Shri Krishna
श्रीकृष्णశ్రీకృష్ణుడుஸ்ரீகிருஷ்ணர்
Also known as: Kanha · Kanhaiya · Govinda · Gopal · Laddu Gopal · Banke Bihari · Kunj Bihari · Murari · Girdhari · Shyam · Vasudeva · Keshava · Madhava · Kannan · Krishnayya
Shri Krishna, usually counted as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, is the flute-playing cowherd boy of Vrindavan and the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita. Many families worship him at home as baby Krishna, Laddu Gopal, and celebrate his birth at midnight on Janmashtami.
- Day of worship
- Wednesday
- Festivals
- Krishna Janmashtami · Govardhan Puja · Holi
Texts for Shri Krishna
The story
Krishna was born at midnight in a prison cell in Mathura. He was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva, and the cruel king Kamsa had killed their earlier children. That same night Vasudeva carried the baby across the flooded Yamuna to Gokul, where Nanda and Yashoda brought him up as their own son. This is why Janmashtami is kept at midnight. Families rock a cradle and sing to welcome the baby.
In Gokul and Vrindavan he stole butter from the neighbours' pots, and the gopis and even the cows came running when he played his flute. He subdued the serpent Kaliya. When Indra sent a great storm, he lifted Govardhan hill on his little finger and the villagers sheltered under it. Devotees see Radha's love for him as the highest form of bhakti. Later he went back to Mathura, ended Kamsa's rule, and became king of Dwarka.
At Kurukshetra he was Arjuna's charioteer, and there he spoke the Bhagavad Gita. It teaches the paths of selfless action (karma), knowledge (jnana) and devotion (bhakti). Saints such as Vallabhacharya, Surdas, Mirabai and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sang of him. Today many homes keep him as Laddu Gopal. He is worshipped as Banke Bihari in Vrindavan and Shrinathji in Nathdwara, and in the south at Guruvayur and Udupi.