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Krishna

Krishna is considered to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead by Vaishnavas. He is the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. His complexion is blackish, the color of a new rain cloud. He stands in a threefold bending form, and plays on a flute. When worshiped in a temple, he will often be seen with his consort, Radha. In paintings, he may be seen dancing with the cowherd girls (gopis), playing with the cowherd boys, or as the chariot driver of Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. He is also seen with cows because he was born as a cowherd boy. He is often seen in Deity form as a small baby crawling, with a sweet in one hand.

He appeared in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh about 5,000 years ago. He performed many of his pastimes in Vrindavan. Both of these places still exist and are located about 150km from Delhi, between Agra and Delhi.

In order to protect his devotees he killed the evil king Kamsa and many other demons. He is the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, which is like the “Bible” of Indian philosophy. Krishna was married to 16,108 wives in Dwarka. His main consort in Dwarka is Rukmini, an incarnation of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. Krishna is unborn and eternal as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures.

Krishna’s Pastimes
Krishna was born of Devaki, the wife of Vasudeva, while they were imprisoned in Mathura. They were imprisoned because their eighth son, Krishna, was destined to kill the evil King Kamsa. When Krishna was born, the doors of the prison mystically opened and the guards fell asleep. Vasudeva walked out of the prison and took Krishna across the Yamuna River to Gokula to be cared for by his foster parents, Nanda and Yasoda. When Vasudeva arrived in Gokula, he found Yasoda asleep after having just delivered a baby girl. He exchanged babies and returned to the prison. When Kamsa found out that Devaki’s eighth child had been born, he rushed to the prison. He seized the baby, but the baby slipped from his hands and flew into the air, as a goddess. She said, “Fool, you cannot kill me. The baby that is destined to kill you has already been born elsewhere.”

Krishna spent his childhood with Nanda and Yasoda in Vrindavan. Kamsa sent many demon followers to Vrindavan to kill him. First he sent Putana, a child-killing witch, who assumed the form of a beautiful woman. She offered to nurse baby Krishna after covering her breast with poison, but Krishna sucked both her breast and her life-airs, killing her.

He then killed Trinavarta, the wind demon, who grabbed Krishna and flew away with him. Krishna made himself so heavy that the demon fell to the ground and died. The Aghasura demon, in the form of a gigantic snake, swallowed Krishna and his cowherd boy friends. Krishna then expanded himself and killed Aghasura. Aristasura, the bull demon and Keshi, the horse demon, both fought with Krishna and were killed.

He also punished Kaliya, a many-hooded serpent. This snake had poisoned the Yamuna River. Krishna danced on his head and eventually the Kaliya snake surrendered to him, realizing that he was the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

He also carried out many pastimes with the cowherd boys, cows, and gopis (cowherd girls). There are many paintings of Krishna dancing with the cowherd girls. This dance is called the Rasa Dance. Krishna expanded himself into many forms and it appeared to each girl that he was dancing only with her.

One day Krishna told his father, Nanda Maharaja, to stop worshiping Indra, the god of rain, and instead to worship Govardhan Hill, a sacred hill in Vrindavan. Nanda Maharaja did this and Indra became so angry that he sent torrential rains. Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill and held it over the residents of Vrindavan like an umbrella, thus protecting them. This pastime has been depicted in many paintings and sculptures.

Krishna then went to Mathura to kill Kamsa. He stayed in Mathura until he was 28. At the age of 28 he moved to Dwarka. In Dwarka he married 16,108 wives. His chief wife was Rukmini. He became Arjuna’s charioteer during the battle of Kurukshetra, and this is when he spoke the famous Bhagavad-gita.

Vishnu
Vishnu is the maintainer of the material creation. Another name for Vishnu is Narayana. He is one of the Hindu trinity, along with Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, and superintends the mode of goodness. He is full in all six opulences—wealth, influence, beauty, fame, strength, and renunciation. He is renounced because he is not attached to anything in the material world. Lord Vishnu is considered to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead by Vaishnavas.

As Garbhodakashayi Vishnu, Brahma appears from his navel and creates the universe. His consort is Lakshmi (also called Shridevi). Lakshmi usually holds a lotus flower with the petals open. His other consort is Bhudevi, who carries a blue lotus flower (sometimes the petals are closed). If both consorts are with Lord Vishnu, Lakshmi is on his right and Bhudevi on his left.

 He usually has four hands, which hold a conch shell (sankha), a disc (chakra), a club (gada), and a lotus flower (padma). He has a blue complexion and wears yellow garments. He wears a jewel on his chest called kaustubha.

The club and the wheel are the Lord’s symbols of punishment for the demons and miscreants. The lotus flower and conchshell are used to bless the devotees. When his incarnation is present on this planet, Lord Vishnu kills the demons and protects his devotees simultaneously.

Vishnu’s carrier is known as Garuda, who is half-bird (eagle) and half-man. Garuda is seen in many Vishnu temples kneeling reverently in front of the temple.

Lord Vishnu is often seen reclining on a bed made up of the coils of the serpent Ananta Shesha (Shesha-naga) with Lakshmi and Bhudevi at his feet. There are unlimited incarnations of Lord Vishnu, but there are ten major incarnations.

A Deity of Lakshmi- Narayana may be seen with Lord Narayana (Vishnu) sitting down, with Lakshmi sitting on his lap. Narayana may have a disc and lotus in his hands.

Incarnations of Vishnu
An incarnation of Lord Vishnu is called an avatara. Vishnu descends on earth whenever there is a decline in religious practice and a predominant rise of irreligion. In the Vedas it is said that the Lord, although one without a second, manifests himself in innumerable forms. Each and every incarnation has a particular mission, and all these forms and their missions are described in the revealed scriptures. Still, the essence of the mission is always the same—to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to religious principles. Sometimes Vishnu descends personally, and sometimes he sends his bona fide representative in the form of his son or servant, or he comes himself in a disguised form.

The Lord descends from his abode to this world, and therefore he is called avatara, which means “one who descends.” Sometimes people may think an avatara is an incarnation who assumes a material form of flesh and bones, but avatara actually refers to one who descends from a higher region. The Lord’s abode is situated far above this material world, and he descends from that higher position; thus he is called avatara.

Vishnu has ten major incarnations who are collectively known as the Dasavatara. They are Matsya, the fish; Kurma the tortoise; Varaha, the boar (who killed Hiranyaksa and saved the earth); Narasimha, the half-man, half-lion (Narasimha killed the demon Hiranyakasipu and saved his pure devotee Prahlada); Vamana, the dwarf Brahmin (who begged three paces of land from Bali Maharaja, the king of the demons, and in so doing reclaimed the universe for the demigods); Parasuram, the ax-bearing warrior (who although born a Brahmin, killed twenty-one generations of ksatriyas (warrior caste) because of their failure to follow religious principles); Rama, the ideal king (who saved his wife from Ravana, king of Lanka. The Ramayana narrates his activities); Balarama, Krishna’s brother; Lord Buddha; and Kalki, the killer of the demoniac population at the end of Kali-yuga.

Besides the major incarnations there are innumerable others. The Lord manifests in many species of life to maintain the faithful and to annihilate the unfaithful.

Sometimes Lord Vishnu appears in person as Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. Sometimes He appears as a shaktavesha-avatara such as Lord Buddha. (Shaktavesha-avataras are incarnations of Vishnu’s power invested in a living entity.) Living entities are also part and parcel of Lord Vishnu, but they are not as powerful; therefore when a living entity descends as an incarnation of Vishnu, he is especially empowered by the Lord.

Matsya
The first incarnation of Lord Vishnu is Matsya, the fish incarnation. Matsya’s lower body resembles a fish and his upper body a man. He has four hands, in which he holds a club, lotus, disc, and club. Sometimes his hands are depicted with the palm held outward, indicating blessings for his devotees. In pictures he is often depicted as fish.

At night when Brahma sleeps, the three worlds are flooded with the waters of the Causal Ocean and all beings inhabiting them are annihilated. At the end of the past millennium (the end of Brahma’s day) Brahma felt tired and desired to lie down. The Vedas were emanating from his mouth and a great demon named Hayagriva stole them. Understanding this, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a fish to save the Vedas and kill the demon.

When the entire world was covered with water, the Lord again took the form of a fish and saved King Satyavrata, who lived on a boat attached to the fish’s horn.

Once King Satyavrata was practicing austerity on the bank of the Kritamala River, drinking only water. Cupping his palms to scoop up some water from the river to offer as an oblation, he inadvertently scooped up a small fish. The fish appealed to the king for protection, asking to be provided with a safe place. The king then put the fish in a water jug. The fish immediately expanded his body and became too big for the jug. Satyavrata then placed the fish in a large well, but that was soon not large enough. The King then placed the fish in a lake, but the fish again expanded and the lake became too small. Finally, the king placed the fish in the sea, but that also became too small. The king then realized that the fish was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

The fish then told the King that there would be an inundation throughout the universe within a week and that he would protect the king. As the fish predicted, the Ocean rose and the king saw a boat coming toward him. He got into the boat along with the saintly people, herbs, seeds, and representatives of other living entities. He then offered prayers to Matsya. Matsya taught King Satyavrata and the saintly persons Vedic knowledge.

Kurma
The second incarnation, Kurma is Lord Vishnu in the form of a tortoise. Kurma means “tortoise.” He is sometimes seen in the form of a half-man, half-tortoise. He is often depicted with four arms. In his upper two hands he holds a disc and a conchshell. In his lower two hands he holds a club and a lotus. Sometimes these two hands are depicted in protection and boon-giving postures (mudras).

Kurma’s shell served as the pivot for Mandarachala Mountain, when the demigods and the demons used the mountain as a churning rod while churning the milk ocean (see Kumbha-mela story). The demons and demigods were producing nectar from the sea by using Mandara Mountain as the churning rod (the same nectar that is said to drop during the Kumbha-mela, giving eternal life). Because the churning rod needed support, Lord Vishnu accepted the form of a tortoise and allowed the demigods and the demons to rest the mountain on his back.

There is only one Kurma temple in India, at Srikurman (Kurma-ksetra) in Andhra Pradesh.  

Varaha
Lord Varaha, the third incarnation, appeared as a giant boar to save the earth and to kill the demon Hiranyaksa, who had been terrifying the universe. Varaha is often depicted as half-man, half-boar, and is engaged in picking up the earth. He is also sometimes depicted entirely as a boar. He may be seen holding a conchshell, disc, lotus, and club. Sometimes he is lifting the earth planet and other times, fighting with Hiranyaksa. He may also be seen holding a club, and one hand may be in the protective or boon-giving postures.

Varaha dove to the bottom of the ocean to save the earth after Hiranyaksa put it there. Hiranyaksa was Hiranyakasipu’s brother, the demon who was killed by Lord Narasimha. Hiranyaksa was so proud, that he wanted to fight with Lord Vishnu in the form of a boar. Lord Varaha then got into a vicious club fight with Hiranyaksa. Hiranyaksa struck Varaha with his hard fist, but Varaha slapped Hiranyaksa indifferently at the root of his ear and killed him instantly.

Narasimha
In his fourth incarnation, Lord Vishnu appears in the form of half-man, half-lion, to kill the king of the demons, Hiranyakasipu, the older brother of Hiranyaksa. Narasimha is usually depicted with four hands. The upper hands hold a disc and lotus; the bottom hands are either seen tearing out Hiranyakasipu’s innards or in the boon-giving and protective postures.

Hiranyakasipu was powerful. After performing extreme austerities, he received a benediction from Lord Brahma. He asked to be immortal, but Brahma told him he could not grant such a wish because he himself was mortal. Hiranyakasipu then received the blessing that he could not be killed by man, beast, demigod, or any kind of weapon or hands. He would also not die in the air, in water, or on the ground, nor be killed either inside or outside, neither during the day nor at night.

The Lord assumed the incarnation of a half-man, half-lion and killed Hiranyakasipu. He killed him on his lap, so that he was killed neither on land nor in water. He was killed in the doorway of the assembly hall, which was neither inside nor outside. He was torn apart by Narasimha’s nails, which was neither not a weapon nor hands. He was killed at dusk, which was neither day nor night.

Prahlada Maharaja was the son of Hiranyakasipu, and because the boy was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, his father tortured him. To save his devotee Prahlada Maharaja, Lord Narasimha appeared to kill Hiranyakasipu.

Vamana
Lord Vishnu appeared as Vamana, a dwarf-Brahmin, and attended Bali Maharaja’s sacrifice. Bali Maharaja was the grandson of Prahlada Maharaja, and due to being born in a demon family, was king of the demons. Bali had managed to overcome Indra, the king of heaven, and Indra approached Lord Vishnu for help.

Vamana begged three steps of land from Maharaja Bali. As it is the duty of a king to grant charity to Brahmins, Maharaja Bali replied, “Why take so little? I can give you much more than that.”

Lord Vamana replied “O my dear King, even the entirety of whatever there may be within the three worlds to satisfy one’s senses cannot satisfy a person whose senses are uncontrolled. One should be satisfied with whatever he achieves by his previous destiny, for discontent can never bring happiness. A person who is not self-controlled will not be happy even with possessing the three worlds.”

Vamana then expanded his body to take up the earth and all the heavens in his first two steps. There was nothing left for Bali Maharaja to give for the third step, so he offered his head. After taking everything from him, Lord Vamana made Bali king of the underworld.

Vamana holds a water-pot in one hand and an umbrella in the other. He wears either a loincloth or a deerskin. He wears a ring of kusa grass on his third finger and sometimes holds a book.

He is also called Trivikrama. Tri means “three,” and vikrama means “victory.” Vamana attained victory over Bali Maharaja by taking three steps. Lord Vishnu, as Vamana, may be seen stretching his leg to take a big step.

Parasuram
Parasuram, the sixth incarnation, was born as a Brahmin, but later acted as a ksatriya. He is seen in a human form holding a battle ax in one hand. Sometimes he is seen with four hands carrying a sword, ax, bow, and arrows. There are just a few temples dedicated to Parasuram in India. Parasu means “ax,” and thus his name means “Rama with an ax.” He was the son of the sage Jamadagni and Renuka. Siva showed Parasuram how to fight and also provided him with his ax.

One time, the powerful ksatriya king, Kartaviryarjuna, who had one thousand arms, stole Jamadagni’s kamadhenu (wish-fulfilling) cow. Parasuram then killed the king to regain the cow. After killing the king, Jamadagni, told him that killing a king is sinful, and that as a Brahmin he should have tolerated the offense. Jamadagni advised Parasuram to atone for his sin by traveling to various holy places.

While Parasuram was traveling, the king’s sons avenged their father by killing Jamadagni. Parasuram then killed twenty-one generations of the ksatriya race in order to purify the ksatriya race.

Lord Rama 
Lord Rama is the hero in the famous story, the Ramayana. He is also known as Raghunath and Ramachandra. Rama is the husband of Sita. He appeared in Ayodhya as the son of King Dasaratha.

Lord Rama is almost always worshiped with his consort Sita, his brother Laksman, and his monkey servant Hanuman. He is depicted with two arms, and in one hand he holds a bow. His wife Sita stands on his left, and she is often depicted holding a blue lotus. On his right side stands Laksman, who usually holds a bow and arrows. Hanuman usually kneels in front of Lord Rama.

His father, Maharaja Dasaratha, had three wives. From these three wives Maharaja Dasaratha had four sons. One of his wives, Kaikeyi, served Dasaratha nicely and received a boon from him. She said she would ask for the benediction at another time. At the time of Ramachandra’s coronation, Kaikeyi asked her husband to enthrone her son Bharata and to send Ramachandra to the forest for fourteen years. Maharaja Dasaratha then ordered Ramachandra to go to the forest.

Rama went to the forest with Laksman and Sita. When Marici assumed the form of a golden deer, Lord Ramachandra wanted to capture the deer to please Sita. While he was chasing the deer, the ten-headed demon, Ravana, kidnapped Sita and carried her to Lanka. As Rama and Laksman searched the forest for Sita, they met the dying Jatayu, who had been fatally wounded while trying to rescue Sita. Rama then killed the monkey Vali and made friends with Sugriva, the monkey king.

The monkeys were sent out to find Sita. Hanuman, Rama’s eternal servant, found Sita in Ravana’s capital on the island of Lanka. Hanuman jumped across the sea. When Lord Rama came with the monkey army, they built a bridge by floating boulders on the water. This happened at Rameswaram.

With Laksman’s help, along with the help of the monkey army, Rama was able to kill Ravana and his army. Rama then made Ravana’s brother, Vibhishana, king of Lanka. Rama then returned with Sita to his own kingdom in Ayodhya to become king.

Balarama
The eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Balarama, is Krishna’s older brother. He is white and has two hands. He usually carries a plow or a club (and sometimes both). He is often seen in pictures with Krishna and with the cowherd boys. He usually wears a blue dhoti. He is also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha or Haladhara.

Balarama is the son of Vasudeva. He first appeared in the womb of Vasudeva’s wife Devaki, but was mystically transferred to Rohini’s womb. Rohini is another of Vasudeva’s wives. This was done to prevent Kamsa from killing him at his birth. Kamsa was destined to be killed by Devaki’s eighth son, and to not take any chances he was killing all the sons born to Devaki at birth.

Balarama trained both Bhima and Duryodhana in club-fighting. Eventually, his students faced one another in the final combat of the Kurukshetra war. Because of this, Balarama chose to remain neutral during the conflict.

Buddha
Buddha is considered to be the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He is often seen sitting on a lotus, wearing yellow cloth.

Kalki
At the end of Kali-yuga (the present age), Kalki, the tenth incarnation, appears. He rides a white horse and carries a flaming sword raised above his head. With this sword, he kills the demoniac and atheistic population of the world. He appears at the time of Pralaya (the great deluge).