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HARA KRISHNA

* Krishna Bless us all with your deviness *

Krishna the miracle maker, Krishna the soul maker, Krishna the galaxy maker

The Sanskrit word krsna has the literal meaning of "black", "dark" or "dark-blue"(Shyam Warn) ,and is used as a name to describe someone with dark complexion. Krishna is often depicted in murtis as black, and is generally shown in paintings with blue skin.
Krishna is also known by various other names, epithets & titles, which reflect his many associations and dynamic attributes. Among the most common of these are those that relate to his role as the deity of cattle herders - Govinda, herder of cattle, or Gopala, protector of cattle. Some of the distinct names may be regionally important, for instance, Jaganatha, or lord of the world, in eastern India.
Some Hindu traditions often describe varying interpretations and power to the names. For instance, commentators on Vishnu sahasranama offers detailed explanations of a thousand names of Vishnu, that also can apply to Krishna.

Birth of the soul maker

Traditional belief based on scriptural details and astrological calculations gives the date of Krishna's birth, known as Janmashtami, as either 18th or 21st July 3228 BCE.
Krishna was of the royal family of Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva. Mathura was the capital of the closely linked clans of Vrishni, Andhaka, and Bhoja. They are generally known as Yadavas after their eponymous ancestor Yadu, and sometimes as Surasenas after another famed ancestor. Vasudeva and Devaki belonged to these clans. The king Kansa, Devaki's brother, had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth son, he had locked the couple into a prison cell, planning to kill all of Devaki's children at their birth. After killing the first six children, and Devaki's apparent miscarriage of the seventh, Krishna took birth. Since Vasudeva believed Krishna's life was in danger, Krishna was secretly taken out of the prison cell to be raised by his foster parents, Yasoda and Nanda in Gokul, Mahavana. Two of his other siblings also survived, Balarama (Devaki's seventh child, transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva's first wife) and Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini, born much later than Balarama and Krishna).
The place believed by worshippers to mark Krishna's birth is now known as Krishnajanmabhoomi, where a temple is raised in his honour.
Gaudiya Vaishnava scholars identify the form of Krishna who appeared in Mathura as Vasudeva Krishna of the first quadrupal expansion. In this form Krishna appeared before Vasudeva and Devaki without a natural birth, fully grown, with four arms and full paraphernalia.

Childhood and youth of our Kanha

Nanda was the head of a community of cow-herders, and he settled in Vrindavana. The stories of Krishna's childhood and youth here include that of his life with, and his protection of, the local people. Kamsa learnt about the child's escape and kept sending various demons (such as Putna,Bakasur,Aghasura & many more) to put an end to him. The demons were defeated at the hands of Krishna and his brother Balarama. Some of the most popular exploits of Krishna center around these adventures, such as the lifting of Govardhana hill and his play with the gopis of the village, including Radha. The stories of his play with the gopis became known as the Rasa lila and were romanticised in the poetry of Jayadeva, author of the Gita Govinda.Kaliya mardan was one of the best lilas our bal gopal played ,He danced on the 5 hooded Kaliya naag & later provided him abhay.

The Kurukshetra war and the Bhagavad Gita

Krishna was cousin to both sides in the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas. Once battle seemed inevitable, Krishna offered both sides to choose between having either his army or simply himself, but on the condition that he personally would not raise any weapons. Arjuna on behalf of the Pandavas chose to have Krishna on their side, and Duryodhana chose to have Krishna's army on the side of the Kauravas. At the time of the great battle, Krishna thus acted as Arjuna's charioteer. The Bhagavad Gita is the knowledge given to Arjuna by Krishna on the battlefield just prior to the start of the fighting. Baghwad Gita is the reflection of Sri Krishnas dynamic character & the golden rules by which He had moulded our cosmos.

Krishna the Moksh Provider

Following the war Krishna lived at Dwaraka for thirty-six years. Then at a festival, a fight broke out between the Yadavas who exterminated each other. His elder brother Balarama then gave up his body using Yoga. Krishna retired into the forest and sat under a tree in meditation. A hunter mistook his partly visible foot for a deer and shot an arrow wounding him mortally. According to the Mahabharata, Krishna's death was caused by a curse by Gandhari. Her bitter anger after witnessing the death of her sons caused her to utter this curse, because she believed that Krishna did not do enough to stop the war when he had the full capability to do so. Upon learning of the curse, Krishna smiled and accepted it, stating that his duty was to fight for, and protect, the righteous people, not to prevent the war.
According to Puranic sources, Krishna's death marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE.

"THE UNIVERSE IS HIS PLAY GROUND & HE PLAYS WITH US ALL AROUND"

The above mentioned data are sourced from datahouse...thanks for sharing.