Sri Radha Krishna

Manifestation

Krishna is worshipped as the eighth Avatar of Shri Vishnu. He is a very well-known and unequivocally adored Hindu Deity. He is worshiped as supreme God in his own Right. Radha is Krishna’s divine lover and Avatar of Goddess Lakshmi. She is a symbol of divine devotion and love. The stories of love, pranks and playfulness of Krishna and Radha are adored by devotees.  Krishna is the God of compassion, love, and self-awareness in Hinduism.

Physical Attributes

• Krishna is dark in color and divinely attractive.

• Wears peacock feather as crown.

• Plays the divine Flute.

• Loves Cows, and often pictured with Cow in the background. 

• Radha is portrayed as a young woman, beautifully dressed and adorned with Jewelry.  

Qualities

• Loves Makhana (raw butter made from Cow milk).

• Krishna is adored for joy and respected for wisdom he brings to his devotees.

• He is a divine child, prankster, model lover, best friend, divine hero, and supreme being.

• He is the supreme divine Guru (teacher).

Ways of Worship and Types of Devotees

• Krishna Janmashtami (Krishna’s birthday) is celebrated in late August early September as per Hindu Calendar.

• Devotees on the path of Bhakti Yoga (Path of devotion) pray to Krishna in their favorite form and name. Devotees enjoy Krishna Leela (enactment of his stories), sing devotional songs, chanting his name, dancing and praying to Krishna

• Devotees on the path of Karma Yoga (Path of action), perform their actions guided by Dharma, remaining detached to fruits of their actions, in service of supreme divinity and society.

• For the devotees in the path of Samkhya Yoga (Path of knowledge), he is the Jagad-Guru (Supreme Universal teacher).

• The devotees on the path of Dhyana Yoga (Path of meditation) meditate on Krishna as supreme being, to reach enlightenment.

Avatar of/Related to

• Shri Krishna is 8th Incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

• He is Poorna (complete) Avatar or supreme being, meaning an absolute or total manifestation of Brahman/Vishnu.

• Radha is considered feminine manifestation of divine energy, avatar of Goddess Lakshmi.

Regions most worshiped

• Radha-Krishna are particularly revered in some locations such as Mathura, Barzani and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. 

• Shri Krishna is prayed as the Jagannatha in Odisha, Mayapur in West Bengal, 

• Dwarka and Junagadh in Gujarat, in the form of Vithoba in Pandharpur, Maharashtra,

• Nathdwara in Rajasthan, and Guruvayur in Kerala.

• Since the 1960s, the worship of Krishna has also spread to the Western world and to Africa, largely due to the work of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Well-Known Stories

• Many stories of Baby Krishna.  

  • Krishna being born in King Kansa’s Jail to Vasudev and Devaki in Mathura, and being brought up as Nanda and Yoshoda’s son in Braja.

  • Story of Kaliya Naag (divine King of snakes) in River Jamuna and how Krishna defeats him by dancing on its multiple heads.

  • Stories of many demons sent by Kansa to kill him get killed by child Krishna, ultimately killing Kansa the evil king of Mathura.

  • Story of Krishna lifting Govardhan mountain on his little finger to protect the village from wrath of Rain God Indra.

  • Stories of Radha and Krishna’s love and friendship and the festival of Holi.

  • Story of Sudama (his poor orphan Brahmin friend) and Krishna.

• Stories of Mahabharata which is longest story and epic in the world.

Fascinating Facts

• Krishna’s name is basically an adjective, which means “black” or “dark”. Another popular translation of the name is “all attractive.”

• He is the central character in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana and the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological and mythological texts.

• Krishna’s weapon of choice was Sudarshan Chakra.

• Krishna once preached against orthodox form of worship of the Vedic Gods like Indra.

• Krishna related literature has inspired numerous performance arts such as Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Manipuri dance.

• He is part of the Jain religion. He is represented as one of the Triads, named Vasudeva.

• It’s believed that Krishna was a “Manifestation of God”, or one of the prophets who has revealed the “Word of God” to people on Earth. Therefore, it’s said that he shares a powerful image with Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad and Jesus.

• The medieval era arts of Vietnam and Cambodia feature Krishna. The earliest surviving sculptures and reliefs are from the 6th and 7th century, and these include Vaishnavism iconography.

• The Buddhist Jataka tales mention Krishna. In the Vaibhav Jataka, he’s showcased as the prince and legendary figure in India who cuts off his evil uncle Kansa’s head and kills all the kings to rule over Jambudvipa. 

 Other Popular Names

• Shyama (Dark)

• Devakinandan (Son of Devaki)

• Kanha

• Kanhaiya

• Banke Bihari 

• Nanda Lala (Son of Nanda)

• Yashoda Nandan (Son of Yashoda)

• Gopala (Cow care taker)

• Hari (Vishnu)

• Radha Swami (Lord of Radha)

• Govinda (Care taker of Cows and world)

• Mukunda

• Madhusudhana

• Makhan chor (butter thief)

• Bala Gopala (Baby Krishna)

• Run Chod (One who ran away from war field)

• Mohan (Attractive)

Popular/Well-known Prayers

Hare Krishna Hare Rama