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कृष्ण
DashavataraYuga
Dvapara Yuga
Born to Devaki and Vasudeva in Kamsa's prison; raised by Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul/Vrindavan. Killed numerous demons (Putana, Kaliya, Aghasura, etc.); danced rasa-lila with the gopis; killed Kamsa; established Dvarka. Charioteer of Arjuna at Kurukshetra; speaker of the Bhagavad Gita.
Dark-blue / cloud-colored boy or youth; peacock feather in crown; flute (Murali); yellow garments; tribhanga (three-bend) pose; with Radha, with cows, with Sudarshana, with Yashoda
Purna avatara — full descent; bhakti's beloved; ras (love); mukti through both action and devotion
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय; हरे कृष्ण महामन्त्र
Vrindavan/Mathura (Banke Bihari, Krishna Janmabhoomi); Dvarka; Puri Jagannath; Guruvayur (Kerala); Udupi (Karnataka)
Krishna Janmashtami (Bhadrapada krishna ashtami); Govardhan; Holi (Vrindavan rasa)
Krishna is one of 10 deities in the Dashavatara tradition. Reading Krishna alone gives the iconographic outline; reading the full grouping reveals what kind of cosmic principle the tradition is working with. The Dashavatara as a whole describes a coherent set of relationships — between forms of the divine, between cosmic functions, or between stages of spiritual realisation.
Ten primary descents of Vishnu to restore dharma when adharma rises. The traditional list (Bhagavata Purana 1.3.24): Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Kalki. Some traditions (especially Gaudiya) substitute Balarama for Buddha.
In daily worship, devotees may invoke Krishna alone — through their specific mantra and iconographic form — or invoke the full Dashavatara grouping in sequence (especially during festivals like Navarātri for the Navadurgā, or daily archana for the Aṣṭalakṣmī). Both modes are traditional and authoritative; the choice depends on the family’s sampradāya and the kuldevtā tradition.