Krishna was born in Kamsa's prison in Mathura. Kamsa was waiting to kill his sister’s baby as soon as it was born, as he had been pre-warned that the eighth child of his sister would kill Kamsa.
Vasudeva got a divine instruction to leave Krishna with Nanda and Yashoda. The prison gates opened, the guards went to stupor and the Yamuna parted to let Vasudeva pass. Adisesha became an umbrella as Vasudeva carried Krishna through the storm to Gokul. The child was exchanged for the newborn daughter of Yashoda and Nanda.
Gokul would become the childhood home of Krishna.

Krishna persuaded the cowherds to redirect their annual offering from Indra to the hill and forest that actually fed their herds. Indra was upset and decided to punish the cowherds with a devastating storm. Krishna raised Govardhan like an umbrella, holding it up for seven days while the whole community sheltered beneath.
Annakut or Govardhan Puja is held the day after Diwali. Devotees build mountains of cooked food before the deity and perform the parikrama to remember this event.
Since Krishna fasted for seven days and forsake the eight meals he would have every day, Chappan Bhog (7 times 8) was organized to compensate the meals lost.

After the killing of Kamsa, Krishna and Balarama were sent for schooling to the sage Sandipani at Avanti, today's Ujjain. It is on the Kshipra River in Madhya Pradesh. Krishna mastered the sixty-four arts there in sixty-four days. As guru-Dakshina Krishna undertook to recover Sandipani's son, lost at sea, and brought him back from the realm of Yama. The site is still shown as Sandipani Ashram in Ujjain. It was also at this ashram that he formed his friendship with the poor Brahmin boy Sudama, remembered later for the handful of beaten rice offered at Dwarka.
Ujjain is also the location of one of the four Kumbh Melas of India.

Prabhas Patan, on the Saurashtra coast where the Hiranya river meets the sea, is one of the oldest tirthas named in the epics.
Prabhas is the place where the Yadava clan went for a picnic, got drunk, accused one another, fought and killed each other. Krishna realized that his time on earth is complete. He retired under the shade of a tree. A hunter mistook his leg for an animal and shot an arrow. Krishna left the world, having fulfilled his avatar. The manner of his leaving was foretold by Gandhari’s curse.
Prabhas is a few kms north of Somnath, one of the Jyotirlingas. A beautiful temple portrays the entire scene of Krishna retiring under a tree while a hunter shoots him.

Satrajit's received the brilliant Syamantaka gem from Surya. It was a dazzling gem which would make the person wearing it look like Surya himself. Krishna requested that the gem be given to Ugrasena but Satrajit refused. He later have it to his brother Prasena.
Prasena was killed by a lion which took away the gem, but was in turn killed by Jambhavan. When the gem was lost, people suspected that Krishna had stolen it. Stung by the blame Krishna pursued the ring and fought Jambhavan for 28 days. Eventually Jambhavan realized that he is fighting the avatar of Vishnu himself and handed over the gem to Krishna. He also offered his daughter Jambavati in marriage to Krishna.
Girnar is the place associated with the fight between Krishna and Jambhavan. It is 1145 mts high and rises dramatically in the Junagadh region of Gujarat. It is a very sacred site of Jains. The 22nd Tirthankara, Neminath attained Nirvana at Girnar. In the Jain tradition, Neminath and Krishna are considered as cousins.

Jarasandha repeatedly invaded Mathura. This drove Krishna and Balarama southwards. They went to Gomantaka hill in the Sahyadris, close to the sea. Jarasandha surrounded the hill and set it on fire. He was hoping to burn the brothers out. Krishna and Balarama escaped by scattering the army of Jarasandha. They also forged their weapons, Balarama’s plough and Krishna’s discus at Gomantaka. The repeated attacks by Jarasandha made the Yadavas abandon Mathura for Dwarka.
Goa gets its old Puranic name Gomantaka from this episode.

Kundinapura is in the Amravati district of Maharashtra on the Wardha river. Rukmini's is the first of Krishna's marriages.
Rukmini was the daughter of King Bhishmaka of Vidarbha. She wanted to marry Krishna but her brother Rukmi had arranged to marry her to Shishupala. She sent a messenger to Krishna expressing her desire. She asked him to come to the temple of Ambika which she would visit before the marriage ceremony.
Krishna arrived at Kundinapura, scooped her into his chariot and outran the assembled kings. Balarama and Yadavas fended off the assembled armies of Shishupala and Jarasandha. Krishna spared Rukimi’s life.

Kampilya, Drupada's southern capital, is placed near Kampil in Farrukhabad district on the Ganga. This is the place of Draupadi’s swayamvara. It is also the place where Krishna sees the Pandavas first.
Drupada of Panchala set a test he believed only Arjuna could pass. A massive bow had to be strung and shot through a mechanism at a rotating fish overhead. Pandavas were believed to have died in the fire at the lac house. But they arrived in the guise of Brahmins and Arjuna passed the test. Bhima held off other Kings and Pandavas went home with Draupadi. Krishna, watching from the gathering, recognised his cousins and afterwards sought them out.

Rajgir is full of history. It is a confluence of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu belief. It overlooks the vast Gangetic plains and is just south of Nalanda. Raj Gir means the home of kings. It was the first capital of Magadha. It is called Girivraja in Mahabharat, meaning enclosed by mountains.
Jarasandha held some eighty-six kings captive. He was planning to sacrifice them and he was an obstacle to Yudhishthira's Rajasuya Yajna. Krishna took Bhima and Arjuna into Girivraja (Rajgir) disguised as Brahmins and challenged the king to single combat. Jarasandha chose Bhima. The duel ran fourteen days but Bhima could not kill Jarasandha as his body, even when torn would join back.
Krishna then split a blade of grass and threw one half upside down. It was a signal to Bhima to do the same to Jarasandha. Bhima tore Jarasandha in two and cast the pieces in opposite directions so that they could not join back. The captive kings were freed.

The demons sent by Kamsa caused repeated disturbances at Gokul. Nanda decided to leave Gokul. He shifted to Vrindavan and later to Nandgaon which was on a hillock and safer. It is about fifty kilometres from Mathura.
The village is named for Nanda and is where Krishna's boyhood, his cattle-herding and his friendship with the gopis are told. It faces Barsana, some eight kilometres away, which is Radha's home. The two villages celebrate Holi with the famous Lathmar, when men from Nandgaon go to Barsana and are driven back.

Khandava was the location given to Pandavas to raise their new capital but it was a dense forest.
Agni was tired after a long sacrifice and wanted to consume Khandava and its creatures. However, Khandava was protected by Indra since his friend Taksha stayed there.
Krishna and Arjuna undertook to help Agni. They held off Indra's rains and the fleeing creatures while the fire burned. The cleared tract on the Yamuna became Indraprastha, identified with Delhi.
In return they received the Gandiva bow, an inexhaustible pair of quivers and a chariot for Arjuna, and the Sudarshana discus for Krishna. Maya was one among those spared from the burning forest and he built Indraprastha for Pandavas.

Narakasura ruled Pragjyotisha, the kingdom of the Brahmaputra valley later known as Kamarupa (Guwahati). He had seized the earrings of Aditi and imprisoned thousands of women. Krishna rode there on Garuda with Satyabhama, broke through the fortress of nooses and its defender Mura, and killed Naraka.
In the Assamese and much wider tradition it is Satyabhama who strikes the final blow. The freed captives were given honour and protection. His day of death is Naraka Chaturdashi, the day of oil baths and early-morning lamps. This kicks off Diwali festival.