Krishna and the Witch

a retelling

Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy

T

he woman was lost in thought: The king wants me to kill some baby named Krishna. I’ve already killed so many.

If I can’t kill one more, then my name isn’t Putana. Ha ha!

This Krishna lives in Vrindaban, so I’d better go. But first, let me transform my body. I can’t go looking like a witch.

She muttered a few incantations, and instantly her demonic body changed into a beautiful young woman with ample breasts and a narrow waist, with glowing skin and sparkling eyes. She wore lovely silk clothes and dazzling jewelry.

This will fool everybody. I’ll be the goddess of misfortune. Ha ha!

She smeared a few drops of rose oil on each breast and a few drops of poison on each nipple.

I’ll say I want to nurse the child, and in this way I’ll poison him. Bye-bye little Krishna.

Then, with the severed branch of a tree as her vehicle, she flew to a forest near her destination. She was close enough now to walk into the land of Vrindaban.

The mooing of cows and the clanking of cowbells mingled with the shouts of cowherd men calling their cows. Peacocks wailed in the trees . The aroma of incense wafted out from the windows and doorways of the houses.

What a lovely afternoon, perfect for killing this Krishna. Mmm, yes.

She strolled along paths bordered with fragrant wildflowers until she came to the house of Krishna’s father, Nanda Maharaja, the king of Vrindaban. She walked in.

Two women were sitting in the room. One of them stood up and offered respects by pressing her palms together, fingers pointing upward. “Welcome, dear guest. Please come in.” The woman was wearing brightly colored clothes with shining necklaces and bracelets. Her curly hair was tied with a red ribbon.

This must be Yashoda, Krishna’s mother.

Then the other woman offered the same gesture of respect. “You must be tired from traveling. Please sit down. Can we offer you something refreshing to drink?”

This must be Rohini, Yashoda’s friend.

Without saying a word, Putana started walking toward the bedroom.

“You want to see my little Krishna?” said Yashoda.

The three of them walked into the bedroom. Baby Krishna was lying on the bed. His skin was the color of a dark rain cloud, and his large eyes reminded Putana of lotus petals. His lips were red, and a headband with a peacock feather tucked inside circled his head.

“So this is Krishna,” said Putana.

I can see that this child is powerful enough to destroy the universe. No wonder King Kamsa wants him killed. But he’s no match for old Putana.

As Putana came close, Krishna closed his eyes.

“Don’t you want to look at me, my darling?” said Putana.

Yashoda and Rohini laughed. “Babies do funny things,” said Rohini.

Putana bared one breast.

“Are you going to nurse him?” said Yashoda. “How sweet of you!”

We’ll see how sweet you think it is when you see him die.

“Come to Mama, my little sweetheart,” said Putana as she reached down and picked up Krishna. She could hardly keep from laughing.

She held Krishna to her bare breast and pushed the nipple into his open mouth. “Now go ahead and drink, darling,” she said. Yashoda and Rohini smiled.

Just a few more seconds now.

Suddenly Putana froze. “Stop! Stop!” she screamed. “Go away, child! Leave me alone!”

She turned to Yashoda and Rohini. “No! He’s sucking out my life air! Stop him!”

She tried to throw Krishna down, but he held on tight and kept sucking. Then he began kicking her.

Putana turned and ran out of the house screaming. “Stop! Go away! Leave me alone!”

Rohini and Yashoda ran after her. “Come back!” Yashoda called out.

“Where are you going with Krishna?” shouted Rohini.

Putana ran, screaming, till she came to the pasturing fields. Krishna was still holding on, sucking her breast and kicking. Putana turned and fell backwards, hitting the ground with a loud crash that was heard and felt for miles around.

Putana was dead. Her body resumed its demoniac form, huge, with pointed teeth, fingernails like long claws, and eye sockets that looked like dark wells.

Little Krishna was sitting and playing on her exposed breast.

Rohini and Yashoda were still running. “Did you hear that crash?” said Yashoda. “Something’s happened to Krishna.”

“I heard it. Let’s go faster.”

They ran till they came to where Putana’s body lay. They stood there, out of breath. Then they began to laugh when they saw Krishna unharmed, sitting on the dead witch’s breast.

“Oh my little Krishna,” said Yashoda, “God has saved you from this demon.”

She held out her arms to pick up Krishna. Krishna held out his arms to be picked up. Yasoda held him to her chest.

“My little baby,” said Yashoda, “you’ve had a rough day.” She kissed Krishna on both cheeks.

Rohini smiled. “Let’s go home. Your mommy will take care of you.”

Facts about “Krishna and the Witch”

Some experts say that the name “Putana” comes from the Sanskrit puta ‘pure,’ but others say no. That would be a joke because Putana was not pure. The name most likely comes from the Sanskrit puti, ‘rotten.’ So the name actually means Miss Putrid.

Putana could see that Baby Krishna was powerful enough to destroy the whole universe. Yes. Even as a baby, Krishna was God. He did not have to meditate or perform yoga to become God. Even if Krishna appears as a helpless baby to please his devotees, he is still the eternally supreme Lord.

Srila Prabhupada explains:

In the story, Krishna closed his eyes when he saw Putana. Why?

First, he did not want to look at Putana because she had killed children. Also, though Krishna had come into this world to kill demons, the first demon he would have to kill was a woman.

Kill a woman? Forbidden in the Vedas. Krishna does not have to follow the rules of the Vedas, but he prefers to. So he closed his eyes.

What happened to Putana afterwards?

When the cowherd men came across the body of Putana, they decided to cremate it. They cut it into small pieces and set it on fire. But the smoke gave off a pleasing fragrance. Her body had been cleansed of all impurites when Krishna drank her breast milk.

And her soul? Krishna killed Putana because she had killed many children. But before he killed her, he drank her breast milk, so he considered her to be like a mother. Her motive didn’t matter. After he killed her, he sent her soul to live eternally in the spiritual world.

The Srimad Bhagavatam explains:

And again:

⁓Umapati Swami, June 16, 2025

L

ove it? Hate it? Got a question? Write to me: hoswami@yahoo.com

© Umapati Swami 2025

Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the teacher who brought Krishna Consciousness from India to the West and then to the rest of the world. He is the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement as well as the author and compiler of many works of Vedic knowledge. He left this world in 1977.

Umapati Swami

One of the first American devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement, he became Srila Prabhupada’s disciple in 1966. Since then, he has preached Krishna Consciousness in many countries and is the author of “My Days with Prabhupada,” available from Amazon. Now 88 years old, he maintains this blog to share what he has learned.