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Krishna

 
Spoken Sanskrit
English
माधव - mAdhava -
m.
 - Krishna
अहं कृष्णः - ahaMkRSNaH -
sent.
 - IamKrishna, speaking.
कृष्णः गृहे अस्ति वा? - kRSNaHgRheastivA? -
sent.
 - IsMr.Krishnaathome?
केशव - kezava -
m.
 - name of Krishna
मोहन - mohana -
m.
 - Krishna's name
वसुदेव - vasudeva -
m.
 - father of Krishna
राधा - rAdhA - N. - Krishna's beloved
दामोदर - dAmodara -
m.
 - name of a lord Krishna
मुरारि - murAri -
m.
 - name of Krishna or Vishnu
कृपया एतत् कृष्णं सूचयतु - kRpayA etat kRSNaM sUcayatu -
sent.
 - Please convey this to Mr Krishna
श्री - zrI -
f.
 - appended to personal names as a token of veneration [ e.g., Krishnashrii ]
हृषीकेश - hRSIkeza -
m.
 - name of Krishna (hrishika, any organ of sense, hrishikesha means lord of the organs of sense, or the faculties)
माधव mAdhava
m.
 Krishna
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 relating to spring
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 black gram [ Vigna mungo - Bot. ]
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 man of the race of yadu
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 representing kRSNa
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 son or descendant of madhu
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 belonging or peculiar to the descendants of madhu i.e. the yAdavas
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 vernal
माधव mAdhava
adj.
 honey tree [ Madhuca longifolia -Bot. ]
माधव mAdhava
m.
 name of the second month of spring
माधव mAdhava
n.
 sweetness
Monier Williams
English
KRISHNA,
s.
 (The most celebrated form of Vishnu, or rather
identified with Vishnu, as distinct from his ten Avatārs,
or Incarnations. The following particulars of the history
of this very popular deity, whose votaries are still so
numerous in India are given as an introduction to the
enumeration of his various names. Vasudeva, a descendant
of Yadu and Yayāti, had two wives, Rohinī and Devakī.
The latter had eight sons, of whom the eighth was Krishna.
Kansa, a demon, the sister of Devakī, and king of Mathurā,
was informed by the gods that one of these sons would
kill him. He therefore kept Vasudeva and his wife
Devakī in confinement in his palace, and slew their first
six children. The seventh son was Balarāma, who was
saved by being abstracted from the womb of Devakī, and
transferred to that of Rohinī. The eighth was Krishna,
who was born with kin as black as the dark leaves of the
lotus, and with a peculiar mark on his breast: he was
born at midnight, and immediately taken up by Vasudeva,
who, favoured by the gods, was able to elude the vigilance
of the guards, and make his escape through the gates of
Mathurā to the banks of the Yamunā river. Here Sesha,
the many-headed serpent, spread his hoods above the
heads of the father and child, and thus protecting them,
Vasudeva was enabled to cross the stream, and finding a
a cowherd named Nanda, whose wife Yaśodā had just been
delivered of a child, he quietly substituted his own son in
its place, and returned with the child of the cowherd to
the bedside of Devakī. When Kansa found that the infant
Krishna had escaped, he summoned certain demons, his
servants, and gave orders that a search should be
made for the child, and that all male children in whom
were signs of unusual vigour, should be killed. At the
same time he released Vasudeva and his wife, as no
longer endangering his safety. The cowherd Nanda,
with his wife Yaśodā, taking the infant Krishna, and
accompanied by Rohinī and the infant Balarāma, went to
reside at a village called Gokula, or Vraja, where they
settled. Here the female demon Pūtanā tried to destroy
the young Krishna by offering him her breast to suck,
but was killed by the child. Soon the child, with his
playfellow Balarāma, began to be unruly
and one day
his foster-mother passed the folds of a rope round his body
and tied him to a large wooden bowl, but the strength of
the young Krishna enabled him to drag the bowl against
the trunks of two trees, which were uprooted by the shock.
The family of Nanda now removed from Vraja to Vṛndā-
vana, and here Krishna and Balarāma grew up together,
and, roaming about the woods, joined in the sports of the
herdsmen's sons. One day Krishna came to the banks of
the Yamunā, within which was the fearful pool of the
serpent Kāliya. Krishna jumped boldly in. A terrible
combat ensued, in which the divine child was victorious,
and commanded the snake-king to depart from the Yamunā
to the ocean. About the same time Balarāma killed
the demon Dhenuka, who sought to destroy the two boys,
and soon afterwards killed the demon Pralamba, who had
assumed the shape of a young cowherd, that he might
mix in their sports. Not long after, the young Krishna,
who delighted in playing tricks upon his elders, resolved to
rouse the anger of the god Indra, who, according to some,
was his elder brother. He persuaded Nanda to cease
sacrificing to Indra, and to worship the mountain Govard-
hana, which sheltered the shepherds and their cattle. This
they did. but the exasperated Indra would have destroyed
them and their flocks with heavy rain, had not Krishna
lifted up the mountain and sheltered them under it. Indra,
foiled in his revenge, descended from heaven to praise
Krishna, and made him lord over the cattle, Meanwhile
Krishna had grown a beautiful youth, and soon began to
sport with the Gopīs, or shepherdesses, of whom seven or
eight became his wives, and amongst them his favorite,
Rādhā. In this character he is usually represented with
flowing hair and with a flute in his hand, and has been
compared to Apollo accompanied by the muses. In his
pastimes with the shepherdesses he invented a kind of
round dance, called Rāsa or Mandala nrityam, in which he
and Rādhā being in the centre, the attendant Gopīs danced
round them. But the happiness of Krishna was inter-
rupted by his tyrannical uncle Kansa, who sent formidable
demons to destroy him
Arishta, in the form of a bull,
Keśin, in the form of a horse, Kālanemi, and others.
They were all killed by the young Krishna. Kansa then
sent a messenger, named Akrūra, to entice Krishna and
Balarāma to his city Mathurā, under pretext of being
present at some games. They accepted the invitation
and went. At the entrance of the town Krishna killed
Kansa's washerman, who insulted him. Having clothed
himself in the washerman's yellow clothes, he proceeded,
and meeting a crooked woman carrying ointment,
miraculously made her straight by a touch of his hand.
At the games he killed the king's boxer, Chānūra, and
afterwards Kansa himself, and placed Kansa's father,
Ugrasena, upon the throne. He then became the pupil
of Sāndīpani, and, to rescue his son, killed the demon
Panchajana, and, taking the conch shell, formed of his
bones, bore it as his horn. Still living in Mathurā, he was
attacked by a prince named Kālayavana, who advanced
with a large force against the Yadu tribe. Upon this
Krishna built and fortified a city called Dvāraka, in the
province of Guzerat, and thither transferred the inhabi-
tants of Mathurā. One day Krishna went forth unarmed,
and, being pursued by Kālayavana, took refuge in a cavern,
where Muchukunda, king of men, was asleep. Kālaya-
vana, entering the cavern, was reduced to ashes by an
angry glance from the eye of Muchukunda. Krishna
then returned to Dvāraka. Soon after he was accused of
stealing a wonderful jewel called ‘syamantaka, ’ in the
possession of a man named Prasena. But the jewel was
really lost by the death of Prasena in a forest, and was
picked up by a lion, who, in his turn, was killed by the
king of the bears, Jāmbavat. The latter took the jewel to
his cavern, where he was found by Krishna, and com-
pelled to restore the gem. At the same time the bear
gave him his daughter Jāmbavatī in marriage. He next
married Satyabhāmā, daughter of Satrājit, and afterward
carried off Rukminī, daughter of Bhīṣmaka. By the
latter he had a son called Pradyumna, who is usually
identified with Kāmadeva, the god of love, and a daughter
named Chārumatī, as well as many other children. Be-
sides these wives he had more than sixteen thousand
others, who bore him a numerous progeny of one hundred
and eighty thousand sons. The other incidents of his life
are thus briefly related. Indra came to Dvāraka, and
reported to Krishna the tyranny of the demon Naraka.
Krishna went to his city, and slew him and another demon
named Mura, who assisted in the defence of the city. He
afterwards ascended to the heaven of Indra, with his wife
Satyabhāmā, and, visiting the gardens of Swarga, was in-
duced by his wife to carry off the Pāṛjāta tree, or cele-
brated tree of Paradise. Sachī, the wife of Indra, excited
her husband to its rescue, and a conflict ensued between
the gods and Krishna, who defeated them, and carried the
tree to Dvāraka. Soon after this, Uṣā, the daughter of
the Daitya Bāna, became enamoured of Aniruddha, son of
Pradyumna and grandson of Krishna, and induced her
father to carry him off. Krishna, Balarāma, and Prad-
yumna, came to his rescue. Siva and Skanda aided Bāna,
but the former was disabled and the latter put to flight
and Krishna, encountering Bāna, cut off all his arms. After
this, Paundraka, one of the family of Vasudeva, assumed
the insignia and title of Krishna, and was supported by
the king of Benares. Krishna advanced against them,
mounted on his vehicle Garuda, and having destroyed
them, set fire to Benares by the radiance from his chakra
or discus. Lastly, being recalled by the gods to heaven,
he destroyed all his own family the Yādavas. Amongst
them died Balarāma, out of whose mouth, as he expired,
issued the great serpent, Ananta or Sesha, of which he
was an incarnation. Krishna himself was killed by a
chance shot from a hunter, and again became one with the
Universal Spirit. From this summary of the history of
Krishna his various names will become intelligible.
Many of these names, as well as many of his attributes
and peculiarities, are identical with those of Vishnu. See
VISHNU. As being of a black or dark blue colour he is
called) कृष्णः, नीलमाधवः.
— (As descended from Yadu) यादवः,
यदुनाथः, कुकुराधिनाथः.
— (As son of Vasudeva) वासुदेवः, वसुदे-
वभूः
m.
— (Son of Devakī) देवकीनन्दनः, देवकीपुत्रः, देवकीसूनुः
m.
 ,
दैवकीनन्दनः.
— (As bearing the mark Śrīvatsa on his breast)
श्रीवत्सभृत्
m.
 , श्रीवत्सलाञ्छनः, श्रीवत्साङ्कः.
— (As foster-son of
Nanda) नन्दनन्दनः, नन्दकी
m.
 (न्), नन्दात्मजः.
— (As slayer of
Pūtanā) पूतनाहा
m.
 (न्), पूतनारिः
m.
 , पूतनासूदनः.
— (As having
a rope round his body) दामोदरः.
— (As destroying a tree
in the forest of Vṛndāvana) यमलार्जनहा
m.
— (Conqueror
of Kāliya) कालियजित्.
— (Younger brother of Indra) उपेन्द्रः,
इन्द्रानुजः, इन्द्रावरजह्.
— (Upholder of Govardhana) गोवर्धनधरः.
— (Chief of shepherds and Protector of cattle) गोविन्दः,
गोपालः -लकः, गोपेन्द्रः, गोपेशः.
— (The long-haired) केशवः,
केशी
m.
 (न्), केशः, केशटः.
— (Bearer of the flute) वंशीधरः,
मुरलीधरः.
— (Lord of the shepherdesses) गोपीनाथः.
— (Be-
loved of Rādhā) राधाकान्तः, राधावल्लभः, राधानाथः.
— (Destroyer
of Arishta) अरिष्टसूदनः.
— (Of Keśin) केशिहा
m.
 (न्), केशिसूदनः.
— (Of Kālanemi) कालनेमिहा
m.
 , कालनेमिरिपुः
m.
 , कालनेमि-
शत्रुः
m.
 , कालनेम्यरिः
m.
— (Dressed in yellow clothes) पीताम्बरः.
— (Conqueror of Chānūrā) चानूरजित्.
— (Killer of Kansa)
कंसहा
m.
 , कंसजित्
m.
 , कंसारिः
m.
 , कंसारातिः
m.
— (Lord of
Mathurā) मथुरेशः.
— (Bearer of the couch Pānchajanya)
पाञ्चजन्यधरः.
— (Conqueror of Kālayavana) कालयवनजित्.
—
(Lord of Dvāraka) द्वारकेशः, द्वारकनाथः.
— (Husband of Jām-
bavatī) जाम्बवतीपतिः
m.
— (Conqueror of Naraka) नरकजित्,
नरकान्तकः.
— (Destroyer of Mura) मुरहा
m.
 , मुरारिः
m.
 , मुर-
रिपुः
m.
— (Conqueror of Paundraka) पौण्ड्रकजित्.
— (Bearing
the discus) चक्रधरः, चक्री
m.
 (न्), चक्रपाणिः
m.
 , चक्रहस्तः,
चक्रवान्
m.
 (त्), चक्रभृत्
m.
— (Bearing the conch) शङ्खी
m.
 (न्),
शङ्खभृत्
m.
— (Blowing the conch) धमः.
— (Bearing a chaplet
or garland) वनमाली
m.
 (न्), मालः.
— (Bearing the jewel on
his breast) कौस्तुभवक्षाः
m.
 , कौस्तुभलक्षकः.
— (Destroyer of the
demon Madhu) माधवः, मधुजित्, मधुरिपुः
m.
 , मधुभिद्
m.
 , मधुमथनः.
— (Having Garuda as his symbol) गरुडध्वजः, तार्क्ष्यध्वजः,
तार्क्ष्यनायकः.
— (Foe of barbarians) यवनारिः.
— (Foe of the
daityas) दैत्यारिः
m.
— (The undecaying one) अच्युतः, अनन्तः.
— (Worshipped by men) जनार्द्दनः.
— (Lord of the senses)
हृषीकेशः. The following are other names of this deity,
some of which will be explained under the head of
Vishnu हरिः
m.
 , नारायणः, वैकुण्ठः, स्वभूः
m.
 , पुण्डरीकाक्षः, विष्टर-
श्रवाः
m.
 (स्), शार्ङ्गी
m.
 (न्), पद्मनाभः, वासुभद्रः, वासुः
m.
 , त्रिविक्रमः,
विश्वक्सेनः, चतुर्भुज्, शौरिः
m.
 , पुरुषोत्तमः, बलिध्वंसी
m.
 (न्),
विश्वम्भरः, विधुः
m.
 , अधोक्षजः, कैटभजित्
m.
 , राहुभेदी
m.
 (न्), कुस्तुभः,
उरुगायः. Krishna's mace or club is called कौमोदकी
‘his
sword, ’ नन्दकः
‘his jewel, ’ कौस्तुभः, स्यमन्तकः
‘his discus, ’
सुदर्शनः, चक्रं
‘his conch, ’ पाञ्चजन्यः, शङ्खः
‘his garland, ’
वनमाला
‘his charioteer, ’ सात्यकिः
m.
 , शैनेयः, दारुकः, युयुधानः
‘his heaven, ’ गोलोकः
‘a festival in his honour, ’ रासयात्राः
‘his paternal uncle and friend, ’ अक्रूरः
‘his grandfather, ’
शूरः
देवकः
‘his city, ’ द्वारकः -का, द्वारिका, द्वारवती, अब्धिन-
गरी. A modern reformer of the Vaishnava faith called
चैतन्यः is considered in Bengal as an avatār of Vishnu.
He is also called गौरचन्द्रः, गौराङ्गः.
KRISHNA, l. 9. for sister, read brother.