Lord Krishna and Kaliya

During the Dvapara-yuga, the third-quarter of the world cycle, the serpent king Kaliya spread his net of destruction along the banks of the peaceful river Yamuna-lakes were poisoned and birds, trees and grass in the vicinity died breathing his noxious fumes. Krishna, the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu, was a young boy in Mathura and decided to right this evil. One day while playing on the banks of the river Yamuna, he jumped into the deepest part of the river where Kaliya was known to live and was immediately engulfed in Kaliya's coils. While his comrades and other villagers watched grief stricken, Krishna with a burst of divine power suddenly threw off Kaliya's coils. He then began to dance on the serpent's head, breaking the serpent's bones and will with every graceful dance step.

When it became apparent that Kaliya was on his deathbed, Kaliya's serpent-queens begged Krishna for his life. Kaliya himself lifted his broken head with the plea that he had only acted "according to his nature." With the acknowledgement that both good and evil are manifestations of the supreme Lord, Krishna spared Kaliya's life and bid him to reside henceforth only in the depths of the ocean.

Krishna's acknowledgement that both good and evil have a place in the Hindu world shows a marked difference between Christian and Hindu thought. Whereas, in Christianity, good and evil are clearly demarcated, in Hinduism, the Supreme is present in both good and evil. Kaliya, like other serpents, is also a descendant of Lord Vishnu and originates from the same divine substance. Krishna's intervention merely adjusts the balance between good and evil. By doing this, Krishna enacts Lord Vishnu's primary role in the maintenance of the world, as mediator or moderator.