The Character Arc of Krishna

Synopsis

Change is a constant that every entity on this planet goes through. Certain circumstances within us or around us lead to these changes. Changes are crucial for stories to evolve. A character arc is the evolution of a character that happens through the course of a story. It doesn’t have to be just physical, it can be an inner journey that makes a character grow, learn and change over the course of time as the story unfolds. Character arcs are the most powerful and subtle aspect of the plots and stories. They create a sense of journey and keep the plot tight and a three-act structure together. Out of three types of Character Arcs, I shall talk about transformational arc in this article.

Character is destiny. Change, growing from within and forced from without, is the mainspring of character development — Rita Mae Brown

Mahabharata is one of the greatest epics that are relevant forever. I am writing this article to explain the peak of the transformational arc of the greatest superhero I’ve known, Krishna. It narrates how a playful cowboy transforms into a savior of dharma and a deliverer.

The Arc: Krishna’s enlightenment

As he walked down the mount Govardhan people who played and danced with him started bowing down to him not knowing what they are doing.

INT — Krishna’s House in Gokula — DAY

Krishna expressed to his mother that he wants to marry Radha. His mother explained that she is not an appropriate girl for him and reminded him that she was 5 years older than him. Krishna said he doesn’t understand all this inappropriateness, he only knew that Radha loved him the moment she saw him and she lived in him. After an emotional argument, his mother Yashoda and his father Nanda decided to take him to his gurus as they thought the time has come to unfold the facts.

EXT — Gargacharya’s Hut — DAY

Yashoda and Nanda take Krishna to Gargacharya’s ashram, where he and his disciple Sandhipaani (Krishna’s guru) were residing. They told Krishna that he is the deliverer and savior of dharma and was born for a different purpose. Krishna said that he doesn’t want to be a deliverer, he loves these cows, bulls, mountains, and people of Gokula and wishes to be with them. He says, “I don’t wish to be a savior or a deliverer”.

Gargacharya realized that the time has come to reveal who Krishna is and explained the prophecy Narada muni had made about him. He elaborated on all the signs and qualities that Narada had identified and talked about. He continues by saying, “You exhibit all the qualities that were written down and you fit into the exact date, time, place fixed, and other details that were talked about by Narada and many other sages. You are the deliverer”. That was the first time, it was revealed to Krishna that he is not Yashoda and Nanda’s son and the story of his birth was told to him.

EXT — Mount Govardhan Hilltop — Day

All these plunged into him with such a great force while he just stood there silently. Krishna, a 16-year-old boy, walked slowly towards mount Govardhan with unknown emotions twirling within him. He walked up the hill and reached the hilltop and stood there looking at the sky. While looking at the sun setting, he experienced a tremendous sense of illumination and empowerment that went through his body and mind. This was his moment of enlightenment. He stood still for hours together there. When he walked down the hill he was a completely new person. There were a new dignity and serenity about him, there was a new light in his eyes and emotions on his face. He wasn’t just a playful cowboy anymore, as he walked down mount Govardhan people who played and danced with him started bowing down to him not knowing what they were doing.

Krishna now knew who he was and decided that he had to leave. He called for a Rasa for one last time furthermore danced and played blissfully with Radha and everyone in the Gokula. He transcended the bliss and emotion to her and pulled out the flute from his waistband and played it for one last time and gave it to Radha. He never played the flute or returned to Gokula after this day.

From this day onwards this naughty playful prankster turned into an absolute deliverer. Krishna carried a great mission of saving Dharma on his shoulder and led every moment of difficulty, victory, pain, struggle, and whatnot with a smile on his face.

This was his moment of peak of transformational arc. Krishna’s characterization took a huge turn post this incident and got perfectly aligned to the climax of Mahabharat, winning the war and establishing dharma.

About me

I am Sameer Sarnad, I am wearing different hats in my life. I am a techno-functional IT professional, a budding singer, and passionate about storytelling, films, and their making. I love to tell stories about Mahabharata and mythology. This is my humble effort in writing about Films, their making via Mahabharat stories. Watch out for this space for more stories.