Krishna
major deity in Hinduism, worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right
Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, IAST: Kṛṣṇa Sanskrit: [ˈkr̩ʂɳɐ] ) also known as Govinda, Madhava, Gopala, and other names and titles is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and as the Supreme God in his own right. He is widely revered for his divine qualities of love, compassion, protection, and tenderness. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami, according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar.
Krishna is often depicted in dark skin in accordance with meaning of his name, "black" or "dark". The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are known as Krishna Lila. He is a central figure in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological, and mythological texts. These texts describes him as a divine statesman, teacher, savior of dharma, charioteer, and sometimes a cowherd. They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the universal supreme being. His iconography reflects these legends and shows him in different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute, a handsome youth with Radha or surrounded by female devotees, or a friendly charioteer giving counsel to Arjuna.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Krishna” is major deity in Hinduism, worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Krishna, major and deity, not as a finished interpretation.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q42891. VIAF identifies the subject as 316798233. The Library of Congress control number is no2015096049. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Krishna” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.