The Eighth Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism
Hindu tradition holds that Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the preserver god, descended to earth to remove the tyrant king Kamsa and restore Dharma (righteous order). He appears in the epic Mahabharata as the charioteer and spiritual guide of Arjuna, and their dialogue on the field of Kurukshetra is recorded as the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s most important philosophical classics, exploring the relation of duty (Dharma), action, and liberation. Krishna is also among the most beloved deities in Hinduism, worshipped and depicted in popular faith more often as a cowherd, a lover, and a mischievous child.
With the great war at hand, Arjuna saw kinsmen, teachers, and friends on both sides and, despairing, would not fight. As charioteer and guide, Krishna expounded to him the Bhagavad Gita, teaching "do your duty (Dharma) and do not ask after the fruits," and at that moment revealed his vast cosmic form. This dialogue is regarded as Hinduism’s core teaching on action, duty, and transcendence.
In Hindu tradition Krishna’s childhood tales are dearly loved in popular faith: mischievous from infancy, he stole butter and teased the cowherd girls, and, of immense strength, once lifted Mount Govardhan one-handed to shelter the villagers from a storm. These stories stand in vivid contrast to his later image as the sage of the Mahabharata, and typify Hinduism’s sense of the divine as both majestic and near.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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