Shri Krishna

Who Shri Krishna is

Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, and for many devotees, especially in the Gaudiya and Pushti traditions, he is the Supreme Lord himself rather than one avatar among many. He was born in Mathura to Devaki and Vasudeva but raised in secret in Gokul and Vrindavan by the cowherd couple Nanda and Yashoda, to protect him from his tyrant uncle Kamsa. Few figures in any tradition are loved in so many ways at once: as a mischievous child, a friend, a beloved, a king, a statesman and the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita.

Where his story is told

His life is told in the Mahabharata, the Harivamsha, the Vishnu Purana and above all the tenth canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam. Later poet-saints such as Jayadeva (the Gita Govinda), Surdas, Mirabai and the Ashtachhap poets of Braj made his childhood and his love with Radha the heart of North Indian devotional song.

The stories that shaped him

• A midnight birth: Krishna was born at midnight in Kamsa's prison. Vasudeva carried the newborn across the flooded Yamuna to Gokul in a basket, with the serpent Shesha shielding him from the rain.
• The childhood in Braj: he stole butter (Makhan Chor), killed demons sent by Kamsa, such as the demoness Putana, and subdued the serpent Kaliya by dancing on his hoods in the Yamuna.
• Lifting Govardhan: when Indra sent torrential rain on Braj, Krishna lifted Govardhan hill on his little finger and sheltered everyone under it for seven days. This is why he is called Giridhari, and why Govardhan Puja is celebrated the day after Diwali.
• The Raas: his dance with the gopis on autumn full-moon nights became, in devotional tradition, the highest image of the soul's love for God.
• Kurukshetra: as Arjuna's charioteer he spoke the Bhagavad Gita, teaching duty (dharma), selfless action (karma yoga) and devotion (bhakti yoga). He protected Draupadi's honour, stood by the Pandavas, and later ruled from Dwarka.

His names and symbols

Govinda (protector of cows), Gopal, Madhava, Keshava, Murari (slayer of the demon Mura), Mohan, Banke Bihari and Dwarkadhish are among his many names, each tied to a story or a place. He is shown dark blue, with a flute (bansuri), a peacock feather in his crown, a yellow garment (pitambar) and a vaijayanti garland, often with a cow or with Radha beside him.

How he is worshipped

Many homes keep a small image of the child Krishna, Laddu Gopal, who is woken, bathed, dressed, fed and put to sleep each day like a member of the family. Tulsi leaves are essential in any offering to him, and makhan-mishri (butter with sugar crystals) and panchamrit are his favourite bhog. Singing his names is central: the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, the Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya mantra and the Krishna Chalisa. Reading a chapter of the Bhagavad Gita daily is a practice in its own right.

Festivals and temples

Janmashtami, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapad, is his birthday, kept with a fast and midnight worship, jhankis (tableaux) of his life and the dahi handi tradition in Maharashtra. Holi in Braj, Govardhan Puja and Sharad Purnima (the night of the Raas) are also his. Major temples include Banke Bihari and ISKCON in Vrindavan, the Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, Dwarkadhish in Dwarka, Jagannath in Puri, Shrinathji at Nathdwara, Guruvayur in Kerala and the Udupi Krishna temple in Karnataka.