KRISHNA (the Dark One)

This article appears in Volume V15, Page 927 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: KHA-KRI

KRISHNA (the Dark One) , an incarnation of Vishnu, or rather the form in which Vishnu himself is the most popular object of

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

throughout northern India. In origin, Krishna, like Rama, was undoubtedly a deified hero of the Kshatriya caste. In the older framework of the Mahabharata he appears as a

great

GREAT

chieftain and ally of the Pandava

brothers

BROTHERS, RICHARD (1757-1824)

; and it is only in the interpolated episode of the Bhagavad-gita that he is identified with Vishnu and becomes the revealer of the

doctrine

DOCTRINE

of bhakti or religious devotion. Of still later date are the popular developments of the modern cult of Krishna associated with Radha, as found in the Vishnu Purana. Here he is represented as the son of a king saved from a slaughter of the innocents, brought up by a cowherd, sporting with the milk-maids, and performing miraculous feats in his childhood. The scene is laid in the neighbourhood of Muttra, on the right bank of the Jumna, where the whole country to the present day is holy ground. Another place associated with incidents of his later life is Dwarka, the westernmost point in the peninsula of Kathiawar. The two most famous preachers of Krishna-

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

and founders of sects in his honour were Vallabha and Chaitanya, both born towards the close of the 15th century. The followers of the former are now found chiefly in Rajputana and

Gujarat

GUJARAT

. They are known as Vallabhacharyas, and their gosains or high priests as maharajas, to whom semi-divine honours are paid. The licentious practices of this sect were exposed in a lawsuit before the high court at Bombay in 1862. Chaitanya was the Vaishnav reformer of Bengal, with his

home

at Nadiya. A third influential Krishna-preacher of the loth century was Swami Narayan, who was encountered by

Bishop

Heber

HEBER, REGINALD (1783-1826)
HEBER, RICHARD (1773-1833)

Gujarat

GUJARAT

, where his followers at this day are numerous and wealthy. Among the names of Krishna are Go pal, the cow-herd; Gopinath, the lord of the milkmaids; and Mathuranalh, the lord of Muttra. His legitimate

consort

CONSORT (Lat. consors, a companion)

was Rukmini, daughter of the king of Berar; but Radha is always associated with him in his temples. (See HINDUISM.)

End of Article: KRISHNA (the Dark One)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/KHA_KRI/KRISHNA_the_Dark_One_.html">
KRISHNA (the Dark One)
</a>

(Previous)
KRILOFF (or KRuILov), IVAN ANDREEVICH (1768-1844)

(Next)
KRISHNAGAR

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email