Krishna ExperienceA life in four places
| Place | Age | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Mathura | Birth | Born at midnight in the prison of his uncle Kansa, to Devaki and Vasudeva. Read the story. |
| Gokul and Vrindavan | Childhood to about 11 | Raised by Nanda and Yashoda among the cowherds: butter theft, the demons Kansa sent, Kaliya, Govardhan, the Raas. |
| Mathura | Youth | Returns to kill Kansa and restore his grandfather Ugrasena to the throne. Kansa Vadh. |
| Dwarka | Adulthood | Founds a city by the western sea, marries Rukmini and other queens, and takes his part in the Mahabharata, including the Bhagavad Gita at Kurukshetra. |
Where his story is told
- Bhagavata Purana, especially its tenth canto: the fullest account of his life, and the scripture of the Krishna bhakti traditions.
- Mahabharata, with the Bhagavad Gita in its sixth book.
- Harivamsha and Vishnu Purana: early accounts of his childhood and youth.
- Gita Govinda (Jayadeva, 12th century) and centuries of Braj poetry by Surdas, Mirabai, the Ashtachhap poets and others.
What do the symbols mean?
- Dark blue or black skin: the colour of rain clouds and of the infinite sky; one of his names, Ghanashyam, means "dark as a rain cloud".
- The flute (bansuri): the call of God to the soul. Hearing it, the gopis forget everything.
- The peacock feather: a gift of the peacocks of Vrindavan, and in Braj lore a sign of his love for Radha.
- Yellow garments (pitambar) and the vaijayanti garland of forest flowers.
- Tribhanga: standing bent at neck, waist and knee, the most graceful pose in Indian art.
Who is Krishna to his devotees?
Most Hindus know Krishna as the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Several devotional traditions, including the Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (whose best-known modern form is ISKCON), the Pushti Marg of Vallabhacharya and the Nimbarka and Radha Vallabh traditions, worship him as the Supreme Lord himself, the source of all avatars, often together with Radha. In the Gita he says: Whenever righteousness declines, I come, age after age.
Start with the stories
Questions people ask
Is Krishna an avatar of Vishnu?
Most Hindu traditions count him as the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Several Krishna-centred traditions hold that he is the Supreme Lord himself, the source of the avatars.
Where was Krishna born?
In Mathura, in the prison of Kansa. He grew up in Gokul and Vrindavan.
Who were Krishna’s parents?
His birth parents were Devaki and Vasudeva. He was raised by his foster parents Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul.
Why is Krishna blue?
He is described as dark as a monsoon cloud; artists paint that darkness blue. It is read as a sign of the infinite, like the sky and the deep sea.