Krishna (; , pronounced (

Classical Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest ...

) and in (

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is the most ancient known precursor to Sanskrit, a language in the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is atteste ...

) is a Hindu deity worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. In

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Krishna is recognized as the complete and eighth

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, or as the Supreme God (''

Svayam Bhagavan Svayam Bhagavan (; roughly: "God Itself") is a Sanskrit concept in Hinduism, referring to the absolute representation of Bhagavan (the title "Lord" or "God") as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in a monotheistic framework. The concept is ...

)'' in his own right. As one of the most popular of all Hindu deities, Krishna has acquired a number of epithets, and absorbed many regionally significant deities, such as Jagannatha in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

and

Vithoba Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. The

Hindu texts Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindus, Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. ...

portray him in various perspectives: a lovable infant, a divine child, a prankster, a cowherd, a model lover, a divine hero, a diplomat, a king, a kingmaker, a selfless friend, a philosopher, charioteer to

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

and a dispenser of spiritual discourse, in the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

. Among the principal scriptures that discuss Krishna's legend are the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

, the Harivamsa, the

Srimad Bhagavatam The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one o ...

, and the

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...

. The Vishnu Sahasranama, the list of Vishnu's thousand names, also includes many of the titles and names of Krishna.

Epithets

In popular culture, Krishna is often associated with 108 names. The following is a list of fifty of among the most popular names, titles, and epithets associated with the deity Krishna:

References

Bibliography

External links

Krishnamrita stotra: 108 Names of Krishna
as found in Brahmanda Purana 3.36; ''English translation by G. V. Tagare''
108 Names of Krishna
*Astottara-satanamas (108 names): Krishn
devanagarimp3 audio
*Sahasranamas (1000 names): Krishna

Balakrishna
Radha-KrishnaList of more names of Lord Sri Krishna
{{Theology Krishna, names

Epithets

See also

References

Bibliography

External links