By Mrinalini Manda

Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, appearing on earth to restore peace to a disturbed world. In this mortal avatar, he started out as a compassionate yet mischievous cowherd, eventually overthrowing the evil Kamsa and reinstating Kamsa’s father and his grandfather Ugrasena on the throne of Mathura. Krishna then went on to befriend his cousins, the Pandavas, and played a key role in the Mahabharata, and disclosing the secrets of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield.

Krishna started serving his life’s purpose of restoring the balance between good and evil, right from the day he was born. During his time here, there were many demonic enemies he had to take on. Here’s a list of five such powerful beings who faced their end at the hands of the flute-playing divinity.   

The Witch 

Putana was a powerful witch who took great joy in killing children. One day, Putana entered Krishna’s house in Gokula as a beautiful damsel. She was so pretty that no one questioned her when she entered the house. Upon entering, she found baby Krishna lying on a small bed. She picked Krishna up, placed him on her lap and began to suckle him. She hoped Krishna would die sucking on the poison she has applied on her breasts. However, Krishna bit her so hard that he sucked the life out of her. Putana fell on the ground and started shrieking in pain, soon reverting to her original avatar. The vibrations created from Putana’s screaming made people think that thunderbolts were falling from Putana’s fallen body. The gopis saw Krishna and immediately handed him over to his mother, Yashoda. The news of Krishna’s trick soon spread like wildfire. 

The Hurricane 

On his first birthday, baby Krishna’s kick destroyed Shakatasura who had disguised himself as a cart. A few days later, Trinavarta, a servant of Kamsa, appeared in the form of a hurricane. He picked up Krishna, placed him on his shoulders and raised a storm all over Gokul. The storm made people shut their eyes, thus, no one could see what was happening. Yashoda couldn’......