Birth of Shri Krishna
About Birth of Shri Krishna
People gather at a river and call on God. The child Krishna rises out of the water on the serpent Kaliya. Yashoda rocks his crib and sees him as Gopala. Kamsa sees Krishna repeated around him, then sees his own severed head. The last card asks that the offering be accepted. Dadasaheb Phalke directed. The Marathi title is Shri Krishna Janma.
Cast & crew
More about Birth of Shri Krishna
Phalke made the short in 1918 with Marathi subtitles. Bhagirathibai, D. D. Dabke, Neelkanth, Mandakini Phalke, and Purshottam Vaidya are billed. The listed length is 12 minutes. Only the last episode, 576 feet, is still available.
Themes
Preservation
Only the last episode survives, 576 feet.
Notes
- The river invocation is the opening, not a later miracle.
- Kamsa's vision is a multiplied Krishna and then his own head.
- 576 feet is the surviving last episode.
- Mandakini Phalke is billed, as she is in the 1919 Krishna film.
Scenes
- Krishna comes up from the river on Kaliya.
- Kamsa watches his severed head rise and fall.
