Krishna avatara is special in many ways. Krishna was born with four hands, with His weapons and many adornments. Apart from this, Krishna proved his obedience to His mother even at the time of birth, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. As Rama, He was an obedient son to His father, and He prepared to depart for the forest. But when He went to take leave of Kausalya, she protested and told Him not to leave. Should He not have paid heed to her? Obviously, He could not obey both his father and mother. So, He chose the most necessary option, namely obeying His father. But He was concerned about His mother’s plight. When Rama tried to persuade Lakshmana to return to Ayodhya, He said He was worried about His mother Kausalya. Who was there to look after her? He was her son and duty-bound to look after her. But He was far away from her, unable to help her in any way. He (Rama) could conquer the entire world with just one arrow, but of what use was this, when He could not stop His mother’s tears, Rama asked.
Kausalya had reared a parrot, which was so loyal to the queen, that if someone entered her quarters in the palace, it would sound an alarm, and would want to bite the foot of the person, if it perceived him as an enemy. Rama lamented that even this parrot was more caring towards Kausalya than He (Rama) had been. The Lord wanted to make amends for disobeying His mother. So, when He took the Krishna avatara, He obeyed His mother Devaki, the very night He was born. She asked Him to hide His extra hands, so that Kamsa would not harm Him, and He at once did so. Ramanujacharya, in his Gita Bhashya, says that He remained so with just two hands visible, until He had killed Kamsa. From then on, for the rest of the avatara, He was seen with four hands.
