Keshi (demon)

In Hindu mythology, Keshi (Sanskrit: केशी; Keśi, nominative singular masculine from the root Keśin, literally "long haired") is the horse-demon, killed by Krishna, an avatar of the god Vishnu. The demon was dispatched by Krishna's evil uncle Kamsa, who was destined to die at Krishna's hands.

The tale of the slaying of Keshi is told in the Hindu scriptures of Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana and Harivamsa. Krishna is often praised as Keshava - the slayer of Keshi - in scriptures. Theories suggested about Keshi's origins range from his being a demon of childhood diseases to the story's being inspired by the Greek Herculean labour of slaying the horses of Diomedes.

Keshi's legend is recounted in the tenth Book of the Bhagavata Purana (between 500 CE - 1000 CE). Kamsa, the evil king of Mathura and the maternal uncle of Krishna, is destined to be killed by Krishna. In an attempt to avoid his death, Kamsa sends a series of demons to Gokula, where Krishna is staying with his foster-parents. After Krishna kills the bull demon Arishta, the divine sage Narada confirms to Kamsa that Krishna is his sister Devaki's child and that the girl-child that Kamsa had killed, mistaking her for the child of Devaki, was in fact the daughter of Yashoda, Krishna's foster-mother. Infuriated at hearing this, Kamsa calls the demon Keshi and orders him to kill Krishna and his brother Balarama.

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