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Krishna
Other names: Kistna,
Kristna,
Krsna
Biographical
The eighth incarnation of the god Vishnu, Krishna is the god of vegetation,
love and erotic delight. He was born from a black hair of Vishnu who assumed
the form of Krishna to defeat Kansa, king of Mathura (and uncle of Krishna).
Kansa tried to kill him many times using many methods, and eventually,
Krishna slew him in battle. Krishna himself died from accidentally being
shot in his vulnerable spot, his heel, with an arrow from a hunter. He
had 16,100 wives and 180,000 sons, according to the Purana. In
art, he is usually depicted with blue-black skin. He is identified with
the Greek Hercules and Achilles.
Krishna is the most popular object of worship throughout northern India.
In origin, Krishna, like Rama, was undoubtedly a deified hero of the Kshatriya
caste. In the older framework of the Mahābhārata he appears
as a great chieftain and ally of the Pandava brothers; and it is only
in the interpolated episode of the Bhagavad-gita that he is identified
with Vishnu and becomes the revealer of the doctrine of bhakti or religious
devotion. Of still later date are the popular developments of the modern
cult of Krishna associated with Radha, as found in the Vishnu Purana.
Here he is represented as the son of a king saved from a slaughter of
the innocents, brought up by a cowherd, sporting with the milkmaids, and
performing miraculous feats in his childhood. The scene is laid in the
neighbourhood of Muttra, on the right bank of the Yamuna, where the whole
country has been considered holy ground. Another place associated with
incidents of his later life is Dwarka, the westernmost point in the peninsula
of Kathiawar. The two most famous preachers of Krishna-worship and founders
of sects in his honour were Vallabha and Chaitanya, both born towards
the close of the 15th century. The followers of the former were found
chiefly in Rajputana and Gujarat. They were known as Vallabhacharyas,
and their gosains or high priests as maharajas, to whom semi-divine honours
were paid. The licentious practices of this sect were exposed in a lawsuit
before the high court at Bombay in 1862. Chaitanya was the Vaishnav reformer
of Bengal, with his home at Nadiya. A third influential Krishna-preacher
of the 19th century was Swami Narayan, who was encountered by Bishop Heber
in Gujarat, where his followers were numerous and wealthy. Among the names
of Krishna are Gopal, the cowherd; Gopinath, the lord of the milkmaids;
and Mathuranath, the lord of Muttra. His legitimate consort was Rukmini,
daughter of the king of Berar; but Radha is always associated with him
in his temples.
Place of birth: Vrindavana
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Sources
1. C.R. Coulter and P. Turner. Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities.
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2000.Co.,
Ltd, 1928.
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature
and General Information, 11th edn, vol. 15. New York: Encyclopaedia
Britannica Co., 1911.
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