Lord Krishna was the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu (The Preserver). Krishna was the 8th child of Ma Devaki and Vasudev Yadav and he was born on Ashtami, the 8th day of Krishna Paksha. Krishna is also known as Dwarkadhish (The king of Dwarka city).
Two main aspects of Krishna’s life were Kansa Vadh (The cruel King of Mathura) and Mahabharat (The Kurukshetra war). In Sanatana Dharma, It is a belief that the Lord incarnates from time to time in the form of Humans or others to restore the Dharma (Righteousness) and destroy evil.
Janmashtami: The birth of Lord Krishna
In DwaparaYuga, Mathura was ruled by Demon King Kansa, who was the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna. Kansa took Mathura (Which belonged to the Yadav clan) under his control by overthrowing his father King Ugrasena.
People on earth and Devas have suffered immeasurably under his tyrannical rule. Moved by the prayers of humans and Devas, Lord Vishnu decided to incarnate as a human to destroy the evil forces headed by Kansa and restore Dharma.
Kansa was warned by an oracle that his death would be caused by the 8th child of Devaki and Vasudev Yadav, who will be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. To save himself, Kansa arrested his cousin, Devaki, and Vasudev Yadav and put them in his prison.
Whenever the child was born to the couple, Kansa would go to prison and kill that child. He did this to seven children of Devaki and Vasudev Yadav but when the 8th child was born, It was Lord Krishna. Krishna was born at midnight and when he was born all the soldiers of Kansa slept and the fetters of Devaki and Vasudev opened.
Baby Krishna was shifted to Gokul by his father Vasudev Yadav at midnight. He exchanged Krishna with Maya, the baby girl of Yasoda, and King Nanda.
When Kansa came to know about the birth of the 8th child, He came to the prison and tried to kill the child (Maya) but she got free from his clutches and flew away. Maya told Kansa that his end will come for sure and his death would be caused by the 8th child of Devaki, who is safe in Gokul.
Krishna In Gokul and Kansa attempt to Kill him
Baby Krishna was the most charming child in Gokul. He was a dark-skinned and beautiful baby, whoever met him instantly fell in love with him.
Krishna loved to steal butter and eat it, he grew up joyfully in the company of cowherds and his elder brother Balram. Meanwhile, Kansa Knew that the 8th child of Devaki and Vasudev is safe in Gokul and his death would be caused by him only.
Kansa sent various Demons like (Putana, Sakatasura, Bakasura, Trinavarta, Vatsasura, Aghasura, etc) to Gokul to kill Krishna but Krishan killed them all as a matter of child play.
Later, Krishna killed the ferocious and poisonous snake Kaliya, who was living in the Yamuna river. Krishna used to play the flute. His flute music was so captivating that humans, as well as animals, feel attracted to the music.
Lord Krishna’s Return to Mathura
Time passed and Lord Krishna became a mature boy, now the time had come for Krishna to return to Mathura and face his uncle Kansa. Krishna and Balram went to Mathura, they had to overcome several obstacles on their way to Mathura.
Finally, Krishna and Balram reached Mathura, where Krishna fought a one-on-one battle with his uncle Kansa and ultimately he killed Kansa in ferocious combat.
After killing Kansa in battle, Krishna released his parents (Devaki Ma and Vasudev Yadav) from prison and re-throned Ugrasena as the new king. This is how Lord Krishna destroyed the evil forces of Kansa and re-established Dharma in Mathura. Over a period of time, Krishna got married to Satyabhama and Rukmini.
Lord Krishna established a new Kingdom at Dwarka city
In the Mathura kingdom, (Ruled by the king Ugrasena) Krishna had to face a very tough war against Jarasandh, the father-in-law of demon king Kansa. Jarasandh wanted revenge for his son-in-law’s death from Krishna. Jarasandh waged war against Lord Krishna 18 times.
Each time, Jarasandh waged a war against Krishna, Krishna used to kill all the demons of Jarasandh’s army except him, because Krishna knew that each time he will bring a new army and the most wicked demons on Earth. Thus, Krishna was able to kill many demons of the earth in one place.
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After the last attack, Krishna convinced his father Vasudev and king Ugrasena to rescind the Mathura and establish a new kingdom in Dwarka city.
Sri Krishna established a new kingdom at Dwarka city, near the seashore. Since Krishna was the king of Dwarka city that’s why he is also known as Dwarkadish. Mathura was the Janmbhoomi of Sri Krishna while Dwarka city was the Karmabhoomi.
Mahabharat: The War of Kurukshetra
Mahabharat: The war of Kurukshetra started due to Duryodhan because he misbehaved with Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas in Dhritrashtra’s assembly.
Duryodhan cheated Pandavas in the dice game and took their Kingdom Indraprasth under his control. The entire subcontinent took part in this war and fought either from the Duryodhan side or from Yudhisthir’s side.
Krishna didn’t fight in this battle, because Balram promised, that they will not fight for any side. But, Krishna was always there with Pandavas to help them strategically.
Dharma was with Pandavas and ultimately they emerged victorious in the war of Mahabharat. Yudhishthir became the king of Hastinapur. Krishna helped Pandavas to restore Dharma in Hastinapur.
Lord Krishna and Yadav Clan after Mahabharat
Pandavas emerged victorious in the war of Mahabharat. Pandavas reached the Hastinapur Kingdom and Yudhishthir became the new king of Hastinapur. When Krishna reached to meet Gandhari, she cursed Krishna in anger and grief over the death of her 100 sons and the destruction of the Kaurav clan.
Gandhari cursed Krishna that the Yadav clan will also destroy in the same manner that the Kaurav clan has destroyed. Sri Krishna accepted Gandhari’s curse and went back to Dwarka city. After almost 3 decades of the Mahabharat war, different types of bad omens happened in Dwarka city.
One day Maharishi Vishwamitra, Kandv, and Devrishi Narad came to Dwarka city. By an act of mischief, Lord Krishna’s son Samb got a curse from sages that he will give birth to a pestle by which Yadavs will destroy their entire clan. Samb’s this act of mischief, paved for the annihilation of the Yadav clan.
Annihilation of the Yadav clan
Time passed and the Yadav clan grew too arrogant and morally weak. Lord Krishna knew that time has come for the fulfilment of Gandhari’s curse.
Krishna ordered Yadavs to go for the Pilgrimage, where Satyaki and Kritverma got into a verbal dual which turned into a bloody fight. Due, to this incident Krishna got angry and killed many Yadavs using pestle that grew out of wild grass near the seashore.
Why did Dwarka city dip into the sea?
Krishna was cursed by Gandhari, that the Yadav clan will also destroy in the same manner that the Kaurav clan has destroyed, Gandhari’s curse got fulfilled. Krishna’s son Samb was also cursed by sages. Yadav clan got destroyed by the pestle. After the end of the Yadav clan, Krishna instructed Arjun, to evacuate the residents of Dwarka city.
Krishna went to the forest and engaged in deep meditation. He was slain by an arrow that was mistakenly aimed at his foot by a hunter who thought it was a deer. Soon after Krishna died, a great tsunami came and the surging sea waters submerged Dwarka city.
From 2005 to 2007, The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted an excavation, in which The Marine Archaeological Unit (MAU) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found the remains of Dwarka city. The result of this excavation proves that Dwarka city did exist. The Hindu epic Mahabharat is not a myth.
Conclusion
The primary reasons because of why the Dwarka city dipped into the sea and the annihilation of the Yadav clan took place were: Gandhari’s curse on Sri Krishna after Mahabharat and Sages’ curse on Krishna’s son Samb due to his mischief.
Sri Krishna ruled Dwarka city for 36 Years after Mahabharat and after that, he was slain by an arrow. Soon after Krishna died, a great tsunami came and the surging sea waters submerged Dwarka city.