The Tale of Young Krishna and the Universe in His Mouth

Once in the village of Vrindavan, little Krishna, known for his mischievous ways, spent his days delighting in play and laughter, charming everyone around him with his innocence. He was a joy to his mother, Yashoda, and a source of endless amusement and wonder to the villagers. But Krishna, even as a young boy, had a penchant for mischief, especially when it came to bending the rules and leaving his mother exasperated.

One day, as Krishna was playing with his friends in the fields, he decided to indulge his curiosity and, to everyone’s surprise, he began to eat handfuls of mud. His friends were shocked; they knew Yashoda would be unhappy if she heard of Krishna’s latest prank. Some of them immediately ran back to the village to inform her. They approached Yashoda breathlessly and told her, “Krishna is eating mud!”

Hearing this, Yashoda was both amused and concerned. She hurried to the spot where Krishna was playing, her heart racing with a mixture of worry and mild annoyance. Finding Krishna with traces of mud on his lips and hands, she gently scolded him, “Krishna, why are you eating mud? Don’t you know it’s not good for you?”

Krishna, with his big, innocent eyes, denied it at once. “No, Ma! I haven’t eaten any mud!” he said, trying to look as innocent as possible. But Yashoda wasn’t easily convinced. Seeing the mud smeared on his face and hands, she said, “If you’re telling the truth, open your mouth, and let me see.”

Realizing there was no escape, Krishna reluctantly opened his mouth wide for his mother to inspect. But what Yashoda saw was far beyond anything she had ever imagined or could comprehend. Inside Krishna’s mouth, she didn’t see the remnants of mud or dirt—she saw the entire universe.

The sight took her breath away. Within the tiny mouth of her beloved son, she saw vast oceans, rivers, mountains, stars, and galaxies. She saw the sun, the moon, and the constellations swirling in a cosmic dance. She saw all the worlds and all beings, great and small, each moving in harmony. Within that miraculous vision, she even glimpsed herself, holding Krishna on her lap, as though witnessing a reflection of all existence within the divine child.

Yashoda felt her mind reel with awe and wonder. She struggled to understand how her little Krishna, her playful, naughty son, could hold the entire universe within him. Her heart filled with reverence and love, yet her motherly instincts couldn’t fully grasp the divine nature of her child.

In that moment, Krishna, the Supreme Being who had chosen to play the role of a simple cowherd’s son, allowed Yashoda to experience a brief revelation of his divinity. But seeing her overwhelmed, Krishna decided to veil her mind again, allowing her to perceive him once more as her little boy. Yashoda blinked, and when she looked again, Krishna’s mouth appeared ordinary, with no hint of the vision she had just witnessed.

Yashoda, still in a daze, simply hugged Krishna, choosing to brush aside the inexplicable as another one of her son’s playful tricks. She laughed it off, thinking to herself that perhaps her love for Krishna was so deep that it had created an illusion.

And Krishna, ever the loving and playful child, resumed his games, leaving Yashoda wondering, perhaps forever, about the mystery that lay within her son.

### Moral:

The story of Krishna showing the universe within his mouth is a reminder of the divine presence in the smallest things and the mysterious ways in which the divine reveals itself. It teaches us that sometimes, the greatest truths come through simple, everyday experiences. The tale also symbolizes a mother’s unconditional love and the idea that divinity, though vast and incomprehensible, is accessible even in the innocence of a child.