Little Krishna

Little Krishna
Genre	Epic, History
Created by	Reliance BIG Animation Studio
Screenplay by	Jeffrey Scott
Country of origin	India
Original languages	Hindi Tamil English
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids, Sun TV
Release	11 May 2009 (2009-05-11)

Little Krishna is an Indian CGI-animated epic television series created by Reliance Entertainment in 2009. It was originally aired on Nickelodeon and later aired on Discovery Kids in 2014 and Sun TV.

The series is based on the legend of Hindu deity Krishna. It has 13 standalone episodes involving Krishna between the ages of five and nine.

Production

Ashish SK CEO of BIG Animation mentioned the series, which has over 300 characters and as many locations, has taken over seven years in the making, and involved an investment of 50 crore rupees.

The series was conceptualised and produced by Reliance BIG Entertainment with a budget of ₹50 crore (equivalent to ₹126 crore or US$15 million in 2023) and co-produced by The Indian Heritage Foundation which is powered by ISKCON. The series is scripted by Jeffery Scott.

Big Animation made Little Krishna in two formats — 13 standalone episodes of approximately 22 minutes each and three feature films of 66 minutes each. The 13-part series was broadcast on Nick in India.

Episodes

No.	Title	Plot
1	The Attack of the Serpent King	Little Krishna spent His childhood years in the beautiful land of Vrindavan, filling the hearts of the inhabitants with pure love for Him. The villagers led a blissful and contented life. Krishna and His cowherd friends usually spent their days playing in the lush green pastures of Vrindavan and the cool waters of river Yamuna. One day, terror struck Vrindavan disturbing the peace of the village. An enormous serpent, Kaliya, rose out of the Yamuna where Krishna and His friends were playing. The envious serpent had many hoods and spewed venom furiously. The river, cows and calves were poisoned. The boys fell unconscious due to the poisonous fumes emanating from the river. Krishna immediately jumped into the river to save them. The monstrous serpent attacked Little Krishna, coiled around Him, and dived deep into the water as the villagers watched helplessly.
2	The Terrible Storm	The inhabitants of Vrindavan were preparing to perform a festival to please Lord Indra to bless them with good rainfall. However, Krishna convinces His father Nanda Maharaj and other villagers that the offering is due to Govardhan Hill as it is the only source of their sustenance. The festival is then held to honour Govardhan Hill. All the villagers joyfully gather their offerings and proceed to perform the yajna. When King Indra learns about this, he becomes furious and orders his warriors to inundate Vrindavan with devastating rain. The village is tormented with torrential rainfall for seven days and nights.
3	The Horror Cave	Kamsa is restlessly thinking about Krishna, his angel of death. He calls upon one of his demon friends - Aghasura, a huge, terrifying python. Aghasura takes the orders of Kamsa and goes to Vrindavan to kill Krishna. He lays down with his mouth wide open. His body spread over many miles and his mouth resembled an enormous cave. Little Krishna’s friends who were happily playing nearby are attracted to this new cave. They enter the cave and soon realise that they are trapped. The boys frantically call out to Krishna for help.
4	The Enchanted Picnic	Once, Lord Brahma becomes proud, considering himself to be the foremost servitor of Lord Vishnu. His power and position bewilder him. He refuses to accept that Little Krishna living among the simple villagers of Vrindavan is none other than Lord Vishnu Himself. He decides to play a trick to find out who is the little blue boy. He steals Krishna’s friends and cows and puts them in dreamland. Brahma visits Vrindavan a year later to check what Krishna is doing without His friends and cows. The sight leaves Brahma speechless.
5	Fire and Fury	After the death of Aghasura, Kamsa has now sent the mighty Pralambasura to get rid of Krishna. Little Krishna is playing a game with His friends when the demon reaches Vrindavan. Balaram declares the rule of the game – losers will have to carry winners on their shoulders all the way to the riverside and back. Pralambasura disguises himself as a little boy and joins the team while Krishna exits the game to play some mischief on the gopis. As Pralambasura’s team loses, each of them carries a boy from the winning team on their shoulders. Krishna’s friends go towards the river, but the demon carries Balaram away to a forest nearby. While the boys are enjoying the game, they hear their cows mooing in fear. They also walk into the forest in search of the cows and are shocked to see a raging forest fire encircle them. They helplessly cry out to Krishna to save them.
6	Demon in Disguise	This episode transitions between two stories that depict Krishna’s love for the inhabitants of Vrindavan. Kamsa is furious about the death of Pralambasura. He summons another gigantic demon, Vatsasura, to kill Krishna. Vatsasura sets out in search of Krishna and finds Him melodiously playing His flute under a tree. He also sees Krishna’s friends racing with their calves. Hence, Vatsasura disguises himself as a calf and tries to attack Krishna. The other story is about Bahula, a dear cow of Krishna. Bahula and her friends are peacefully grazing when a tiger suddenly attacks them. She loses her way and walks into the cave of the tiger while trying to escape with her friends. As the ferocious tiger is ready to pounce on Bahula, she pleads him to let her go. Bahula promises the tiger that she would return the following day after feeding her newborn calf. The tiger agrees on the condition that he would make a meal of Bahula along with her calf, if she fails to return the next morning.
7	Deadly Donkey	Talavana is a guarded forest where the servants of Kamsa prepare and dispatch a special drink made from the ‘taal’ fruit for their King’s pleasure. Even the denizens of heaven crave to taste this delightful nectar. However, Talavana is watched over by a deadly donkey, Dhenukasura, who mercilessly punishes and kills trespassers. One day, while Krishna and His friends are playing, their cows wander into Talavana, attracted by the sweet aroma of the fruits. The boys are forced to enter Talavana to get their cows back. They find their cows relishing the tasty fruits that are fallen on the ground. Krishna and His friends decide to collect fruits for all the residents of Vrindavan before leaving the place. As they pick up the fruits, they come face to face with Dhenukasura, who is seething with anger.
8	Challenge of the Brute	Kamsa is enraged when he hears that Dhenukasura was killed by Little Krishna. At the suggestion of one of his servants, he sends another mighty demon Aristasura, a fearsome bull, to challenge Krishna. The raging bull dashes across the village, destroying homes and threatening the innocent residents of Vrindavan. When Krishna learns about the disturbance that Aristasura is causing, He immediately appears before the demon, ready to take him on.
9	Assault of the Lethal Bird	The lethal bird, Bakasura, is in search of his meal. He swoops down on a few cowherd men and their cows, planning to devour them. However, the bird is interrupted by King Kamsa who arrives there to meet him. Kamsa promises his friend Baka royal feasts for a lifetime if he succeeds in killing Little Krishna. Bakasura vows to accomplish the task by sunset and sets out in search of Kamsa’s angel of death. He spots Krishna with His friends in Vrindavan, building a bridge across the river with the help of monkeys. The wicked bird immediately picks up Little Krishna with his long beak and swallows Him, much to the shock and disbelief of Krishna’s friends. The devatas Indra, Brahma, Agni and Shiva, are enraged by Bakasura’s actions. They attack him with their weapons and try to save Krishna but in vain.
10	The Charge of the Monster Horse	Kamsa is growing impatient after all his demon friends were killed by Little Krishna. As his hopes of getting rid of his angel of death are fading, a monster horse, Keshi, appears before him. He assures Kamsa that he will crush Krishna to death beneath his hooves. Keshi learns that Krishna wears a yellow garment, holds a flute and wears a peacock feather on His head. Meanwhile, Madhumangal disguises himself as Krishna so that he can get some butter from the little gopis. As the horse demon is looking for the boy that matches this appearance, he stumbles upon Madhumangal, who is walking happily after enjoying the pot of butter. Keshi snorts furiously seeing Madhumangal, and gets ready to attack him assuming him to be Little Krishna.
11	The Mystery of the Vanishing Sheep	Krishna and His friends are playing the game ‘Robber and Police’ in the pastures of Vrindavan. Each of them plays a different role. Subala plays the thief, Sridham - the shepherd and Krishna and Balaram – the police. Other cowherd boys play the role of sheep. Subala hides behind the bushes, eagerly waiting for a chance to steal the ‘sheep’. But as he tries to trap them, he finds that the ‘sheep’ are being led by a mysterious boy who has suddenly appeared on the scene.
12	The Vicious Whirlwind	The episode revolves around two pastimes of Little Krishna. Mother Yashoda binds mischievous Krishna to a grinding mortar with a rope as punishment. However, this does not stop Krishna from continuing His mischief. He crawls around in the garden, dragging the mortar along, till he reaches the Arjuna trees that stand tall in the courtyard of Nanda Maharaj. The mortar gets stuck between the twin trees. Little Krishna continues to drag the mortar, pulling it harder, causing the giganitic trees to uproot. As the trees come crashing down with a loud thud, something strange takes place. Kamsa is sitting in his palace, occupied in the thoughts of killing Krishna. On the other hand, baby Krishna is busy playing mischief in Vrindavan. Trnavarta, a demon in the form of a whirlwind, appears before Kamsa. The mighty demon assures the king that he would easily shatter Krishna into pieces. Then, Trnavarta goes to Vrindavan, swiftly picks up Little Krishna and flies high up in the sky.
13	The Witch Trap	The episode shows different playful activities of Little Krishna and Balaram. One day, Balaram finds Krishna eating mud and complains to mother Yashoda. However, Krishna feigns innocence. She tells Krishna to open His mouth so that she can check herself. The moment Krishna opens His mouth, mother Yashoda sees something mystical and feels dizzy. Nanda Maharaj helps her recover from the bewildering experience. Later, he tells Yashoda that Krishna is not an ordinary child. He reminded her of two earlier instances involving a fruit seller and Krishna sucking the life out of Putana, a rakshasi who disguises herself as a young, beautiful woman and tries to kill the god by breast-feeding poisoned milk when he displayed His extraordinary potency, even as a toddler. Both of them agree that their beloved Krishna is a special boy.

Release

Little Krishna was first aired on Nickelodeon for south Asian territory in May 2009. The series received a nation-wide recognition.

Evergreen Entertainment is distributor for the series. Their CEO Steve Walsh commented:

The series offers such a fresh look from anything that we have seen to date coming out of India. It has already done phenomenally well since its premiere on NICK India. It is very well written, the animation is great and is in 3-D which adds to its attractiveness.

Video games

Zapak, an Indian mobile video game developer has released several adaptations of the television series including Little Krishna, Little Radha Run, Little Krishna Makhan Masti and Little Krishna MM Tab, and Little Krishna Jungle Run.

Awards and recognition

The Little Krishna Animation Series has won numerous awards including five FICCI Frames Awards and three Golden Cursor Awards.

• Best Animated TV Episode Award - FICCI Best Animated Frames [BAF] 2007
• Best Animated TV Series - FICCI Best Animated Frames [BAF] 2008
• Outstanding Indian Animated Content- FICCI Best Animated Frames [BAF] 2008
• Best Animated TV Episode Award - FICCI Best Animated Frames [BAF] 2008
• Best VFX in TV Episode Award - FICCI Best Animated Frames [BAF] 2008
• Best 3D Animation Film- Golden Cursor Award 2008
• Best Animation- Asian Television Awards – 2009
• ASIFA Awards of Excellence 2009

See also

• List of Indian animated television series
• List of Indian animated films