Krishna

Vsudeva redirects here. For the father of Krishna, see tribes on the now-submerged island of Dwaraka (o coast
Vasudeva. For Vaishnavism, see Krishna Vasudeva.
Gujarat, India) sometime between 3200-3100 BC.[2]
This article is about the Hindu deity. For other uses, see
Krishna (disambiguation).

1 Names and epithets

Krishna (/krn/; Sanskrit: , Ka in IAST, pronounced [kr]) is a god, worshipped across many traditions of religion in a variety of dierent perspectives. Krishna is recognised as the complete and or as the Supreme
God in his own right. Krishna is one of the most widely
revered and popular of all Hindu deities.[1] Krishnas
birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on the eighth
day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of
the month of Bhadrapad in the Hindu calendar.[2]
Krishna aka Govinda, Mukunda, Madhusudhana and Vasudeva. Krishna is often described and portrayed as an
infant eating butter, a young boy playing a ute as in the
Bhagavata Purana,[3] a young man along with Radha, a
young man surrounded by beautiful women or as an elder giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad
Gita.[4] The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions.[5]
They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a
prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the Supreme
Being.[6] The principal scriptures discussing Krishnas
story are the Srimad Bhagavatam, the Mahabharata, the
Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Vishnu Purana. The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna, in topic,
are generally titled as Krishna Leela.
Worship of the deity Krishna, either in the form of deity Krishna or in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna
or Gopala can be traced to as early as the 4th century
BC.[7][8] Worship of Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, or the
supreme being, known as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the Bhakti movement. From
the 10th century AD, Krishna became a favourite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Jagannatha
in Odisha, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in
Rajasthan. Since the 1960s the worship of Krishna has
also spread in the Western world and in Africa largely
due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).[9] Gaudia Math is also a leading proponent of Krishna worship.

14th-century fresco of Krishna on the interior wall of City

Palace, Udaipur

Main article: List of titles and names of Krishna

The name originates from the Sanskrit word Ka,
which is primarily an adjective meaning black, dark
or dark blue.[10] The waning moon is called Krishna
Paksha, relating to the adjective meaning darkening.[10]
Sometimes it is also translated as all-attractive, according to members of the Hare Krishna movement.[11]
As a name of Vishnu, Krishna is listed as the 57th name
in the Vishnu Sahasranama. Based on his name, Krishna
is often depicted in murtis as black or blue-skinned. Krishna is also known by various other names, epithets and
titles, which reect his many associations and attributes.
Among the most common names are Mohnish Attractive God, Mohan enchanter, Govinda, Finder of 'Go'

Some religiously oriented scholars have tried to calculate dates for the birth of Krishna, some believing that
Krishna, under the name of 'Vasudeva Govinda Krishna
Shauri', ourished as the ruler of Shuraseni and Vrishni

2 ICONOGRAPHY

- Veda or the cows or Gopala, Protector of the 'Go' Veda or the cows as 'Go' means Veda or cow, which refer to Krishnas childhood in Braj (in present-day Uttar
Pradesh).[12][13] Some of the distinct names may be regionally important; for instance, Jagannatha, a popular
incarnation of Puri, Odisha in eastern India.[14]

Iconography

Krishna with cows, herdsmen and Gopis, Pahari painting [Himalayan] from Smithsonian Institution

Krishna is easily recognised by his representations.

Though his skin colour may be depicted as black or dark
in some representations, particularly in murtis, in other
images such as modern pictorial representations, Krishna
is usually shown with a blue skin. He has been described as having skin the colour of Jambul (Jamun a
purple colour fruit). He is also known to have four symbols of the jambu fruit on his right foot as mentioned in
the Srimad Bhagavatam commentary (verse 10.30.25),
Sri Rupa Cintamani and Ananda Candrika by Srila
Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura.[15]
He is often shown wearing a silk golden yellow dhoti and
a peacock feather crown. Common depictions show him
as a little boy, or as a young man in a characteristically
relaxed pose, playing the ute.[16][17] In this form, he usually stands with one leg bent in front of the other with a
ute raised to his lips, in the Tribhanga posture, accompanied by cows, emphasising his position as the divine
herdsman, Govinda, or with the gopis (milkmaids) i.e.
Gopikrishna, stealing butter from neighbouring houses
i.e. Navneet Chora or Gokulakrishna, defeating the vicious serpent i.e. Kaliya Damana Krishna, lifting the hill
i.e. Giridhara Krishna ..so on and so forth from his childhood / youth events.

Bala Krishna dancing, 14th century CE Chola sculpture, Tamil

Nadu.from Honolulu Academy of Arts.

tation. In these popular depictions, he is shown as the

charioteer in the battle-eld of Kurukshetra. In Visvaroopa Darshana to Arjuna, Lord Krishna resumes the role
of the often with supreme Gods characteristics of Hindu
religious art, such as multiple arms or heads, denoting
power, and with attributes of Vishnu, such as the chakra
or in his two-armed form as a charioteer. Cave paintings
dated to 800 BCE in Mirzapur, Mirzapur district, Uttar
Pradesh, show raiding horse-charioteers, one of whom is
about to hurl a wheel, and who could potentially be identied as Krishna.[18]
Representations in temples often show Krishna as a man
standing in an upright, formal pose. He may be alone, or
with associated gures:[19] his brother Balarama and sister
Subhadra, or his main queens Rukmini and Satyabhama.

Often, Krishna is pictured with his gopi-consort Radha.

Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but
as Radha Krishna,[20] a combined image of Krishna
The scene on the battleeld of the epic Mahabharata, no- and Radha. This is also a characteristic of the schools
tably where he addresses Pandava prince Arjuna in the Rudra[21] and Nimbarka sampradaya,[22] as well as that
Bhagavad Gita, is another common subject for represen- of Swaminarayan sect. The traditions celebrate Radha

3
Ramana murti, who is viewed by Gaudiyas as a form of shetra discussed about sacrice, which can be compared
Radha Krishna.[23]
to purusha or the individual.[31][32][33][34]
Krishna is also depicted and worshipped as a small child
(Bala Krishna, Bla Ka the child Krishna), crawling
on his hands and knees or dancing, often with butter or
Laddu in his hand being Laddu Gopal.[24][25] Regional
variations in the iconography of Krishna are seen in his
dierent forms, such as Jaganatha of Odisha, Vithoba of
Maharashtra,[26] Venkateswara (also Srinivasa or Balaji)
in Andhra Pradesh, and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.

Yska's Nirukta, an etymological dictionary around 6th

century BC, contains a reference to the Shyamantaka
jewel in the possession of Akrura, a motif from well
known Puranic story about Krishna.[35] Shatapatha Brahmana and Aitareya-Aranyaka, associate Krishna with his
Vrishni origins.[36]

Pini, the ancient grammarian and author of Asthadhyayi (probably belonged to 5th century or 6th century
Krishna is also depicted as a new born oating on a leaf BC) mentions a character called Vsudeva, son of Vaof a banyan tree during the Pralaya ( the great ood ) at sudeva, and also mentions Kaurava and Arjuna which testies to Vasudeva Krishna, Arjuna and Kauravas being
the end of the Dvapara Yuga.
contemporaries.[31][37][38]
Megasthenes (350 290 BC) a Greek ethnographer and
an ambassador of Seleucus I to the court of Chandragupta
Maurya made reference to Herakles in his famous work
Indica. Many scholars have suggested that the deity idenSee also: Krishna in the Mahabharata
The earliest text to explicitly provide detailed descrip- tied as Herakles was Krishna. According to Arrian,
Diodorus, and Strabo, Megasthenes described an Indian
tribe called Sourasenoi, who especially worshipped Herakles in their land, and this land had two cities, Methora
and Kleisobora, and a navigable river, the Jobares. As
was common in the ancient period, the Greeks sometimes
described foreign gods in terms of their own divinities,
and there is a little doubt that the Sourasenoi refers to
the Shurasenas, a branch of the Yadu dynasty to which
Krishna belonged; Herakles to Krishna, or Hari-Krishna:
Methora to Mathura, where Krishna was born; Kleisobora to Krishnapura, meaning the city of Krishna"; and
Yashoda bathing the child Krishna
the Jobares to the Yamuna, the famous river in the Krishna story. Quintus Curtius also mentions that when
tions of Krishna as a personality is the epic Mahabharata
Alexander the Great confronted Porus, Poruss soldiers
which depicts Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu.[27] Krwere carrying an image of Herakles in their vanguard.[39]
ishna is central to many of the main stories of the epic.
The eighteen chapters of the sixth book (Bhishma Parva) The name Krishna occurs in Buddhist writings in the form
of the epic that constitute the Bhagavad Gita contain the Knha, phonetically equivalent to Krishna.[40]
advice of Krishna to the Arjuna, on the battleeld. Kr- The Ghata-Jtaka (No. 454) gives an account of Krishna is already an adult in the epic, although there are ishnas childhood and subsequent exploits which in many
allusions to his earlier exploits. The Harivamsa, a later points corresponds with the Brahmanic legends of his life
appendix to this epic, contains the earliest detailed ver- and contains several familiar incidents and names, such as
sion of Krishnas childhood and youth.
Vsudeva, Baladeva, Kasa. Yet it presents many pecu-

Literary sources

The Rig Veda 1.22.164 sukta 31 mentions a herdsman

who never stumbles.[28] Some Vaishnavite scholars,
such as Bhaktivinoda Thakura, claim that this herdsman
refers to Krishna.[29] Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar
also attempted to show that the very same Krishna
made an appearance, e.g. as the drapsa ... krishna black
drop of RV 8.96.13.[30] Some authors have also likened
prehistoric depictions of deities to Krishna.

liarities and is either an independent version or a misrepresentation of a popular story that had wandered far from
its home.
Jain tradition also shows that these tales were popular and
were worked up into dierent forms, for the Jains have an
elaborate system of ancient patriarchs which includes Vsudevas and Baladevas. Krishna is the ninth of the Black
Vsudevas and is connected with Dvravat or Dvrak.
He will become the twelfth trthankara of the next worldperiod and a similar position will be attained by Devak,
Rohin, Baladeva and Javakumra, all members of his
family. This is a striking proof of the popularity of the
Krishna legend outside the Brahmanic religion.[41]

Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.6), dated between 8th and

6th century BCE, mentions Vasudeva Krishna as the son
of Devaki and the disciple of Ghora Angirasa, the seer
who preached his disciple the philosophy of Chhandogya. Having been inuenced by the philosophy of
Chhandogya Krishna in the Bhagavadgita while deliv- According to Arthasastra of Kautilya (4th century BCE)
ering the discourse to Arjuna on the battleeld of Kuruk-

LIFE

Vsudeva was worshiped as supreme Deity in a strongly

monotheistic format.[37]
Around 150 BC, Patanjali in his Mahabhashya quotes
a verse: May the might of Krishna accompanied by
Samkarshana increase!" Other verses are mentioned.
One verse speaks of Janardhana with himself as fourth
(Krishna with three companions, the three possibly being Samkarshana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha). Another verse mentions musical instruments being played
at meetings in the temples of Rama (Balarama) and Kesava (Krishna). Patanjali also describes dramatic and
mimetic performances (Krishna-Kamsopacharam) representing the killing of Kansa by Vasudeva.[42][43]
In the 1st century BC, there seems to be evidence for
a worship of ve Vrishni heroes (Balarama, Krishna,
Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Samba) for an inscription
has been found at Mora near Mathura, which apparently
mentions a son of the great satrap Rajuvula, probably the
satrap Sodasa, and an image of Vrishni, probably Vasudeva, and of the Five Warriors.[44] Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum.[45][46]
Many Puranas tell Krishnas life-story or some highlights
from it. Two Puranas, the Bhagavata Purana and the
Vishnu Purana, that contain the most elaborate telling
of Krishnas story and teachings are the most theologi- Krishnas great escape
cally venerated by the Vaishnava schools.[47] Roughly one
quarter of the Bhagavata Purana is spent extolling his life
and philosophy.

Life

This summary is not a historical account, but based on literary details from the Mahbhrata, the Harivamsa, the
Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. The scenes
from the narrative are set in ancient India mostly in the
present states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi
and Gujarat.

4.1

Birth

Krishna was born to Devaki and her husband,

Vasudeva.[48][49][50] When Mother Earth became
upset by the sin being committed on Earth, she thought
of seeking help from Lord Vishnu. She went in the form
of a cow to visit Lord Vishnu and ask for help. Lord
Vishnu agreed to help her and promised her that he
would be born on Earth. On Earth in the Yadava clan, he
was yadav according to his birth, a prince named Kansa
sent his father Ugrasena (King of Mathura) to prison
and became the King himself. One day a loud voice
from the sky (Akasha Vani in Samskrutam prophesied
that the 8th son of Kansas sister (Devaki) would kill
Kansa. Out of aection for Devaki, Kansa did not kill
her outright. He did, however, send his sister and her

Krishnas foster mother Yashoda with the infant Krishna. Chola

period, Early 12th century, Tamil Nadu, India.

husband (Vasudeva) to prison. Lord Vishnu himself later

appeared to Devaki and Vasudeva and told them that he
himself would be their eighth son and kill Kansa and
destroy sin in the world. In the story of Krishna the deity
is the agent of conception and also the ospring. Because
of his sympathy for the earth, the divine Vishnu himself
descended into the womb of Devaki and was born as her
son, Vaasudeva (i.e., Krishna). This is occasionally cited
as evidence that virgin birth tales are fairly common
in non-Christian religions around the world.[51][52][53]
However, there is nothing in Hindu scriptures to suggest
that it was a virgin birth. By the time of conception

4.2

Childhood and youth

and birth of Krishna, Devaki was married to Vasudeva

and had already borne 7 children.[54] Virgin birth in
this case should be more accurately understood as
divine conception. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas
referenced contemporaneously with the story of Krishna
in the Mahabharata also has divine conception and virgin
birth of warrior-hero Karna.[55]
Krishna belonged to the Vrishni clan of Yadavas from
Mathura,[56] and was the eighth son born to the princess
Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva.
Mathura (in present-day Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh)
was the capital of the Yadavas, to which Krishnas parents
Vasudeva and Devaki belonged. King Kansa, Devakis
brother,[57] had ascended the throne by imprisoning his
father, King Ugrasena.
Since Vasudeva knew Krishnas life was in danger, Krishna was secretly taken out of the prison cell to be raised
by his foster parents, Yasoda[58] and Nanda, in Gokula (in
present-day Mathura district). Two of his other siblings
also survived, Balarama (Devakis seventh child, transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudevas rst wife) and
Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini, born much
later than Balarama and Krishna).[59]

4.2

Childhood and youth

Nanda was the head of a community of cow-herders, and

he settled in Vrindavana. The stories of Krishnas child- Krishna holding Govardhan hill as depicted in Pahari painting
hood and youth tell how he became a cow herder,[60] his
mischievous pranks as Makhan Chor (butter thief), his
foiling of attempts to take his life, and his role as a pro- dra. This made Indra furious, so he punished them by
tector of the people of Vrindavana.
sending out a great storm. Krishna then lifted Govardhan
Krishna killed the demoness Putana, disguised as a wet and held it over the people like an umbrella.
nurse, and the tornado demon Trinavarta both sent by
Kansa for Krishnas life. He tamed the serpent Kliy,
who previously poisoned the waters of Yamuna river,
thus leading to the death of the cowherds. In Hindu art,
Krishna is often depicted dancing on the multi-hooded
Kliy. He also defeated demons like Dhenukasura, Vatsasura, Keshi, Aghasura, Arishtasura, Bakasura, Vyomasura, Pralambasura and Shakatasura.
Krishna lifted the Govardhana hill and taught Indra, the
king of the devas, a lesson to protect the native people
of Vrindavana from persecution by Indra and prevent the
devastation of the pasture land of Govardhan. Indra had
too much pride and was angry when Krishna advised the
people of Vrindavana to take care of their animals and
their environment that provide them with all their necessities, instead of worshipping Indra annually by spending
their resources.[61][62] In the view of some, the spiritual
movement started by Krishna had something in it which
went against the orthodox forms of worship of the Vedic
gods such as Indra.[63] In Bhagavat Purana, Krishna says
that the rain came from the nearby hill Govardhana, and
advised that the people worshiped the hill instead of In-

The stories of his play with the gopis (milkmaids) of Vrindavana, especially Radha (daughter of Vrishbhanu, one of
the original residents of Vrindavan) became known as the
Rasa lila and were romanticised in the poetry of Jayadeva,
author of the Gita Govinda. These became important as
part of the development of the Krishna bhakti traditions
worshiping Radha Krishna.[64]
Krishnas childhood reinforces the Hindu concept of lila,
playing for fun and enjoyment and not for sport or gain.
His interaction with the gopis at the rasa dance or Rasalila is a great example of this. Krishna played his ute and
the gopis came immediately from whatever they were doing, to the banks of the Yamuna River, and joined him in
singing and dancing. Even those who could not physically
be there joined him through meditation.[65] The story of
Krishnas battle with Kliy also supports this idea in the
sense of him dancing on Kliy's many hoods. Even
though he is doing battle with the serpent, he is in no real
danger and treats it like a game. He is a protector, but he
only appears to be a young boy having fun.[66] This idea
of having a playful god is very important in Hinduism.
The playfulness of Krishna has inspired many celebra-

tions like the Rasa-lila and the Janmashtami : where they

make human pyramids to break open handis (clay pots)
hung high in the air that spill buttermilk all over the group
after being broken by the person at the top. This is meant
to be a fun celebration and it gives the participants a sense
of unity. Many believe that lila being connected with Krishna gives Hindus a deeper connection to him and thus a
deeper connection to Vishnu also; seeing as Krishna is an
incarnation of Vishnu. Theologists, like Kristin Johnston
Largen, believe that Krishnas childhood can even inspire
other religions to look for lila in deities so that they have
a chance to experience a part of their faith that they may
not have previously seen.[67]

4.3

The prince

Krishna with his consorts Rukmini, Satyabhama and his mount

Garuda; Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th-13th century[68]

On his return to Mathura as a young man, Krishna overthrew and killed his maternal uncle, Kansa, after quelling
several assassination attempts from Kansas followers. He
reinstated Kansas father, Ugrasena, as the king of the Yadavas and became a leading prince at the court.[69] During this period, he became a friend of Arjuna and the
other Pandava princes of the Kuru kingdom, who were his
cousins. Later, he took his Yadava subjects to the city of
Dwaraka (in modern Gujarat) and established a new kingdom there. Krishna was the prince and commander of the
Armies of Dwaraka, while Balarama was crown prince
and de facto administrator as, King Ugrasena was still the
emperor of Dwaraka, but reigned over mathura.[70]
Krishna married Rukmini, the Vidarbha princess, by abducting her, at her request, from her proposed wedding with Shishupala. He married eight queens
collectively called the Ashtabharyaincluding Rukmini,
Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti,
Bhadra and Lakshmana.[71][72] Krishna subsequently
married 16,000 or 16,100 maidens who were held captive by the demon Narakasura, to save their honour.[73][74]
Krishna killed the demon and released them all. According to social custom of the time, all of the captive women
were degraded, and would be unable to marry, as they

LIFE

had been under the Narakasuras control. However Krishna married them to reinstate their status in the society.
This symbolic wedding with 16,100 abandoned daughters
was more of a mass rehabilitation.[75] In Vaishnava traditions, Krishnas wives are forms of the goddess Lakshmi
consort of Vishnu, or special souls who attained this
qualication after many lifetimes of austerity, while his
two queens, Rukmani and Satyabhama, are expansions of
Lakshmi.[76]
When Yudhishthira was assuming the title of emperor, he
had invited all the great kings to the ceremony and while
paying his respects to them, he started with Krishna because he considered Krishna to be the greatest of them all.
While it was a unanimous feeling amongst most present at
the ceremony that Krishna should get the rst honours, his
cousin Shishupala felt otherwise and started berating Krishna. Due to a vow given to Shishupals mother, Krishna
forgave a hundred verbal abuses by Shishupal, and upon
the one hundred and rst, he assumed his Virat (universal) form and killed Shishupal with his Chakra. The blind
king Dhritarashtra also obtained divine vision to be able
to see this form of Krishna during the time when Duryodana tried to capture Krishna when he came as a peace
bearer before the great Mahabharat War. Essentially,
Shishupala and Dantavakra were both re-incarnations of
Vishnus gate-keepers Jaya and Vijaya, who were cursed
to be born on Earth, to be delivered by the Vishnu back
to Vaikuntha.[77]
Most of Krishnas life was spent in slaying each of
Jarasandha' allies. Each of Krishnas 16,108 wives bore
him ten sons and many daughters. Each son of Krishna
sired ten sons. Once, the thousand armed Daitya Banasura arrested Krishnas grandson Aniruddha as his own
daughter was in love with him. Krishna invaded his city
and fought Banasura. Shiva also fought with Krishna on
Banas request. Shiva and Krishna gave up the ght. Krishna hacked o all of Banas arms except four of them.
Shiva asked Krishna to spare Bana and asked him to give
his daughter in marriage to Aniruddha.

4.4 Kurukshetra War and Bhagavad Gita

Main articles: Kurukshetra War and Bhagavad Gita
Lord Krishna was a mighty Maha Maharathi greater
than any past, present or future warrior. He possessed
all three ultimate weapons of the Trimurthi, the Brahma
Danda , the Pashupatastra and the Vaishnavastra. He also
possessed the Narayanastra, NagaPasha and the Vasavi
Shakti and all other divine astras. He was one of the
very few people who knew the secret of both entering
in to and coming out of Chakra Vyuha. Lord krishna is
considered as the greatest warrior in all of hindu mythology. He never lost any battle that he fought and was uniformly successfull in all his wars. Once battle seemed
inevitable, Krishna oered both sides the opportunity to
choose between having either his army called Narayani
Sena or himself alone, but on the condition that he per-

4.4

Kurukshetra War and Bhagavad Gita

Krishna displays his Vishvarupa (universal form) to Arjuna on

the battleeld of Kurukshetra.

Krishna Mediating between the Pandavas and Kauravas

sonally would not raise any weapon. Arjuna, on behalf

of the Pandavas, chose to have Krishna on their side, and
Duryodhana, Kaurava prince, chose Krishnas army. At
the time of the great battle, Krishna acted as Arjunas
charioteer, since this position did not require the wielding of weapons.

are tied down to their dharma of protecting the unitarian power of the Kuru throne. Moreover, you Arjuna,
are only a mortal appointee to carry out my divine will,
since the Kauravas are destined to die either way, due to
their heap of sins. Open your eyes O Bhaarata and know
that I encompass the Karta, Karma and Kriya, all in myself. There is no scope for contemplation now or remorse
later, it is indeed time for war and the world will remember your might and immense powers for time to come.
So rise O Arjuna!, tighten up your Gandiva and let all
directions shiver till their farthest horizons, by the reverberation of its string.

Upon arrival at the battleeld, and seeing that the enemies

are his family, his grandfather, his cousins and loved ones,
Arjuna is moved and says his heart does not allow him to
ght and he would rather prefer to renounce the kingdom
and put down his Gandiv (Arjunas bow). Krishna then
advises him about the battle, with the conversation soon
extending into a discourse which was later compiled as
the Bhagavad Gita.[78]
Krishna asked Arjuna, Have you within no time, forgotten the Kauravas evil deeds such as not accepting the
eldest brother Yudhishtira as King, usurping the entire
Kingdom without yielding any portion to the Pandavas,
meting out insults and diculties to Pandavas, attempt to
murder the Pandavas in the Barnava lac guest house, publicly attempting to disrobe and disgracing Draupadi. Krishna further exhorted in his famous Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna, do not engage in philosophical analyses at this point
of time like a Pundit. You are aware that Duryodhana
particularly have long harboured jealousy and hatred for
you Pandavas and badly want to prove their hegemony.
You are aware that Bhishmacharya and your Teachers

Krishna in Balinese Wayang form

Krishna had a profound eect on the Mahabharata war

and its consequences. He had considered the Kurukshetra
war to be a last resort after voluntarily acting as a messenger in order to establish peace between the Pandavas
and Kauravas. But, once these peace negotiations failed
and was embarked into the war, then he became a clever

LIFE

dead but Drona refused to believe them saying he would

believe it only if he heard it from Yudhishthira. Krishna
knew that Yudhishthira would never tell a lie, so he devised a clever ploy so that Yudhishthira wouldn't lie and
at the same time Drona would be convinced of his sons
death. On asked by Drona, Yudhishthira proclaimed
Ashwathama Hatahath, naro va Kunjaro
va
i.e. Ashwathama had died but he was nor sure whether
it was a Dronas son or an elephant. But as soon as Yudhishthira had uttered the rst line, Pandava army on Krishnas direction broke into celebration with drums and
conchs, in the din of which Drona could not hear the
second part of the Yudhishthiras declaration and assumed that his son indeed was dead. Overcome with
grief he laid down his arms, and on Krishnas instruction
Dhrishtadyumna beheaded Drona.

Festival in honour of Chrishna (October 1853, X, p.114)[79]

strategist. During the war, upon becoming angry with

Arjuna for not ghting in true spirit against his ancestors,
Krishna once picked up a carriage wheel in order to use
it as a weapon to challenge Bhishma. Upon seeing this,
Bhishma dropped his weapons and asked Krishna to kill
him. However, Arjuna apologised to Krishna, promising
that he would ght with full dedication here/after, and
the battle continued. Krishna had directed Yudhishthira
and Arjuna to return to Bhishma the boon of victory
which he had given to Yudhishthira before the war commenced, since he himself was standing in their way to victory. Bhishma understood the message and told them the
means through which he would drop his weaponswhich
was if a woman entered the battleeld. Next day, upon
Krishnas directions, Shikhandi (Amba reborn) accompanied Arjuna to the battleeld and thus, Bhishma laid
down his arms. This was a decisive moment in the war because Bhishma was the chief commander of the Kaurava
army and the most formidable warrior on the battleeld.
Krishna aided Arjuna in killing Jayadratha, who had held
the other four Pandava brothers at bay while Arjunas son
Abhimanyu entered Drona's Chakravyuha formation
an eort in which he was killed by the simultaneous attack of eight Kaurava warriors. Krishna also caused the
downfall of Drona, when he signalled Bhima to kill an
elephant called Ashwatthama, the namesake of Dronas
son. Pandavas started shouting that Ashwatthama was

When Arjuna was ghting Karna, the latters chariots

wheels sank into the ground. While Karna was trying to
take out the chariot from the grip of the Earth,unarmed,
Krishna reminded Arjuna how Karna and the other Kauravas had broken all rules of battle while simultaneously
attacking and killing Abhimanyu, and he convinced Arjuna to do the same in revenge in order to kill Karna.Thus
Arjuna broke all the rules of the battle too. During the
nal stage of the war, when Duryodhana was going to
meet his mother Gandhari for taking her blessings which
would convert all parts of his body on which her sight
falls to diamond, Krishna tricks him to wearing banana
leaves to hide his groin. When Duryodhana meets Gandhari, her vision and blessings fall on his entire body except his groin and thighs, and she becomes unhappy about
it because she was not able to convert his entire body
to diamond. When Duryodhana was in a mace-ght
with Bhima, Bhimas blows had no eect on Duryodhana. Upon this, Krishna reminded Bhima of his vow to
kill Duryodhana by hitting him on the thigh, and Bhima
did the same to win the war despite it being against the
rules of mace-ght (since Duryodhana had himself broken Dharma in all his past acts). Thus, Krishnas unparalleled strategy helped the Pandavas win the Mahabharata
war by bringing the downfall of all the chief Kaurava warriors, without lifting any weapon. He also brought back to
life Arjunas grandson Parikshit, who had been attacked
by a Brahmastra weapon from Ashwatthama while he was
in his mothers womb. Parikshit became the Pandavas
successor.

4.5 Family
Main articles: Ashtabharya and Junior wives of Krishna
Krishna had eight principal wives, also known as Ashtabharya: Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Nagnajiti,

4.6

Later life

9
knowingly did not put an end to the war, and in a t of rage
and sorrow, Gandhari cursed that Krishna, along with everyone else from the Yadu dynasty, would perish after 36
years. Krishna himself knew and wanted this to happen
as he felt that the Yadavas had become very haughty and
arrogant (adharmi), so he ended Gandharis speech by
saying "tathastu" (so be it). According to Srimad Bhagavatham, Rishi Vyas cursed yadavas (due to a tactful play
by Yadavas with Rishi Vyas) saying, your entire community will die.

Krishna and ladies in a garden: 18th century Indian painting

Kalindi, Mitravinda, Bhadra and Lakshmana. Besides them Krishna married 16,100 more women (number varies in scriptures), whom he had rescued from
Narakasura's palace after killing Narakasura. He married
them all to save them from destruction and notoriety. He
gave them shelter in his new palace and a respectful place
in society.
The Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, and Harivamsa
list the children of Krishna from the Ashtabharya with
some variation, while Rohinis sons are interpreted to represent the unnumbered children of his junior wives. Most
well-known among his sons are Pradyumna, the eldest son
of Krishna (and Rukmini). Pradyumna is one in 24 Keshava Namas (names), praised in all pujas.[80] and Samba,
the son of Jambavati, whose actions led to the destruction
of Krishnas clan.

Thirty-six years later, a ght broke out between the Yadavas at a festival, who killed each other. Krishnas elder
brother, Balarama, then gave up his body using Yoga. Krishna retired into the forest and started meditating under a
tree. The Mahabharata also narrates the story of a hunter
who becomes an instrument for Krishnas departure from
the world. The hunter Jara, mistook Krishnas partly visible left foot for that of a deer, and shot an arrow, wounding him mortally. Krishna told Jara, O Jara, you were
Bali in your previous birth, killed by myself as Rama in
Tretayuga. Here you had a chance to even it and since all
acts in this world are done as desired by me, you need not
worry for this. Then Krishna, with four handed form ascended to Vaikuntha planet as he is none other than lord
Vishnu.[81][82][83] The news was conveyed to Hastinapur
and Dwaraka by eyewitnesses to this event.[84] The place
of this incident is believed to be Bhalka, near Somnath
temple.[85][86]

According to Puranic sources,[87] Krishnas departure

marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali
Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE.[88]
Vaishnava teachers such as Ramanujacharya and Gaudiya
Vaishnavas held the view that the body of Krishna is
completely spiritual and never decays (Achyuta) as this
appears to be the perspective of the Bhagavata Purana.
Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Lord
4.6 Later life
Sri Krishna according to the Bhavishya Purana) exhorted,
Krishna Naama Sankirtan i.e. the constant chanting of
Main article: Mausala Parva
the Krishnas name is the supreme healer in Kali Yuga. It
According to Mahabharata, the Kurukshetra war resulted
destroys sins and puries the hearts through Bhakti and
ensures universal peace.

An hunter named Jara aiming an arrow to sleeping Krishna

in the death of all the hundred sons of Gandhari. On the

night before Duryodhanas death, Krishna visited Gandhari to oer his condolences. Gandhari felt that Krishna

Krishna never appears to grow old or age at all in the historical depictions of the Puranas despite passing of several decades, but there are grounds for a debate whether
this indicates that he has no material body, since battles and other descriptions of the Mahabhrata epic show
clear indications that he seems to be subject to the limitations of nature.[89] While battles apparently seem to indicate limitations, Mahabharata also shows in many places
where Krishna is not subject to any limitations through
episodes Duryodhana trying to arrest Krishna where his
body burst into re showing all creation within him.[90]
Krishna is also explicitly described as without deterioration elsewhere.[91]

10

WORSHIP

Proposed datings

See also: Vedic-Puranic chronology

Some religiously oriented scholars have tried to assign
dates to Krishna himself and to the Kurukshetra war:
According to drikpanchang.com, the date of Krishnas birth, known as Janmashtami,[92] is 21
February 3228 BCE.[93]
Dr. P. V. Holay suggests 13 November 3143 BCE
as the beginning of the Kurukshetra war.[94]
Dr. Narhari Achar[95] states that Krishna lived
sometime between 3200 BC and 3112 BCE.
Dr.Achars ndings were based on the interpretation
of the constellations, star positions and thithis mentioned in the Mahabharata. He also stated that the
Kurukshetra war took place in 3139 BCE.[96]

Rasa Lila in Manipuri dance style.

gards Vishnu as the supreme God and venerates his associated avatars, their consorts, and related saints and teachers. Krishna is especially looked upon as a full manifestation of Vishnu, and as one with Vishnu himself.[100] However the exact relationship between Krishna and Vishnu
is complex and diverse,[101] where Krishna is sometimes
considered an independent deity, supreme in his own
A. K. Bansal calculated 21 July 3228 BCE as the
right.[102] Out of many deities, Krishna is particularly imbirth date of Sri Krishna.[97][98]
portant, and traditions of Vaishnava lines are generally
B. V. Raman states that Sri Krishna was born on 19 centred either on Vishnu or on Krishna, as supreme. The
term Krishnaism has been used to describe the sects of
July 3228 BCE.
Krishna, reserving the term Vaishnavism for sects fo Dr. Manish Pandits 2009 study places Krishnas life cusing on Vishnu in which Krishna is an avatar, rather
in the 31st century BC
than as a transcendent Supreme Being.[103]
Dr. P.V. Vartak places Lord Krishnas birth year as All Vaishnava traditions recognise Krishna as an avatar of
5561 BCE.
Vishnu; others identify Krishna with Vishnu; while traditions, such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism,[104][105] Vallabha
A paper presented in a conference in 2004 by a group of Sampradaya and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, regard
archaeologists, religious scholars and astronomers from Krishna as the Svayam Bhagavan, original form of
Somnath Trust of Gujarat, which was organised at Prab- God.[106][107][108][109][110] Swaminarayan, the founder of
has Patan, the supposed location of the death of Sri Kr- the Swaminarayan Sampraday also worshipped Krishna
ishna, xes the death of Sri Krishna on 18 February 3102 as God himself. Greater Krishnaism corresponds to
BC at the age of 125 years and 7 months.[99] The same the second and dominant phase of Vaishnavism, revolvgroup claimed that Vasudeva Govinda Krishna,the histor- ing around the cults of the Vasudeva, Krishna, and Gopala
ical ruler of Dwaraka was born on 21 February 3228 BC of late Vedic period.[111] Today the faith has a signicant
in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The study further claimed that following outside of India as well.[112]
he breathed his last on 18 February, 3102 BC in Prabhas Patan on the bank of Hiran River in Gujarat living
125 years and seven months. The death date was de6.2 Early traditions
duced from Puranic hints such as the Matsya Purana mention which says Krishna was 89 years old when the Kurukshetran War was fought and the verses from Mahab- The deity Krishna-Vasudeva (ka vsudeva Krishna,
harata which states that Sri Krishna lived 36 years after the son of Vasudeva") is historically one of the earliest
[7][35]
the Kurukshetra war. Despite skepticism from some parts forms of worship in Krishnaism and Vaishnavism.
early hisof the scientic fraternity these ndings found immense It is believed to be a signicant tradition of the
[8][113]
tory
of
the
worship
of
Krishna
in
antiquity.
This
[2]
popular support in India.
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 the cult
6 Worship
of Gopala, that along with the cult of Bala Krishna form
the basis of current tradition of monotheistic religion of
Krishna.[114][115] Some early scholars would equate it with
6.1 Vaishnavism
Bhagavatism,[8] and the founder of this religious tradition
Main article: Vaishnavism
is believed to be Krishna, who is the son of Vasudeva,
The worship of Krishna is part of Vaishnavism, which re- thus his name is Vsudeva; he is said to be historically

6.4

Spread of the Krishna-bhakti movement

11

6.4 Spread of the Krishna-bhakti movement

The movement, which started in the 6th-7th century A.D.
in the Tamil-speaking region of South India, with twelve
Alvar (one immersed in God) saint-poets, who wrote
devotional songs. The religion of Alvar poets, which
included a woman poet, Andal, was devotion to God
through love (bhakti), and in the ecstasy of such devotions they sang hundreds of songs which embodied both
depth of feeling and felicity of expressions. The movement originated in South India during the seventh-century
CE, spreading northwards from Tamil Nadu through Karnataka and Maharashtra; by the fteenth century, it was
An image of Bala Krishna displayed during Janmashtami cele- established in Bengal and northern India[123]
brations at a Swaminarayan Temple in London

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
Vsudeva was worshiped as supreme deity in a strongly
monotheistic format, where the supreme being was perfect, eternal and full of grace.[8] In many sources outside
of the cult, the devotee or bhakta is dened as Vsudevaka.[116] The Harivamsa describes intricate relationships
between Krishna Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and
Aniruddha that would later form a Vaishnava concept of
Gita Govinda by Jayadeva.
primary quadrupled expansion, or avatar.[117]
While the learned sections of the society well versed in
Sanskrit could enjoy works like Gita Govinda or Bilvamangalas Krishna-Karnamritam, the masses sang the
Main article: Bhakti yoga
songs of the devotee-poets, who composed in the regional
languages of India. These songs expressing intense personal devotion were written by devotees from all walks of
Bhakti, meaning devotion, is not conned to any one deity. However Krishna is an important and popular focus life. The songs of Meera and Surdas became epitomes of
Krishna-devotion in north India.
of the devotional and ecstatic aspects of Hindu religion,
[104][118]
particularly among the Vaishnava sects.
Devo- These devotee-poets, like the Alvars before them, were
tees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, mean- aligned to specic theological schools only loosely, if
ing 'divine play', as the central principle of the Universe. at all. But by the 11th century AD, Vaishnava Bhakti
The lilas of Krishna, with their expressions of personal schools with elaborate theological frameworks around
love that transcend the boundaries of formal reverence, the worship of Krishna were established in north India.
serve as a counterpoint to the actions of another avatar Nimbarka (11th century AD), Vallabhacharya (15th cenof Vishnu: Rama, He of the straight and narrow path of tury AD) and (Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu an incarmaryada, or rules and regulations.[105]
nation of Lord Sri Krishna according to the Bhavishya
The bhakti movements devoted to Krishna became Purana) (16th century AD) all inspired by the teachprominent in southern India in the 7th to 9th centuries ings of Madhvacharya (11th century AD) were the
AD. The earliest works included those of the Alvar saints founders of the most inuential schools. These schools,
of the Tamil country.[119] A major collection of their namely Nimbarka Sampradaya, Vallabha Sampradaya
works is the Divya Prabandham. The Alvar Andal's pop- and Gaudiya Vaishnavism respectively, see Krishna as the
ular collection of songs Tiruppavai, in which she con- supreme God.

6.3

Bhakti tradition

ceives of herself as a gopi, is the most famous of the oldest works in this genre.[120][121] [122] Kulasekaraazhvaar's
Mukundamala was another notable work of this early
stage.

In the Deccan, particularly in Maharashtra, saint poets of the Varkari sect such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev,
Janabai, Eknath and Tukaram promoted the worship of
Vithoba,[26] a local form of Krishna, from the begin-

12

7 IN THE PERFORMING ARTS

was seen to counteract material contamination aecting
the soul. Sharing this sanctied food with the public, in
turn, enabled the movement to gain new recruits and further spread these teachings.[9][124][125]

6.6 In South India

In South India, Vaishnavas usually belong to the Sri Sampradaya. The acharyas of the Sri Sampradaya have written reverentially about Krishna in most of their works
like the Thiruppavai by Andal[126] and Gopala Vimshati
by Vedanta Desika.[127] In South India, devotion to Krishna, as an avatar of Vishnu, spread in the face of opposition to Buddhism, Shaktism, and Shaivism and ritualistic Vedic sacrices. The acharyas of the Sri Sampradaya
like Manavala Mamunigal, Vedanta Desika strongly advocated surrender to Vishnu as the aim of the Vedas. Out
of 108 Divya Desams there are 97 Divya Desams in South
India.

Krishna (left) with the ute with gopi-consort Radha,

Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, England

ning of the 13th century until the late 18th century.[6]

In southern India, Purandara Dasa and Kanakadasa of
Karnataka composed songs devoted to the Krishna image of Udupi. Rupa Goswami of Gaudiya Vaishnavism,
has compiled a comprehensive summary of bhakti named
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu.[118]

6.5

Due to strong Vaishnava inuence in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, these states have
many major Krishna temples and Janmashtami is one of
the widely celebrated festivals in South India.

7 In the performing arts

In the West

In 1965, the Krishna-bhakti movement had spread outside India when its founder, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, (who was instructed by his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura) traveled from his homeland in West
Bengal to New York City. A year later in 1966,
after gaining many followers, he was able to form
the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON), popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The purpose of this movement was to write about
Krishna in English and to share the Gaudiya Vaishnava
philosophy with people in the Western world by spreading the teachings of the saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In
an eort to gain attention, followers chanted the names
of God in public locations. This chanting was known
as hari-nama sankirtana and helped spread the teaching.
Additionally, the practice of distributing prasad or sanctied food worked as a catalyst in the dissemination of
his works. In the Hare Krishna movement, Prasad was a
vegetarian dish that would be rst oered to Krishna. The
foods proximity to Krishna added a spiritual eect, and A Kerala Kathakali performer as Krishna

8.2

Buddhism

13

While discussing the origin of Indian theatre, Horwitz

talks about the mention of the Krishna story in Patanjali's
Mahabhashya (c. 150 BC), where the episodes of slaying of Kansa (Kansa Vadha) and Binding of the heaven
storming titan (Bali Bandha) are described.[128] Bhasa's
Balacharitam and Dutavakyam (c. 400 BC) are the only
Sanskrit plays centred on Krishna written by a major classical dramatist. The former dwells only on his childhood
exploits and the latter is a one-act play based on a single episode from the Mahbhrata when Krishna tries to
make peace between the warring cousins.[129]
The classical Indian dances, especially Odissi and
Manipuri, draw heavily on the story. The 'Rasa lila'
dances performed in Vrindavan shares elements with
Kathak, and the Krisnattam, with some cycles, such as
Krishnattam, traditionally restricted to the Guruvayur
temple, the precursor of Kathakali.[130]

8
8.1

In other religions
Jainism

Further information: alkpurua

The most exalted gures in Jainism are the twenty-four
Tirthankaras. Krishna, when he was incorporated into the
Jain list of heroic gures, presented a problem with his activities which are not pacist. The concept of Baladeva,
Vasudeva and Prati-Vasudeva was used to solve it. The
Jain list of sixty-three alkpurua or notable gures includes, amongst others, the twenty-four Tirthankaras and
nine sets of this triad. One of these triads is Krishna as
the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Baladeva and Jarasandha
as the Prati-Vasudeva. He was a cousin of the twentysecond Tirthankara, Neminatha. The stories of these triads can be found in the Harivamsa of Jinasena (not be
confused with its namesake, the addendum to Mahbhrata) and the Trishashti-shalakapurusha-charita of
Hemachandra.[131]

Depiction of Krishna playing ute in the temple constructed in

AD 752 on the order of Emperor Shomu; Todai-ji Temple, Great
Buddha Hall in Nara, Japan

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 Kansa, and
later all other kings of Jambudvipa with his Sudarshana
Chakra. Much of the story involving the defeat of Kansa
follows the story given in the Bhagavata Purana.[136]
As depicted in the Mahbhrata, all of the sons are eventually killed due to a curse of sage Kanhadipayana (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, Anjanadevi of whom no further mention is
made.[137]

In each age of the Jain cyclic time is born a Vasudeva

with an elder brother termed the Baladeva. The villain is
the Prati-vasudeva. Baladeva is the upholder of the Jain
principle of non-violence. However, Vasudeva has to forsake this principle to kill the Prati-Vasudeva and save the
world.[132][133]
Since Jataka tales are given from the perspective of
Buddha's previous lives (as well as the previous lives
of many of Buddhas followers), Krishna appears as the
8.2 Buddhism
Dhammasenapati or Chief General of the Dharma
and is usually shown being Buddhas right-hand man
The story of Krishna occurs in the Jataka tales in in Buddhist art and iconography.[138] The Bodhisattva, is
Buddhism,[134] in the Vaibhav Jataka as a prince and leg- born in this tale as one of his youngest brothers named
endary conqueror and king of India.[135] In the Buddhist Ghatapandita, and saves Krishna from the grief of losing
version, Krishna is called Vasudeva, Kanha and Keshava, his son.[135] The 'divine boy' Krishna as an embodiment
and Balarama is his older brother, Baladeva. These de- of wisdom and endearing prankster forms a part of the
tails resemble that of the story given in the Bhagavata pantheon of gods in Japanese Buddhism .[139]

14

8.3

12

REFERENCES

Bah' Faith

Maitreya (one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom),

the most important spiritual teacher for humanity along
Bah's believe that Krishna was a "Manifestation of with Buddha.[146][147]
God", or one in a line of prophets who have revealed the
Krishna was canonised by Aleister Crowley and is
Word of God progressively for a gradually maturing hurecognised as a saint in the Gnostic Mass of Ordo Templi
manity. In this way, Krishna shares an exalted station
Orientis.[148][149]
with Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad,
Jesus, the Bb, and the founder of the Bah' Faith,
Bah'u'llh.[140][141]

9 TV serial depictions

8.4

Ahmadiyya Islam

Members of the Ahmadiyya Community believe Krishna

to be a great prophet of God as described by their founder,
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. This belief is maintained by the
Qur'anic principle that God has sent prophets and messengers to every nation of the world leaving no region
without divine guidance (see for instance Quran 10:47
and Quran 16:36).
Ghulam Ahmad also claimed to be the likeness of Krishna as a latter day reviver of religion and morality whose
mission was to reconcile man with God.[142] Ahmadis
maintain that the Sanskrit term Avatar is synonymous
with the term 'prophet' of the Middle Eastern religious
tradition as Gods intervention with man; as God appoints
a man as his vicegerent upon earth. In Lecture Sialkot,
Ghulam Ahmed wrote:
Let it be clear that Raja Krishna, according to what has been revealed to me, was such
a truly great man that it is hard to nd his
like among the Rishis and Avatars of the Hindus. He was an Avatari.e., Prophetof his
time upon whom the Holy Spirit would descend
from God. He was from God, victorious and
prosperous. He cleansed the land of the Aryas
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.[142]
Krishna is also called Murli Dhar. The ute of Krishna
means the ute of revelation and not the physical ute.
According to Ahmadis, Krishna lived like humans and
was a prophet.[143][144]

8.5

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 gures.[145] For instance, douard
Schur, an inuential gure in perennial philosophy and
occult movements, considered Krishna a Great Initiate;
while Theosophists regard Krishna as an incarnation of

10 See also
Pradyumna
Aniruddha
Vajra (King Aniruddhas Son)
Dashavatara
Chaubis Avtar

11 Notes
12 References
[1] Krishna. Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
[2] Krishna lived 125 years. Times of India.
[3] Knott 2000, p. 56
[4] Knott 2000, p. 36, p. 15
[5] Richard Thompson,
Ph.D. (December 1994).
Reections on the Relation Between Religion and
Modern Rationalism. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
[6] Mahony, W.K. (1987). Perspectives on Krsnas Various
Personalities. History of Religions (American Oriental
Society) 26 (3): 333335. doi:10.1086/463085. JSTOR
1062381.
[7] Hein, Norvin.
A Revolution in Kaism: The
Cult of Gopla. History of Religions 25: 296317.
doi:10.1086/463051. JSTOR 1062622.
[8] Hastings, James Rodney (2003) [190826]. Encyclopedia
of Religion and Ethics 4. John A Selbie (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Kessinger Publishing, LLC. p. 476. ISBN 07661-3673-6. Retrieved 2008-05-03. The encyclopedia
will contain articles on all the religions of the world and
on all the great systems of ethics. It will aim at containing
articles on every religious belief or custom, and on every
ethical movement, every philosophical idea, every moral
practice.pp.540-42
[9] Selengut, Charles (1996). Charisma and Religious
Innovation:Prabhupada and the Founding of ISKCON.
ISKCON Communications Journal 4 (2).

15

[10]

Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

(2008 revision)
Apte Sanskrit-English Dictionary

[11] Rosen, Steven (2006). Essential Hinduism. Greenwood

Publishing Group. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-275-99006-0.
[12] Bryant 2007, p. 17
[13] Hiltebeitel, Alf (2001). Rethinking the Mahbhrata:
a readers guide to the education of the dharma king.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 25153, 256,
259. ISBN 0-226-34054-6.
[14] B.M.Misra. Orissa: Shri Krishna Jagannatha: the Mushali
parva from Saralas Mahabharata. Oxford University
Press, USA. ISBN 0-19-514891-6. in Bryant 2007, p.
139
[15] Vishvanatha, Cakravarti Thakura (2011). Sararthadarsini (Bhanu Swami ed.). Sri Vaikunta Enterprises. p.
790. ISBN 978-81-89564-13-1.

C. (1987). Palkhi: a pilgrimage to Pandharpur translated from the Marathi book Plakh by Philip C. Engblom.
Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 35. ISBN
0-88706-461-2.
[27] Wendy Doniger (2008). Britannica: Mahabharata. encyclopedia. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Retrieved
2008-10-13.
[28] Rig Veda: Rig-Veda Book 1: HYMN CLXIV.
Vivedevas. Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
[29] Gaudiya scholar, Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Dasa Mula
Tattva Ch.3: 'r KaThe Supreme Absolute Truth',
Part: Vedic Evidences of r Ka 's Divinity
[30] Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya Krishna-cult in Indian Art.
1996 M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 81-7533-0015 p. 126: According to (D.R.Bhadarkar), the word Krishna referred to in the expression 'Krishna-drapsah' in the
Rig- Veda, denotes the very same Krishna.
[31] Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

[16] The Encyclopedia Americana. [s.l.]: Grolier. 1988. p.

589. ISBN 0-7172-0119-8.
[17] Benton, William (1974). The New Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica. p. 885. ISBN
9780852292907.
[18] D. D. Kosambi (1962), Myth and Reality: Studies in
the Formation of Indian Culture, New Delhi, CHAPTER I: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE
BHAGAVAD-GITA, paragraph 1.16
[19] Harle, J. C. (1994). The art and architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. New Haven, Conn: Yale University
Press. p. 410. ISBN 0-300-06217-6. gure 327. Manaku, Radhas messenger describing Krishna standing with
the cow-girls, gopi from Basohli.
[20] Datta, Amaresh; Mohan Lal (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 4290.
[21] The penny cyclopdia [ed. by G. Long]. 1843, p.390
[22] Ramesh M. Dave, K. K. A. Venkatachari, The Bhaktabhagawan Relationship: Paramabhakta Parmeshwara
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[24] Hoiberg, Dale; Ramchandani, Indu (2000). Students
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[25] Satsvarupa dasa Goswami (1998). The Qualities of Sri
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[26] Vithoba is not only viewed as a form of Krishna. He is also
by some considered that of Vishnu, Shiva and Gautama
Buddha according to various traditions. See: Kelkar,
Ashok R. (2001) [1992]. "Sri-Vitthal: Ek Mahasamanvay
(Marathi) by R.C. Dhere. Encyclopaedia of Indian literature 5. Sahitya Akademi. p. 4179. Retrieved 2008-0920. and Mokashi, Digambar Balkrishna; Engblom, Philip

[32] Matapariksha: An examination of religions, Volume 1 By

John Muir. Books.google.co.in. 1852. Retrieved 201110-23.
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ISBN 9780554343327. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
[34] Indian Hist (Opt) By Reddy. Books.google.co.in. 200612-01. ISBN 9780070635777. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
[35] Bryant 2007, p. 4
[36] Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya Krishna-cult in Indian Art.
1996 M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 81-7533-0015 p.128: Satha-patha-brahmana and Aitareya-Aranyaka
with reference to rst chapter.
[37] Hastings 2003, pp. 54042
[38] P. IV. 3. 98, Vsudevrjunbhym vun. See Bhandarkar, Vaishnavism and aivism, p. 3 and J.R.A.S. 1910,
p. 168. Stra 95, just above, appears to point to bhakti,
faith or devotion, felt for this Vsudeva.
[39] Krishna: a sourcebook, pp 5, Edwin Francis Bryant, Oxford University Press US, 2007
[40] III. i. 23, Ulro so Kaho isi ahosi
[41] Hemacandra Abhidhnacintmani, Ed. Boehtlingk and
Rien, p. 128, and Barnetts translation of the Antagada
Daso, pp. 13-15 and 67-82.
[42] Bryant 2007, p. 5
[43] Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed. India through
the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 73.
[44] Barnett, Lionel David (1922). Hindu Gods and Heroes:
Studies in the History of the Religion of India. J. Murray.
p. 93.

16

[45] Puri, B.N. (1968). India in the Time of Patanjali. Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.Page 51: The coins of Raj uvula have
been recovered from the Sultanpur District.. the Brahmi
inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura
Museum,
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[48] Roshen Dalal (2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide.
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[49] Bhagavata Purana 3.2.25
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[108] Delmonico, N., The History Of Indic Monotheism And
Modern Chaitanya Vaishnavism in Ekstrand 2004
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Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Bhagwat Yana Parva: section [109] De, S.K. (1960). Bengals contribution to Sanskrit literCXXX(originally published between 1883 and 1896)".
ature & studies in Bengal Vaisnavism. KL Mukhopadbook. Sacred Texts. Retrieved 2008-10-13. Knowest
hyaya.p. 113: The Bengal School identies the Bhagathou not sinless Govinda, of terrible prowess and incavat with Krishna depicted in the Shrimad-Bhagavata and
pable of deterioration?"
presents him as its highest personal God.
[92] Knott, Kim (2000). Hinduism: A Very Short Introduc[110] Bryant 2007, p. 381
tion. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 160. ISBN 0-19285387-2.
[111] Vaishnava. encyclopedia. Division of Religion and Philosophy University of Cumbria. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
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5-21-2008
[94] Journal Academic Marketing Mysticism Online
[112] Graham M. Schweig (2005). Dance of Divine Love: The
(JAMMO). Vol 2. Part 6. 81-92. 21 August 2011.
R asa L il a of Krishna from the Bh agavata Pur a.
Retrieved 31 December 2015.
na, Indias classic sacred love story. Princeton, N.J:
Princeton University Press. Front Matter. ISBN 0-691[95] Dr Narhari Achar
11446-3.
[96] The Scientic Timeline of Lord Krishna. Stephen
[113] Bhattacharya, Gouriswar: Vanamala of Vasudeva-KrsnaKnapp.com.
Visnu and Sankarsana-Balarama.
In: Vanamala.
Festschrift A.J. Gail. Serta Adalberto Joanni Gail LXV.
[97] Notable Horoscopes Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1991,
diem natalem celebranti ab amicis collegis discipulis dedISBN 8120809009,9788120809000. Retrieved 30 Deicata.
cember 2015.
[98] Krishnas Birth Chart. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
[99] Lord Krishna lived for 125 years. In The Times of India article, September 8, 2004.. Retrieved 31 December
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[100] John Dowson (2003). Classical Dictionary of Hindu
Mythology and Religion, Geography, History and Literature. Kessinger Publishing. p. 361. ISBN 0-7661-75898.
[101] See Beck, Guy, Introduction in Beck 2005, pp. 118
[102] Knott 2000, p. 55

[114] Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2005). A Survey of Hinduism.

State University of New York Press; 3 edition. p. 206.
ISBN 0-7914-7081-4. Present day Krishna worship is
an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship already ourished in and around Mathura several centuries before
Christ. A second important element is the cult of Krishna
Govinda. Still later is the worship of Bala-Krishna, the
Child Krishnaa quite prominent feature of modern Krishnaism. The last element seems to have been Krishna
Gopijanavallabha, Krishna the lover of the Gopis, among
whom Radha occupies a special position. In some books
Krishna is presented as the founder and rst teacher of the
Bhagavata religion.

[103] Flood (1996) p. 117

[104] See McDaniel, June, Folk Vaishnavism and hkur
Pacyat: Life and status among village Krishna statues
in Beck 2005, p. 39

[115] Basham, A. L. Review:Krishna: Myths, Rites, and Attitudes. by Milton Singer; Daniel H. H. Ingalls, The Journal
of Asian Studies, Vol. 27, No. 3 (May, 1968 ), pp. 667670 27. www.jstor.org: 667670. JSTOR 2051211.

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of Vasudeva, God of gods.

[135] Law, B.C. (1941). India as Described in Early Texts of

Buddhism and Jainism. Luzac.
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[117] Couture, Andr (2006). The emergence of a group

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[138] The Turner of the Wheel. The Life of Sariputta, compiled
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and translated from the Pali texts by Nyanaponika Thera
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doi:10.2307/595976. JSTOR 595976.
[141] Esslemont, J.E. (1980). Bah'u'llh and the New Era (5th
ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bah' Publishing Trust. p.
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London: Cassell. pp. 6465. ISBN 0-304-33851-6.
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Tilford: Islam International Publications Ltd. ISBN 1erature: A Short Survey of Telugu Literature. Lakshmi85372-917-5.
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Muslim Community.
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[125] Dwyer, G. (2010). Krishna prasadam: the transformative power of sanctied food in the Krishna Conscious- [146] Schure, Edouard (1992). Great Initiates: A Study of the Seness Movement. Religions Of South Asia, 4(1), 89-104.
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[127]
[128]
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[147] See for example: Hanegraa, Wouter J. (1996). New Age

Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of
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Secular Thought. Brill Publishers. p. 390. ISBN 90-04Retrieved 2013-05-23.
10696-0., Hammer, Olav (2004). Claiming Knowledge:
Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age.
Varadpande p.231
Brill Publishers. pp. 62, 174. ISBN 90-04-13638-X.,
and Ellwood, Robert S. (1986). Theosophy: A Modern
Varadpande p.232-3
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Zarrilli, P.B. (2000). Kathakali Dance-Drama: Where
Gods and Demons Come to Play. Routledge. p. 246.
[148] Crowley associated Krishna with Roman god Dionysus
and Magickal formulae IAO, AUM and INRI. See
See Jerome H. Bauer '"Hero of Wonders, Hero in Deeds:
Crowley, Aleister (1991). Liber Aleph. Weiser Books. p.
Vasudeva Krishna in Jaina Cosmohistory in Beck 2005,
71. ISBN 0-87728-729-5. and Crowley, Aleister (1980).
pp. 167169
The Book of Lies. Red Wheels. pp. 2425. ISBN 087728-516-0.
Jaini, P.S. (1993), Jaina Puranas: A Puranic Counter Tradition, ISBN 978-0-7914-1381-4
[149] Apiryon, Tau; Apiryon (1995). Mystery of Mystery: A
Cort, J.E. (1993), An Overview of the Jaina Puranas,
Primer of Thelemic Ecclesiastical Gnosticism. Berkeley,
ISBN 9781438401362
CA: Red Flame. ISBN 0-9712376-1-1.

19

13

Sources

Doniger, Wendy (1993), Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina
Texts, SUNY Press, ISBN 0-7914-1381-0

14

Further reading

Beck, Guy L. (1993). Sonic theology: Hinduism and

sacred sound. Columbia, S.C: University of South
Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-855-7.
Bryant, Edwin F. (2004). Krishna: the beautiful legend of God;. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044799-7.
Bryant, Edwin F. (2007). Krishna: A Sourcebook.
Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0-19-5148916.
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
Knott, Kim (2000). Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 160.
ISBN 0-19-285387-2.
The Jataka or Stories of the Buddhas Former Births,
edited by E. B. Cowell, (1895)
Ekstrand, Maria (2004). Bryant, Edwin H., ed. The
Hare Krishna movement: the postcharismatic fate of
a religious transplant. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12256-X.
Gaurangapada, Swami. Sixty-four qualities of Sri
Krishna. Nitaaiveda. Nitaiiveda. Retrieved 201305-24.
Goswami, S.D (1995). The Qualities of Sri Krsna.
GNPress. ISBN 0-911233-64-4.
Garuda Pillar of Besnagar, Archaeological Survey
of India, Annual Report (19081909). Calcutta:
Superintendent of Government Printing, 1912, 129.
Flood, G.D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
Beck, Guy L. (Ed.) (2005). Alternative Krishnas:
Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-6415-6.
Rosen, Steven (2006). Essential Hinduism. New
York: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-99006-0.

Valpey, Kenneth R. (2006). Attending Kas image: Caitanya Vaiava mrti-sev as devotional
truth. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-38394-3.
Sutton, Nicholas (2000). Religious doctrines in the
Mahbhrata. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.,. p. 477.
ISBN 81-208-1700-1.
History of Indian Theatre By M. L. Varadpande.
Chapter Theatre of Krishna, pp. 23194. Published
1991, Abhinav Publications, ISBN 81-7017-278-0.

15 External links

20

16

16
16.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Magicalsaumy, PeterSymonds, Gilliam, Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, Skizzik, Holy Ganga, ERcheck, Vikramsingh, NCurse, Justforasecond,
MartinPoulter, Andrew Parodi, SchftyThree, Enarain, Sanjoyroy, Swamivishnu, Octahedron80, Lilamrta, Can't sleep, clown will eat me,
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Das, Iitkgp.prashant, Raj@ttscourses.com.au, Allstarecho, StarLotus, Dharmadhyaksha, Hoversh, Rajpaj, DerHexer, JaGa, Teardrop
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AnomieBOT, AmritasyaPutra, Monjit.paul, Hydedit, Qball6, Dehara, Mayank.hc, Jim1138, Ulric1313, Dude108, Mahabharat fan, Mann
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Pkdixit, Algeostat, Dazedbythebell, Skyerise, Tomcat7, Lars Washington, Serols, Labrynthia9856, Wikiain, Chhora, Sava3083, Lotje, Ansumang, Aoidh, Cowlibob, Digisteps, Jb360611, Linguisticgeek, Suusion of Yellow, Tbhotch, Kumar123456789, World8115, Oceana-

16.2

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john, Wikiuserid user, Onel5969, Aditya.cr, Alitaher2009, DRAGON BOOSTER, Peaceworld111, RAMA, Becritical, Michionthemic,
Shashikgp, Aircorn, Rakeshmallick27, DoRD, John of Reading, Cinosaur, Ajraddatz, Jokerking76, Veda789, Niru786, Theman821,
Thigle, Prometheus.pyrphoros, Wikiturrican, Thomasionus, Lostinindia, Winner 42, Mayurasia, Wikipelli, K6ka, TeleComNasSprVen,
Shubhamgarg1993, Jnvdasa, Kkm010, Ashok Malik, ZroBot, Udaysagar1, F, Bollyje, Trinanjon, Trinidade, Extremistjews, Sridhar100, Sanskritist, Bygremlin, Regstu, Wayne Slam, Tolly4bolly, Wagino 20100516, Brandmeister, L Kensington, Sujithmammen,
Mayur, Jeeshivamgarg, Kapil.xerox, Donner60, Shubhamhundet, Sarbe97, LoveWae, Servantofprabhupada, Pun, Adelson Velsky Landis, Shanmugamaiyappan, ChuispastonBot, Qualities108, Karthikeyan.pandian, Yashuhitkari, Theismcontrib, Riteshkochar, Hisagar123,
Amanhanda, Sumitkachroo, Helpsome, Karan1974, ClueBot NG, Smtchahal, Jack Greenmaven, Mickel30, Pebble101, A B VYAS, Satellizer, Sunil pandya, Uwo222, Vacation9, Nirmal786 niru, Snotbot, Frietjes, Niru786 niru, Michel Bostrom, Jraudhi, Athlour, Widr, Firozabadsite, Januarythe18th, Vibhijain, Harsimaja, Nokhaiz Kaunpal, Helpful Pixie Bot, Somatrix, Mr.ankit97, Thisthat2011, Ayanosh,
Strike Eagle, Titodutta, Rishiexecs, DBigXray, Elgin222, Varadarajd, BG19bot, Indienchild, Bismaydash, Nmudesk, Gauravshah.89,
, ElphiBot, MusikAnimal, Frze, AvocatoBot, Sudhanshu.janwadkar, Subal Chandra Ghose, Radhakrishna-chandra,
Akhil.anand.hisar, Rahuljain2307, Mahensingha, Nityanandachandra, Altar, Jkdesai, Joshua Jonathan, Rajchoudhary00, Messiah101,
Vin09, Shailendra.jadiya, Risingstar12, Almoria, Oksana Yulia, Aisteco, Roshan220195, Kalika1153, Fylbecatulous, Bonkers The Clown,
Rpaigu, Tamravidhir, BattyBot, Amitrochates, ScrollsofAryavarta, Valleyforge2012, Gundu1000, Kaushikbera, Th4n3r, Mrt3366, Manoj
Hare Krishna, Cyberbot II, The Illusive Man, ChrisGualtieri, Metome2012, Jazzy Prinker, Dineshraj45, Kpmsrikanth, Khazar2, Lukini,
Kedarjk, Aks bhatt, Michael2012ro, Cpt.a.haddock, Rockin It Loud, Bksatyanarayana, BrahmanAdvaita, Dexbot, Nfalwaria, FoCuSandLeArN, Magentic Manifestations, Scribblednote, Mogism, Loveforallhatredfornone, Ritik18, Napoleon 100, Wantsallanger, Sanjeevnab,
Shantanu Chakraborty, Krishnaagarwal99, Caitanya108, Koustavpanda, Kingcircle, Ashwani.sangita, Lugia2453, Oxycut, VIAFbot, Ranjan21, WBRSin, Aabhig, Josephjames.me, GoGandhi, Poipoise, Anonymousshree, Soulsdone3, Saurabhworld1, Nakashchit, Wikirishiaacharya, JeeHuan1023, Samee, Kswarrior, Utkarshsingh.1992, Fatbuu1000, Suman.mondal728, Faizan, FenixFeather, Sameer.shelar,
KD-Singhania, Vanamonde93, Lollypopcatshark, Capitals00, Jamesmcmahon0, Eshwar.om, Prince.Google, Neer.varshney, Iztwoz, Jodosma, Vinkumji, Bhavani Khandrika, Manoj india, Tentinator, Evano1van, Dhruvberi, Keshavdevshukla, Hoppeduppeanut, Matty.007,
Adityanet, Ilamurugan, Rupesh.patel232297, Manavatha, Ajay Purabia, Nawintechno, Coolgama, Ugog Nizdast, Hidden macy, The Herald, Lk56835, Kennethaw88, Ramkrishna90, JoeWiltshire, Ashishtripat, George8211, NehalDaveND, Jianhui67, R.S. Peale, Noyster,
Uj1202, Radharani11, MagicatthemovieS, Bladesmulti, RUSHIL KHANTWAL, Samenewguy, Trek-hoo, Krishna.Sanker.1987, Gregrechner, Nodamic, KuhJuh, Nidhishunnikrishnan, Rajesh5985, JaconaFrere, Drnaveenkesarwani, Lakun.patra, Skr15081997, Rayasa~enwiki,
Akshandal, Zenvalharo, MythoEditor, Mr. Smart LION, Onkar Karambe, Monkbot, Wofome, Sm041188, Patient Zero, Kamatvignesh,
Talagapukrishna, Filedelinkerbot, Prymshbmg, Vieque, SantiLak, Saurabhnegi102, Keeshtu, Scarlettail, Shahriar kabir shourav, Vishnubhakti, Kratser, Keshavkashmiri, Rdyrao, Rajananthini, TerryAlex, Rahulbh1990, Aaron Jude, Casey577, Contentlagh, Human10.0,
Greecoroman, Ms068, P63 KingCobra, Himank yadav, Sangramsimha1985, TranquilHope, Bodhisattwa, Ashishjain190, Kautilya3, Krsna
kc, Ashvawiki, Speakfromthesoul, Nishant k. pandey, Bakulbeniwal, Biswasstha123, Mytholo, JQTriple7, Dillibabuji, Akshat729, Vijay8808, Eteethan, Vivek Sarje, Prabhavati, Sonicwave32, Iamlittlejimi, Iitian655652, Vedaadherent, Shodash, Jakefrost72, Wikismartaleck, AartiSagarCom, Vah re, Dm51c, Conradjagan, Matunga-mumbai, Samihan Lohit, Lion101010, Supdiop, Ankush 89, KasparBot,
Narasimhaprabhu, Prudhvi1610, Abhijeetradhakrishna, Veppex, Capankajsmilyo, Kintsugi2015, AusLondonder, JJMC89, RadhaKrishna
Das, Efedrina, Ecthalion, Rjuglall, EnWP org, Anurag sitar, WilliVerse, Ajay Purabiya, Scalarproduct, Badboys99, Anjali das gupta,
Yogee23,
, Dr PV PADMANABHAN, Ar.arun.s.k, Orange500, Sapna Vijayakumar, Rudra1999, Himanshu darfade, Hunter Arjunsinh, Pirabarlen, ThaFixa, Sanket Edits Wiki, Franklin Khantzawhein, Madalasa jgd, Tiwaryshobhit, Jayasurua, Hemanthdev, Muhammad Umair Mirza, Msamp, Linkdude20102011, Kapishh, Arjunsinh Sama, Lumbago123, Baddu676, Krishonadish, Satheesan, Mihir
Sangrur, Emotionalllama, Vijaykumarmadanu, Manohar247, Nahsik01, Devadatta sharma, Vaishnavdasanudasa Pramit, Hassan7101, Srijanghosh2001, Tcsagar1, Abhishek.arya, Krishaal, Sjlguju, Anactoria555 and Anonymous: 1513

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File:Ambox_important.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based o of Image:Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat (talk contribs)
File:Avatars_of_Vishnu.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Avatars_of_Vishnu.jpg License: CC BY
2.0 Contributors: http://flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/378256/ Original artist: Steve Jurvetson
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commons/8/8d/Bodleian_Library_Indian_paintings_MS._Douce_Or._a.3_fol30r.jpg License: CC BY 4.0 Contributors: Bodleian Library,
Oxford Original artist: multiple/ unknown
File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Wajangpop_van_karbouwenhuid_voorstellende_Prabu_Kresna_TMnr_809-163e.jpg
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Wajangpop_van_karbouwenhuid_
voorstellende_Prabu_Kresna_TMnr_809-163e.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Tropenmuseum Original artist: Tropenmuseum
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File:Dancing_Krishna,_India,_Tanjore,_Tamil_Nadu,_Chola_dynasty,_14th_century,_bronze,_HAA.JPG
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Dancing_Krishna%2C_India%2C_Tanjore%2C_Tamil_Nadu%2C_Chola_
dynasty%2C_14th_century%2C_bronze%2C_HAA.JPG License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hiart
File:Death_of_Krishna_-_Illustrations_from_the_Barddhaman_edition_of_Mahabharata.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Death_of_Krishna_-_Illustrations_from_the_Barddhaman_edition_of_Mahabharata.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: http://www.oldindianarts.in/2011/10/illustrations-from-barddhaman-edition.html Original artist: Maharaja Mahatab
Chand Bahadur (1820 - 1879)
File:Festival_in_honour_of_Chrishna_(October_1853,_X,_p.114).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
e/e5/Festival_in_honour_of_Chrishna_%28October_1853%2C_X%2C_p.114%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: https:
//books.google.com.au/books?id=glwEAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Original artist: Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society
File:Flag_of_India.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
? Original artist: ?

22

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TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

File:HinduSwastika.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/HinduSwastika.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:HinduismSymbol.PNG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/HinduismSymbol.PNG License: CC-BYSA-3.0 Contributors: Created by Tinette user of Italian Wikipedia. Original artist: Tinette (talk contribs)
File:Kathakali_of_kerala.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Kathakali_of_kerala.jpg License: CC
BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: Kathakali Original artist: Jogesh S from Bangalore, India
File:Krishna{}s_Foster-Mother,_Yashoda,_with_the_Infant_Krishna.jpg Source:
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commons/6/63/Krishna%27s_Foster-Mother%2C_Yashoda%2C_with_the_Infant_Krishna.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors:
originally posted to Flickr as Krishnas Foster-Mother, Yashoda, with the Infant Krishna Original artist: Claire H.
File:Krishna{}s_great_escape_Bazaar_art,1940{}s.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/
Krishna%27s_great_escape_Bazaar_art%2C1940%27s.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors:
http://www.columbia.
edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1400_1499/krishnabhakti/riverescape/riverescape.html
Original
artist:
Unknown<a
href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img
alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png'
width='20'
height='11'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png
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data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:Krishna-in-Kyoto-1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Krishna-in-Kyoto-1.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Wikidas photo of an architectural object
File:Krishna_Holding_Mount_Govardhan_-_Crop.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Krishna_
Holding_Mount_Govardhan_-_Crop.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: English Wikipedia Original artist: Mola Ram (1760-1833)
File:Krishna_Janmashtami.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Krishna_Janmashtami.jpg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Swaminarayan Sampraday [1] Original artist: AroundTheGlobe
File:Krishna_Mediating_between_the_Pandavas_and_Kauravas.jpeg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/
7c/Krishna_Mediating_between_the_Pandavas_and_Kauravas.jpeg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.mfa.org/collections/
object/krishna-mediating-between-the-pandavas-and-kauravas-from-an-illustrated-manuscript-of-the-razmnama-mahabharata-148638
Original artist: ndian, Mughal period, about 1600
File:Krishna_Rukmini_Satyabhama_Garuda.jpg
Source:
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Rukmini_Satyabhama_Garuda.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=
record;id=129807;type=101 Original artist: LACMA
File:Krishna_with_flute.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Krishna_with_flute.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Gallery[1] Original artist: Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Gallery
File:Kurukshetra.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Kurukshetra.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Meister_der_Bhgavata-Purna-Handschrift_001.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Meister_
der_Bh%C3%A2gavata-Pur%C3%A2na-Handschrift_001.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Original artist: Meister der
Bhgavata-Purna-Handschrift
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but using one of characters in the Wingdings font Original artist: Kashmiri
File:Om_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Om_symbol.svg License: Public domain Contributors: No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims). Original artist: No machine-readable author
provided. Rugby471 assumed (based on copyright claims).
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
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File:RadhaKrishnaUdaipur.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/RadhaKrishnaUdaipur.JPG License:
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16.3

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File:Vishnu.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vishnu.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:

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