Pūtanā and infant Krishna in two Purāṇas

Traditions: Viṣṇu Purāṇa; Bhāgavata Purāṇa Motif: A dangerous visitor reaches a divine child Connection verdict: Related Krishna childhood episode with different elaboration Article status: Expanded Date: 2026-10-25

Summary

Both Purāṇas tell of Pūtanā approaching infant Krishna with lethal intent and dying when he takes her breast.

Read the two scenes

The child is at risk in the household, so the story also depends on ordinary parental fear. Pūtanā’s disguise and poisoned nourishment invert a caregiver’s expected role. In the Bhāgavata, the shocking outcome opens a theological question: how can hostile contact with Krishna be interpreted through grace? The Viṣṇu Purāṇa includes the event in its unfolding account of threats to the child and the community. Summaries that turn Pūtanā into a generic witch or Krishna into a generic infant hero lose the specific devotional arguments. Translation vocabulary and later performance traditions also affect how the figure is judged.

What connects—and what does not

The Bhāgavata gives fuller devotional interpretation of Pūtanā’s fate; the Viṣṇu Purāṇa embeds the attack in a differently paced series of dangers.

The rare named attacker and distinctive means establish a common Krishna cycle; precise textual priority is not resolved here.

Why read them side by side?

The parallel is certain, but the interpretations of danger and mercy are not interchangeable across versions.

Sources and reading notes

• Viṣṇu Purāṇa, English translation — Named Krishna and Viṣṇu episodes in a historical translation
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.6 — Pūtanā and infant Krishna

Research limit

A named parallel can establish literary reuse or related tradition; a general resemblance alone cannot prove borrowing. Linked editions and translations vary. Where a source is identified as secondary orientation, the comparison does not claim direct close reading of that tradition’s primary text.