Krishna (IAST kṛṣṇa, the Sanskrit for "the all-attractive one") is according to common Hindu tradition the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, however, he is seen as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the fountain head of all avatars. Krishna appears in a number of stories in different cultures and traditions. Sometimes these contradict each other, though ther ...

Including:

• Krishna - The name
• Krishna - Texts stories and literature
• Krishna - The story of Krishna
• Krishna - The incarnation
• Krishna - Birth and childhood
• Krishna - Boyhood and youth
• Krishna - Krishna the prince
• Krishna - The Kurukshetra war
• Krishna - The last days
• Krishna - The worship of Krishna
• Krishna - Early references
• Krishna - The Bhakti tradition
• Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd
• Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements
• Krishna - Krishna in Jainism
• Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism
• Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia - Krishna

A number of local traditions and regional deities may have been subsumed into the stories and person of Krishna. Accounts of or ballads about Krishna occur in a large number of works. These include the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda. Roughly one quarter of the Bhagavata Purana (mostly in the tenth book) is spent extolling his life and philosophy. The best known, or the most important stories of Krishna, include these: Krishna the butter-thief (Maakhanchor). One of the mos ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts, stories, and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Texts, stories, and literature

The most exalted fugures in Jainism are the 24 Tirthankaras. Krishna when he was incorpoarted into the Jain list of herioc figures presented a problem with his activities which are not pacifist or non-violent. The concept of Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prati-Vasedeva was used to solve it. The Jain list of 63 Shalakapurshas or notable figures includes amongst others, the 24 Tirthankaras and 9 sets of this triad. One of these traids is Krishna as the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Baladeva and Jarasandha as the Prati-Vasudeva. The stories of these triad ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts stories and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Krishna in Jainism

The tales of Krishna appear in a number of ancient and medieval Hindu texts - virtually every Purana tells the full life-story or some highlights from it. In the absence of any historical biography, this summary is based on the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. The Mahabharata and its addendum Harivamsa are the oldest sources of the tale. Whilst all the four books are considered sacred by the Hindus, the two Puranas are the most theologically venerated. The scenes from the tale are set in north India, in ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts stories and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - The story of Krishna

A paper presented recently[citation needed] at a convention in Prabhas Patan near Somnath, speculates that Krishna "died" at the age of 125 on February 18, 3102 BC at 14:27:30 hours on the banks of river Hiran in Prabhas Patan. As the report goes, he was 125 years, 7 months and 6 days old when he left the earth for his divine abode Goloka. The finding was based on clues in the Vedic literatures. Certain dates were fed into special software which was used to prepare a kundli (astrological horoscope charts). The ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts stories and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Chronology

The earliest text that records the deeds of Krishna is the Mahabharata. He is described as the incarnation of Vishnu and is one of the most important characters of the epic. The 18 chapters of the 6th book (Bhishma Parva) that constitute the Bhagavad Gita contain the advice of Krishna to the Pandava, Arjuna, on the battlefield. These chapters are the most well known of the Hindu texts and its importance in Hindu religious thought cannot be overestimated. Every religious school of Hinduism was expected to produce a commentary on it if it had ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Literary sources, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - Later life, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Spread of Krishna-Bhakti movement, Krishna - Recent Krishna Bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Krishna in the performing arts, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Literary sources

The Sanskrit name and word is written kṛṣṇa in IAST transliteration (the equivalent of Devanagari कृष्ण; see Sanskrit for pronunciation.) The term Krishna in Sanskrit means "the all-attractive one". In depictions, Krishna often appears as a black or dark-skinned figure, for instance in the modern murtis (statues) and pictorial representati ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts stories and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - The name

A number of local traditions and regional deities may have been subsumed into the stories and person of Krishna. Accounts of or ballads about Krishna occur in a large number of works. These include the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda. Roughly one quarter of the Bhagavata Purana (mostly in the tenth book) is spent extolling his life and philosophy. The best known, or the most important stories of Krishna, include these: Krishna the butter-thief (Maakhanchor). One of the mos ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts stories and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Texts stories and literature

Krishna figure as a very minor figure in Buddhism. He appears in the Ghata Jataka as a prince who along with his other brothers captures Dwaraka. Many of the important names found in Hindu versions of the tale are found in conflated forms or with slight variations. The incidents have a touch more of folk-tales than epic or mythical ones. ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Literary sources, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - Later life, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Spread of Krishna-Bhakti movement, Krishna - Recent Krishna Bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Krishna in the performing arts, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism

The earliest mention of any performance based on the Krishna story is mentioned in Patanjali's Mahabhashya. But it is not clear what kind of dance/drama it was, nor the occasion it was performed on. The fact that all the incidents related to the Krishna story are presented as a playful activities in which he is fully aware of his divine nature made him a difficult subject for the classical Sanskrit playwrights. These play usually had scenes where the hero is deep in sorrow before the customary happy ending. While Vishnu's other major ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Literary sources, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - Later life, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Spread of Krishna-Bhakti movement, Krishna - Recent Krishna Bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Krishna in the performing arts, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - Krishna in the performing arts

Krishna - Early references. The first possible recorded instance of a Krishna who may be identified with the deity can be found in the Chandogya Upanishad( circa 900 BCE). The teacher Ghora Angirasa discusses the nature of soul with Krishna, the son of Devaki. However, this teacher is never mentioned in connection with Krishna in later works nor does any ancient or medieval author quote this instance of Krishna, the deity. The exact words that Ghora speaks are treated by some as praise of Krishna and most others ...

See also:

Krishna, Krishna - The name, Krishna - Texts stories and literature, Krishna - The story of Krishna, Krishna - The incarnation, Krishna - Birth and childhood, Krishna - Boyhood and youth, Krishna - Krishna the prince, Krishna - The Kurukshetra war, Krishna - The last days, Krishna - The worship of Krishna, Krishna - Early references, Krishna - The Bhakti tradition, Krishna - Gita Govinda - the song of the cowherd, Krishna - Recent Krishna bhakti movements, Krishna - Krishna in Jainism, Krishna - Krishna in Buddhism, Krishna - Chronology

Read more here: » Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Krishna - The worship of Krishna