The eighth avatar of god Vishnu, Lord Krishna, is one of the most popular gods worshipped in Hinduism. With a flute in his hand and a peacock feather crown on his head, he is considered the god of compassion, tenderness and love.
Not just in this country, the worship of Lord Krishna has also spread to the Western world, especially after being promoted through the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement , is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organisation.
• Although he is the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, he is considered the Supreme God in his own right. He forms the central character of ancient epic manuscripts such as Mahabharata, Bhagavatam Purana and Bhagavat Gita.
• The Sanskrit word in its origin language Kṛṣṇa is primarily an adjective meaning "black" or "dark", sometimes it is also translated as "all attractive", according to members of the Hare Krishna movement. As a name of Vishnu, Krishna 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 reflect His many associations and attributes. Among the most common Names are Mohan "enchanter", Govinda, "Finder of the cows", or Gopala, "Protector of the cows", which refer to Krishna's Childhood in Braj (in present day Uttar Pradesh). Some of the distinct names may be regionally important; for instance, Jagannatha, a popular Incarnation of Puri, Odisha in eastern India.
• There are about 108 names of Lord Krishna amongst which the popular ones are Gopal, Govind, Devakinandan, Mohan, Shyam, Ghanshyam, Hari, Girdhari and Baanke Bihari.
• Derived from his name, Krishna meant “all attractive”, he was known to possess beauty at his best. Although, as portrayed in the scriptures and ancient paintings as blue in color, Lord Krishna was dark, though due to his magnetic aura which had blue hues, he was depicted and mentioned as a god with blue skin.
• Everyone believed that lord krishna was a ‘Manifestation of God’. And also a major deity in Hinduism and worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. Besides Hinduism, Lord Krishna is also a part of another religion which is called Jain religion. He is spoken to as one of the Triads, named Vasudeva. Even in Buddhism, he is a part of the Jataka tales where he is represented as a prince who kills his evil uncle Kansa and proves himself legendary by killing all the kings to rule over Jambudiva.
• Once, Lord Krishna assumed his Virat (universal) form to kill Shishupal. And, even the blind king, Dhritarashtra gained divine vision during this time to be able to see this form of Krishna. On the occasion of the coronation of Yudhishthira, Shishupal disrespected Lord Krishna with abuses for more than hundred times, for which he forgave him as he had promised Shishupal’s mother. However, Krishna obtained his larger form when the abuse crossed the number 100, and then killed Shishupal. It is believed that Shishupala and Dantavakra were the reincarnations of Vishnu’s gate-keepers Jaya and Vijaya, who were cursed to be born on Earth, and can only be delivered by the hands of Vishnu.
• Lord Krishna once protected 16,100 women from demon Narakasura, however, since their families refused to accept them, the women turned to Lord Krishna, who in turn married each of them in order to protect their honour. However, in the ancient manuscripts, the Ashtabharya (eight brides) are mentioned as the primary wives of Krishna. They are Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Satya/Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana.
• Krishna seemed to be the real god of nature who was beyond the limits of nature. In historical depictions of the Puranas, he didn’t seem to age even after decades. In one incident, Duryodhana tried to arrest Krishna where his body burst open showing all creations within him.
• Krishna’s father, Vasudev was actually Kunti’s brother. Kunti was the mother of the Pandavas.
• It is believed that Lord Krishna and Draupadi were siblings. She was the incarnation of Goddess Parvati while he was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. And as foretold, Lord Vishnu is the brother of Goddess Parvati.
• The Kurukshetra war left all 100 of Gandhari’s sons dead. When Krishna visited to pay his condolences, the grieving mother cursed him along with the Yadu dynasty that both of them would perish in 36 years.
• When Krishna didn’t apply Kheer on Sage Durvasa’s feet, he cursed Lord Krishna that he would die by his foot.
Lord Krishna’s foot was mistakenly shot by a hunter, Jara. Discovering his mistake, the hunter begged for forgiveness. Though, Krishna revealed that he himself was Rama and his Adharma against Vali by shooting him from behind was now reaping the result of his Karma. And thus, Vali who has been reincarnated as Jara was destined to kill Krishna.
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