One of
the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian
divinities, is Krishna worshipped as the eighth incarnation
(avatar) of Vishnu. Krishna became the focus of a large
number of devotional cults, which over the centuries have
produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, painting and
sculpture. |
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The
child Krishna was adored for his mischievous pranks; he also
performed many miracles and slew demons.
As a
youth, the cowherd Krishna became renown as a lover, the sound
of his flute prompting gopis (wives and daughters of
the cowherds) to leave their homes to dance ecstatically with
him in the forests.
His
favorite among the daughters of the cowherders was the
beautiful Radha. Krishna's youthful dalliances with the gopis are interpreted as symbolic of the loving
interplay between God and the human soul.
Krishna affirms
life in his pranks, music and lovemaking
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The rich
variety of legends associated with Krishna's life led to an
abundance of representation in painting and sculpture.
The divine lover (the most common representation) is shown
playing the flute, surrounded by adoring gopis.
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An excerpt from
the Bhagavad-Gita:
Arjuna sat dejected, filled
with pity, his sad eyes blurred by tears. Krishna gave
him counsel.
Lord Krishna
Why this cowardice in time
of crisis, Arjuna? The coward is ignoble, shameful,
foreign to the ways of heaven.
Don't yield to
impotence! It is unnatural in you! Banish this
petty weakness from your heart. Rise to the fight,
Arjuna!
Arjuna
Krishna, how can I fight
against Bhishma and Drona with arrows when they deserve my
worship? It is better in this world to beg for scraps of
food than to eat meals smeared with the blood of elders I
killed at the height of their power while their goals were
still desires. |
| Krishna
and the Serpent Kaliya
Lord Krishna came to know
that a very large and poisonous serpent had made its home in a
lagoon on the Yamuna river. Because the serpent was so
poisonous, not only all the fish died, but even the trees and
grass surrounding the lake were dying. When birds flew over
the area, they immediately dropped dead and fell into the
lake, due to the highly poisonous vapors emanating from the
water.
In that time, there were many frightful demons,
who had all kinds of mystic powers. Lord Krishna had
specifically appeared to rid the world of all these disturbing
elements. The Lord came to this place with His cowherd
boyfriends and decided to confront the king of the snakes. He
climbed the large Kadamba tree and from there, jumped into the
poisonous waters of the Yamuna.
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Lord Krishna then began splashing about and
making very loud noises just to disturb the Kaliya serpent. Sure
enough, the Kaliya
snake came up to the surface to see who
was attacking his home. This huge black serpent Kaliya (Kaliya means black)
possessed over one hundred hoods, each bedecked with a precious gem.
When he breathed, fire emanated from his nostrils. He suddenly
seized Krishna in his powerful coils, and bound the Lord as tightly
as possible. But unfortunately this serpent did not realize that
within its coils was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, playing as
a child and enjoying His earthly pastimes in the transcendental land
of Vrindavana. Without warning, Krishna, the Supreme Mystic, started
to expand His body, and Kaliya, who began to
feel the incredible pressure, was forced to release the Lord from
his deadly coils. Krishna then jumped on to the hoods of the great
serpent and started to dance, stamping His foot down on the heads of
the snake demon, Kaliya.
This
stamping of Krishna, felt to Kaliya serpent like
Indra's thunderbolt striking a mountain. The Lord jumped from one
hood to another, and Kaliya felt helpless
and bewildered; in anger he spat fire from his many mouths but the
Lord was so dexterous that His dancing movements caused
the-snake to become
dizzy. After so many kicks from the Lord, Kaliya started to
first vomit blood, and then refuse, before becoming almost
unconscious. At that time, the many wives of the Kaliya serpent
appeared and begged the Lord with folded hands to spare their
husband. Krishna decided to banish Kaliya to the great
ocean never to return again. Thereafter, the giant snake along with
his wives, departed forever, and the transcendental Lord re-joined
His cowherd boyfriends on the bank of the Yamuna, to continue their
wonderful pastimes in the land of
Vrindavana. |
