Avatar 8 of 10 · Dvapara Yuga
Krishna
The eighth avatar: Krishna, the cowherd of Vrindavan and the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita, held by many to be the fullest coming of Vishnu.
- His form
- The cowherd and teacher
- Dvapara Yuga
- His day
- Krishna Janmashtami
- Krishna Ashtami, at midnight
The story
Krishna was born at midnight in a prison in Mathura, where the tyrant Kamsa held his parents, Devaki and Vasudeva, because a prophecy said their eighth son would kill him. That night the doors opened, and Vasudeva carried the baby across the Yamuna to Gokul, to be raised by Yashoda and Nanda.
He grew up among the cowherds, stealing butter, playing the flute and dancing with the gopis, and he lifted Govardhan hill on one finger to shelter the people from a storm. As a young man he returned to Mathura and killed Kamsa, and later built the city of Dwarka by the sea.
At Kurukshetra, as Arjuna’s charioteer, he taught the Bhagavad Gita: to act without clinging to the fruit, and to offer everything to God.
Why he came
To end Kamsa’s tyranny and the wars of proud kings, and to teach the Gita.
How he is shown
Dark blue, with a peacock feather and a flute; as a child with butter in his hand; or as Arjuna’s charioteer.
His verse
कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने।
प्रणतक्लेशनाशाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः॥
Krishnaya Vasudevaya Haraye Paramatmane,
Pranata klesha nashaya Govindaya namo namah.
To Krishna, son of Vasudeva, to Hari, the supreme self, who ends the troubles of those who bow to him, to Govinda: I bow again and again.
वसुदेव के पुत्र कृष्ण को, परमात्मा हरि को, और नमन करने वालों के कष्ट मिटाने वाले गोविन्द को: बार-बार नमन।
His day
Krishna Janmashtami
The eighth day of the waning moon, in Shravana by the southern calendar and Bhadrapada by the northern (August or September), at midnight
Find the date this yearWhere he is worshipped
- Dwarkadhish TempleDwarka, Gujarat
- Banke Bihari TempleVrindavan, Uttar Pradesh
- Guruvayur TempleGuruvayur, Kerala
- Sri Krishna MathaUdupi, Karnataka
Questions
Why is there no Jayadeva verse for Krishna?
In Jayadeva’s Dashavatara Stotram the eighth verse is for Balarama, because Jayadeva sees Krishna himself as the source of all ten avatars.
When was Krishna born?
At midnight on the eighth day of the waning moon (Shravana by the southern calendar, Bhadrapada by the northern), kept as Krishna Janmashtami.