• Hindi: कृष्ण (Krishna)
• Sanskrit: कृष्ण (Krishna)

• Hindi: कृष्ण (Krishna)
• Sanskrit: कृष्ण (Krishna)

Derived terms

• Krishnaism

This article is about the Hindu deity. For other meanings, see Krishna (disambiguation).

Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, in IAST, in classical Sanskrit) is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism. Krishna is often described as having the appearance of a dark-skinned man during his earthly incarnation, often depicted as a young cowherd boy playing a flute (as in the Bhagavata Purana) or a youthful prince giving philosophical direction and guidance (as in the Bhagavad Gita).

Krishna and the stories associated with him appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions. Though they sometimes differ in details reflecting the concerns of a particular tradition, some core features are shared by all. These include a divine incarnation, a pastoral childhood and youth, and life as a heroic warrior and teacher.

The worship of Krishna in Hinduism is part of Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the Supreme God and venerates his associated avatars, their consorts, and related saints and teachers. However the exact relationship between Krishna and Vishnu is complex and diverse. All Vaisnava traditions recognize Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu; others identify Krishna with Vishnu; while traditions, such as, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Vallabha Sampradaya and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, also regard Krishna as the svayam bhagavan, original form of God, or the Lord Himself.

Etymology and names

The Sanskrit word has the literal meaning of "black", "dark" or "dark-blue", and is used as a name to describe someone with dark skin. Krishna is often depicted in murtis as black, and is generally shown in paintings with blue skin.

Krishna is also known by various other names, epithets and titles, which reflect his many associations and attributes. Among the most common of these are those that relate to his role as the deity of cattle herders - Govinda, herder of cattle, or Gopala, protector of cattle. Some of the distinct names may be regionally important; for instance, Jaganatha, or lord of the world, in eastern India.

Some Hindu traditions often ascribe varying interpretations and power to the names. For instance, commentators on Vishnu sahasranama offers detailed explanations of a thousand names of Vishnu, that also can apply to Krishna.

The Mahabharata's Udyoga-parva (Mbh 5.71.4) divides into elements and , (a verbal root meaning "to plough, drag") being taken as expressing "being; earth" and being taken as expressing "bliss". In the of the Vallabha sampradaya, the syllables of the name Krishna are assigned the power to destroy sin relating to material, self and divine causes. Adi Sankara's commentary makes Krishna is the 57th name of Vishnu, interpreting the Mbh 5.71.4 as "existence of knowledge and bliss." Mbh 5.71.4 is also quoted in Chaitanya Charitamrita, and Prabhupada in his commentary on the latter translates the as "attractive existence". Based on this, ISKCON often gives the name as meaning "all-attractive one".

Iconography

Krishna may be depicted as a black or dark-skinned young man, particularly in murtis. In other, especially in modern pictorial representations he is usually shown with a blue skin, like many other deities of Hinduism.

A common depiction shows him as a boy or young man in a characteristic relaxed pose, playing the flute. In these scenes which are set at Vrindavana, he is often shown with cattle, emphasising his position as herdsman, or with the gopis.

The scenes on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, notably where he addresses Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita are also another common subject. Here, he is shown as a man, often shown with typical god-like characteristics of Hindu religious art; such as multiple arms or heads, denoting power, and with attributes of Vishnu, such as the chakra.

Representations in temples often show Krishna as a man standing in an upright, formal pose. He may be alone, or with associated figures; his brother Balabhadra (also known as Balarama) and sister Subhadra or with his main queens Rukmini and Satyabhama. Krishna is also shown and worshipped as a small child (bāla kṛṣṇa, the child Krishna) crawling on his hands and knees or dancing with a piece of butter in his hand.

In many cases he is shown with his gopi-consort Radha and this image is representative of a number of traditions. For example Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but as Radha Krishna. This is also a feature of Rudra Sampradaya and the school of Nimbarka, as well as that of Swaminarayan faith. Caitanyaites celebrate one of the self manifested deities established by Gopala Bhatta Goswami as called Radharamana, and it is not surprising that Radharamana is seen as not only Krishna but also as Radha Krishna.

Literary sources

See also: Krishna in Mahābhārata'''

The earliest text to explicitly provide detailed descriptions of Krishna as a personality is the Mahābhārata which depicts Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu who is central to many of the main stories of the epic. The eighteen chapters of the sixth book (Bhishma Parva) that constitute the Bhagavad Gita contain the advice of Krishna to Arjuna, on the battlefield. Krishna is already an adult in the epic, although there are allusions to his earlier exploits. The Harivamsa, a later appendix to this epic, contains the earliest detailed version of Krishna's childhood and youth.

Virtually every one of the later Puranas tells Krishna's life-story or some highlights from it. The Mahābhārata and the Harivamsa are considered sacred by Hindus. Two Puranas, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana, that contain the most elaborate telling of Krishna’s story and teachings are the most theologically venerated by the Gaudiya Vaishnava schools. Roughly one quarter of the Bhagavata Purana is spent extolling his life and philosophy.

Satha-patha-brahmana and Aitareya-Aranyaka, associate Krishna with his Vrishni origins. Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar attempted to show that "the very same Krishna" made an appearance in earlier texts, e.g as the drapsa ... krishna "black drop" of RV 8.96.13.

Life

Childhood and youth

Nanda was the head of a community of cow-herders, and he settled in Vrindavana. The stories of Krishna's childhood and youth here include that of his life with, and his protection of, the local people. Kamsa learnt about the child's escape and kept sending various demons (such as Aghasura) to put an end to him. The demons were defeated at the hands of Krishna and his brother Balarama. Some of the most popular exploits of Krishna center around these adventures, such as the lifting of Govardhana hill and his play with the gopis of the village, including Radha. The stories of his play with the gopis became known as the Rasa lila and were romanticised in the poetry of Jayadeva, author of the Gita Govinda.

The prince

Krishna as a young man returned to Mathura, and overthrew and killed his uncle Kamsa. Krishna re-installed Kamsa's father, Ugrasena, as the king of the Yadavas. He himself became a leading prince at the court. In this period he became a friend of Arjuna and the other Pandava princes of the Kuru kingdom, who were his cousins, on the other side of the Yamuna. Later, he took his Yadava subjects to the city of Dwaraka (in modern Gujarat). He married Rukmini, daughter of King Bhishmaka of Vidarbha.

According to some texts, Krishna had 16,108 wives, of which eight were chief - including Rukmini, Satyabhama and Jambavati. Krishna also married 16,100 maidens who were being held in captivity by Narakasura, to save their honor. Krishna killed him and released them all. According to strict social custom of the time all of the captive women were degraded, and would be unable to marry, as they had been under the control of Narakasura, however Krishna decided to marry them to reinstate their status in the society. In Vaishnava traditions, Krishna's wives are believed to be forms of the goddess Lakshmi.

The Kurukshetra war and the Bhagavad Gita

Krishna was cousin to both sides in the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas. Once battle seemed inevitable, Krishna offered both sides to choose between having either his army or simply himself, but on the condition that he personally would not raise any weapons. Arjuna on behalf of the Pandavas chose to have Krishna on their side, and Duryodhana chose to have Krishna's army on the side of the Kauravas. At the time of the great battle, Krishna thus acted as Arjuna's charioteer. The Bhagavad Gita is the advice given to Arjuna by Krishna on the battlefield just prior to the start of the fighting.

Later life

Following the war Krishna lived at Dwaraka for thirty-six years. Then at a festival, a fight broke out between the Yadavas who exterminated each other. His elder brother Balarama then gave up his body using Yoga. Krishna retired into the forest and sat under a tree in meditation. A hunter mistook his partly visible foot for a deer and shot an arrow wounding him mortally. According to the Mahābhārata, Krishna's death was caused by a curse by Gandhari. Her bitter anger after witnessing the death of her sons caused her to utter this curse, because she believed that Krishna did not do enough to stop the war when he had the full capability to do so. Upon learning of the curse, Krishna smiled and accepted it, stating that his duty was to fight for, and protect, the righteous people, not to prevent the war.

According to Puranic sources, Krishna's death marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE.

Early historical references

One of the earliest recorded instances of a Krishna who could potentially be identified with the deity can be found in the Chandogya Upanishad, where he is mentioned as the son of Devaki, and to whom Ghora Angirasa was a teacher. The Upansihads, namely and , specifically regard Krishna as a god and associate him with Vishnu. At some stage during the Vedic period, Vasudeva and Krishna became one deity, and by the time of composition of the redaction of Mahabharata that survives till today, Krishna (Vasudeva) was generally acknowledged as an avatar of Vishnu and often as the Supreme God. due to the regions mentioned by Megasthenes as well as similarities between some of the herioc acts of the two. The Greco-Bactrian ruler Agathocles issued coins bearing the images of Krishna and Balarama in around 180-165 BCE. Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum. Many inscriptions and references to worship of Krishna can be found from the early centuries of the Common Era.

Early worship of Krishna Vasudeva

Deity of Krishna-Vasudeva ( "Krishna, the son of Vasudeva") is historically one of the earliest forms of worship in Krishnaism and Vaishnavism. It is believed to be a significant tradition of the early history of the worship of Krishna in antiquity. This tradition is considered as earliest to other traditions that led to amalgamation at a later stage of the historical development. Other traditions are Bhagavatism and Cult of Gopala, that along with Cult of Bala-Krishna form the basis of current tradition of monotheistic religion of Krishna. Some early scholars would equate it with Bhagavatism, and the founder of this religious tradition is believed to be Krishna, who is the son of Vasudeva, thus his name is Vāsudeva, he is belonged to be historically part of the Satvata tribe, and according to them his followers called themselves Bhagavatas and this religion had formed by the 2nd century BC (the time of Patanjali), or as early as the 4th century BC according to evidence in Megasthenes and in the Arthasastra of Kautilya, when Vāsudeva was worshiped as supreme Deity in a strongly monotheistic format, where the supreme Being was perfect, eternal and full of grace.

The Harivamsa describes intricate relationships between Krishna Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha that would later form a Vaishnava concept of primary quadrupled expansion, or avatara.

The Bhakti tradition

Bhakti, meaning devotion, is not confined to any one deity. Krishna is currently an important and popular focus of the devotional and ecstatic aspects of Hindu religion, particularly among the Vaishnava sects.

Devotees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, meaning 'divine play', as the central principle of the universe. The lilas of Krishna, with their expressions of personal love that transcend the boundaries of formal reverence, serve as a counterpoint to the lilas of another avatar of Vishnu: Rama, "He of the straight and narrow path of maryada, or rules and regulations." This is largely due to the evangelistic Hare Krishna movement, the largest part of which is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The movement was founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who was instructed by his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, to write about Krishna in the English language and to share the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy with people in the Western world.

Western academic study

Vaishnava theology has been a subject of study for many devotees, philosophers and scholars within India for centuries. in the Ghatapandita Jataka as a prince and legendary conqueror and king of India. In the Buddhist version, Krishna is called Vasudeva, Kanha and Keshava, and Balarama is his younger brother, Baladeva. These details match that of the story given in the Bhagavata Purana. Vasudeva, along with his nine other brothers (each son a powerful wrestler) and one elder sister (Anjana) capture all of Jambudvipa (many consider this to be India) after beheading their evil uncle, King Kamsa, and later all other kings of Jambudvipa with his Sudarshana Chakra. Much of the story involving the defeat of Kamsa follows the story given in the Bhagavata Purana.

As depicted in the Mahābhārata, all of the sons are eventually killed due to a curse of sage Kanhadīpayana (Veda Vyasa, also known as Krishna Dwaipayana). Krishna himself is eventually speared by a hunter in the foot by mistake, leaving the sole survivor of their family being their sister, Añjanadevī of whom no further mention is made.

Since Jataka tales are given from the perspective of Buddha's previous lives (as well as the previous lives of many of Buddha's followers), Krishna appears as one of the lives of Sariputra, one of Buddha's foremost disciples and the "Dhammasenapati" or "Chief General of the Dharma" and is usually shown being Buddha's "right hand man" in Buddhist art and iconography. The Bodhisattva, is born in this tale as one of his youngest brothers named Ghatapandita, and saves Krishna from the grief of losing his son.

Abrahamic religions

Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'ís believe that Krishna was a "Manifestation of God," or one in a line of prophets who have revealed the Word of God progressively for a gradually maturing humanity. In this way, Krishna shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh.

Ahmadiyya Islam

Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believe Krishna to be a great prophet of God as described by their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad:

''Let it be clear that Lord Krishna, according to what has been revealed to me, was such a truly great man that it is hard to find his like among the rishis and avatars of the Hindus. He was an avatar (i.e. a prophet) of his time upon whom the Holy Spirit would descend from God. He was from God, victorious and prosperous. He cleansed the land of the Arya from sin and was in fact the prophet of his age whose teaching was later corrupted in numerous ways. He was full of love for God, a friend of virtue and an enemy of evil.''

Other

Krishna worship or reverence has been adopted by several new religious movements since the 19th century, and he is sometimes a member of an eclectic pantheon in occult texts, along with Greek, Buddhist, Biblical and even historical figures. For instance, Édouard Schuré, an influential figure in perennial philosophy and occult movements, considered Krishna a Great Initiate; while Theosophists regard him as one of the Masters, a spiritual teacher for humanity. Krishna was canonized by Aleister Crowley and is recognized as a saint in the Gnostic Mass of Ordo Templi Orientis.

See also

Footnotes

References

• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between 1883 and 1896
• The Vishnu-Purana, translated by H. H. Wilson, (1840)
• The Srimad Bhagavatam, translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, (1988) copyright Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
• The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births, edited by E. B. Cowell, (1895)
• The Hare Krishna movement: the postcharismatic fate of a religious transplant
• The Qualities of Sri Krsna
• Garuda Pillar of Besnagar, Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908-1909). Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1912, 129.
• Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity

• Krishna the Divine Lover: Myth and Legend Through Indian Art (London 1982) by A. L. Dallapiccola
• Scientific Dating of the Mahabharat War http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/mahabharat/mahab_vartak.html
• For chronology of Krishna's life see: "Yahoo! India News, Thu, Sep 16, 2004: Top Stories, Friday September 10, 8:41 AM, Chronicling Krishna's life - to the last second, by Ashish Mehta, Indo-Asian News Service"
• Iconographic Perceptions of Krishna's Image; - online article by P. C. Jain, at http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/krishnaimage/

External links

*All about Krishna (various articles) (krishna.com)

• The Search for the Historical Krishna, by Prof. N.S. Rajaram (veda.harekrsna.cz)
• Sri Krishna - Differences in Realisation & Perception of the Supreme (stephen-knapp.com)
• The full text of the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad-Bhagavatam) (srimadbhagavatam.com)
• Hindu Wisdom - Dwarka (http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Dwaraka.htm)
• Vedic Archeology (A Vaishnava Perspective) (gosai.com)
• Good series of articles about Sri Krishna
• Exploits of Lord Krishna*Shri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math - The bhakti tradition and Gaudiya Vaishnavism (sreecgmath.org)
• The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (iskcon.com)
• Krishna Deity Gallery (vrindavan.com)
• Krishna - His life (krishna.avatara.org)
• Krishna 'Janmashtami' - The celebration of Krishna's birth (krishnajanmashtami.com)
• Article on the chronology of Krishna (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
• Devotional hymns and eulogies on Krishna (stutimandal.com)
• Shri Keshavji Gaudiya Math - The Raganuga (highest form of Prema Bhakti) tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (sevakunj.com)