Krishna
<p ><b>Krishna</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ˈ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >k</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >r</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ɪ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ʃ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >n</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ə</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit" >Sanskrit</a>: कृष्ण, <i>Kṛṣṇa</i> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAST" title="IAST" class="mw-redirect" >IAST</a>, pronounced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Sanskrit" title="Help:IPA for Sanskrit" >[ˈkr̩ʂɳə]</a><small class="nowrap" > (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna.ogg" title="File:Krishna.ogg" ><img src="/1c1358f7-16ee-5a7c-a2de-23f2e70405f2.png"/></a> <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Krishna.ogg" class="internal" title="Krishna.ogg" >listen</a>)</small>, meaning "black" or "dark") is a deity, worshipped across many traditions of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" >Hinduism</a> in a variety of different perspectives. While many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishnava" title="Vaishnava" class="mw-redirect" >Vaishnava</a> groups recognize him as an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar" title="Avatar" >avatar</a> of the god, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu" title="Vishnu" >Vishnu</a>; some traditions within <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnaism" title="Krishnaism" >Krishnaism</a>, consider Krishna to be<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svayam_Bhagavan" title="Svayam Bhagavan" >Svayam Bhagavan</a>, or the Supreme Being.
Krishna is often described and portrayed as an infant or young boy playing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venu" title="Venu" >flute</a> as in the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavata_Purana" title="Bhagavata Purana" >Bhagavata Purana</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Knott56_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-Knott56-1" >[1]</a></sup> or as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance as in the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" title="Bhagavad Gita" >Bhagavad Gita</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Knott2000_2-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-Knott2000-2" >[2]</a></sup> The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_philosophy" title="Hindu philosophy" >Hindu philosophical</a> and theological traditions.<sup id="cite_ref-Thomson_3-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-Thomson-3" >[3]</a></sup> They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the Supreme Being.<sup id="cite_ref-Mahony1987_4-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-Mahony1987-4" >[4]</a></sup> The principal scriptures discussing Krishna's story are the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata" title="Mahabharata" >Mahabharata</a></i>, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harivamsa" title="Harivamsa" >Harivamsa</a></i>, the<i>Bhagavata Purana</i>, and the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu_Purana" title="Vishnu Purana" >Vishnu Purana</a></i>. He is also called as Govinda & Gopala.
Krishna's disappearance marks the end of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvapara_Yuga" title="Dvapara Yuga" >Dvapara Yuga</a> and the start of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga" title="Kali Yuga" >Kali Yuga</a> (present age), which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-5" >[5]</a></sup> Worship of the deity Krishna, either in the form of deity Krishna or in the form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Vasudeva" title="Krishna Vasudeva" >Vasudeva</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bala_Krishna" title="Bala Krishna" >Bala Krishna</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopal_(Krishna)" title="Gopal (Krishna)" >Gopala</a> can be traced to as early as 4th century BC.<sup id="cite_ref-Cultofgopal_6-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-Cultofgopal-6" >[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Hastings540_7-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna#cite_note-Hastings540-7" >[7]</a></sup> Worship of Krishna as<i>Svayam Bhagavan</i>, or the supreme being, known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnaism" title="Krishnaism" >Krishnaism</a>, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_movement" title="Bhakti movement" >Bhakti movement</a>. From the 10th century AD, Krishna became a favourite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannatha" title="Jagannatha" class="mw-redirect" >Jagannatha</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odisha" title="Odisha" >Odisha</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vithoba" title="Vithoba" >Vithoba</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtra" title="Maharashtra" >Maharashtra</a> and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinathji" title="Shrinathji" >Shrinathji</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan" title="Rajasthan" >Rajasthan</a>. Since the 1960s the worship of Krishna has also spread in the West, largely due to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Society_for_Krishna_Consciousness" title="International Society for Krishna Consciousness" >International Society for Krishna Consciousness</a>.</p>