“Celebrating the Krishna Within our Little Ones”, IndicaToday, 3 Sep 2026.
“Every year around Janmashtami, something quietly wonderful happens in millions of Hindu homes. Amidst the ceremonies and devotional chanting and singing, parents also dress up their toddlers — sons and daughters alike — as Krishna. Peacock feather in the hair, a tiny golden-yellow dhoti, a little flute in hand. These are the same toddlers who threw a tantrum over eating vegetables an hour earlier, who scribbled on the wall, who refused to nap. And the naughtiest child is now, quite literally, the deity parents adorn the most.
It’s easy to see this as a sweet ritual and nothing more. But look closer, and we may find something much deeper and wiser: a sophisticated psychological system, one that helps parents not just survive the exhausting, chaotic work of raising children, but find joy in it.
Adoring the Makhan Chor
As a child, Krishna is not depicted as obedient or easy. He is Makhan Chor — the butter thief. He breaks pots, steals curd, leads the other children into mischief, and generally makes his mother Yashoda’s life difficult. And yet, in the Hindu Bhakti tradition, this is precisely what one is invited to adore. There’s even a name for this particular flavor of devotion — Vatsalya Bhava — the tender, fierce love a parent feels for a child who cannot be controlled, only cherished…………”
Read the full article at IndicaToday.
