Some of the most engaging aspects of Lord Krishna’s legend are the stories of his boyhood. Although his divinity is never left in doubt, it is subordinated to the more human side of his nature. Thus he is described as a mischievous, rather spoilt child, whose mother was inclined to overlook the pranks he played on her and their neighbours. On one occasion, he climbed up to the storage jars containing milk, butter and curds where hung from the ceiling of his house and broke them and played with the butter that fell out. He and his brother Balarama united the neighbour calves and let them run away or chased them and held on to their tails. Worse still, they deliberately used their neighbours’ newly cleaned houses as a toilet in order to annoy them. When they complained to Krishna’s mother she was reluctant to be cross with him.

One day, however, it seemed as if he had gone too far and had been caught eating earth. When he was reproached by his mother he denied and invited her to look in his mouth and see for herself. And here the legend finds it necessary to remind us that Krishna is, after all, the Supreme god and tells us that when his mother looked in his mouth she saw not earth but the whole of universe with its tangible aspects such as the sphere of the earth with its continents, mountains, oceans, lightening, fire and wind, together with all the planets and stars, as well as the intangibles such as the Soul, Time, Nature, Mind and Destiny. — Hindu Gods and Goddesses