| Vedic Gods | Indra, Surya, Vayu, Agni, Varuna |
| Trimurthy | Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh |
| Dieties | Ganesha, Rama, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati |
 The
eighth incarnation of Vishnu, KRISHNA, stands out radically in contrast to
Rama. While Rama is portrayed as upstanding, democratic, regal and disciplined, Krishna is
seen in various scriptures as a joyful baby; a mischievous cowherd who is the darling of
milkmaids; the powerful ruler of Dwarka; an annihilator of evil demons and a lover of his
devotees. But most of all, he is the Jagadguru or a teacher of the world, because he gave
the Bhagavad Gita to mankind.Krishna, also known by thousands of other names, was brought up by Yashoda and Nand in a pastoral family as a cowherd in Vrindavan near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. His real parents were Vasudev and Devaki, the sister of Kamsa, the evil king of Mathura. Having fulfilled a vow of killing Kamsa, Krishna created the kingdom of Dwarka in Gujarat and became a great friend of and advisor to the Pandavas, whose epic war with the Kauravas forms the subject of the Mahabharata. Krishna's life is also described in the Bhagavat Purana, Harivansh and other scriptures. He was especially close to Arjuna whose charioteer he remained throughout the great war. It is remarkable that he gave the message of the Bhagavad Gita, the finest treatises of philosophy and the quintessence of Hinduism, to Arjuna on the battlefield. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most highly respected philosophical treatises in world literature and has been translated and commented upon by scholars and saints in every age. Krishna is the most popular deity worshipped in India. His wife Rukmini, is an incarnation of Lakshmi. But in many rituals of worship he is shown with Radha, who is portrayed as his prakriti or his very own nature. Radha being his greatest devotee, represents along with Krishna, the eternal link between god and human being - the individual soul yearning to merge with universal reality. Krishna is the central figure of many devotional cults where love between god and devotee is the main theme. He is the god who plays the magical flute and has incomparable charisma which has lasted for thousands of years. The simplest stories of his childhood, adolescence and adulthood are the subject of unlimited folklore, poetry, art, sculpture and literature. He is the divine child-god, the teacher of mankind, the self-realized soul, who is worshipped in thousands of temples. He is portrayed as an exceptionally handsome, radiant man with sparkling eyes and a blue or dark complexion. The call of his flute is considered to be a divine call to liberate oneself from earthly desires. As a child, he played with the cowherds and milkmaids and was a much loved mischievous thief who stole butter. His fondness for butter is seen as his love for the essence of life, since butter is the product of churning. Temples of Krishna in India are too many to enumerate. The most important ones are in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Dwarka, Gujarat, Nathdwara, Rajasthan, Guruvayoor, Kerala and also in Udupi, Karnataka. 
 |