.

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Article last revised on September 18, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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