Foster-father of श्री कृष्ण .

Previous birth

There are two stories about the previous birth of नन्दगोप .

द्रोण , one of the eight वसुस् and his wife धारा once committed a mistake, not becoming the gods. ब्रह्मा who found it out, cursed the couple to take birth in the family of cowherds. द्रोण and धारा prayed for remission. ब्रह्मा told them that महाविष्णु would incarnate as their son as श्री कृष्ण and that after that birth they would be liberated from the curse. Accordingly द्रोण took birth as नन्दगोप and धारा as यशोदा . (Bhāgavata, Skandha 10) .

Once a King named चन्द्रसेन sat in the महाकाल temple in उज्जयिनी to perform penance. शिव was pleased at his penance and gave him a jewel. That brilliant precious stone fulfilled all his desires. Other kings heard about this jewel and came to war to take possession of the jewel. The King came and took refuge in the temple.

At this time a son named श्रीकर was born to a cowherdess in उज्जयिनी . He was god-fearing since childhood. श्रीकर came to महाकाल temple and sat in worship and meditation and attained the goodwill of शिव . The Kings who came in chase of चन्द्रसेन could not approach the temple because of the unearthly brilliance that radiated from श्रीकर . Not knowing the reason the kings stood staring and हनूमान् instantly appeared before them and said. "Hear this, oh Kings! श्रीकर is not a mere cowherd boy. The God is pleased with him. In his eighth birth from today he will be born in अम्बाडि under the name नन्दगोप . Then महाविष्णु will incarnate as the son of नन्दगोप under the name श्री कृष्ण ."

नन्दगोप was the eighth birth of this श्रीकर . (Śiva Purāṇa, Śanipradoṣamāhātmya) .

वरुण carried away नन्दगोप

While श्री कृष्ण was living in अम्बाडि as the foster-son of नन्दगोप , नन्दगोप went to bathe in the river यमुना . While he was taking a dip under the water a servant of वरुण carried him away to the realm of वरुण . As नन्दगोप disappeared the people of अम्बाडि ran here and there in grief. At last श्री कृष्ण jumped into the water and reached the city of वरुण , who praised श्री कृष्ण and said that it was to see श्री कृष्ण that he had carried नन्दगोप away, and requested for pardon. श्री कृष्ण pardoned वरुण and brought नन्दगोप to अम्बाडि . (Bhāgavata, Skandha 10)

नन्दगोप swallowed by a great mountain-snake

(See under Kṛṣṇa, Para 21) .