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The child
Krishna was adored for his mischievous pranks; he also
performed many miracles and slew demons.
As
a youth, the cowherd
Krishna became renown as a lover, the sound of his flute
prompting gopis (wives and daughters of the cowherds) to
leave their homes to dance ecstatically with him in the forests.
His favorite among the daughters of the cowherders was the
beautiful Radha.
Krishna's youthful dalliances with the gopis are
interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and
the human soul.
Krishna affirms life in his pranks, music and lovemaking
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The rich variety of legends associated with
Krishna's life led to an abundance of representation in
painting and sculpture. The divine lover (the most common
representation) is shown playing the flute, surrounded by
adoring gopis. |
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Click here to view
all of Lotus Sculpture's
statues of Krishna
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An excerpt
from the Bhagavad-Gita:
Arjuna sat dejected,
filled with pity, his sad eyes blurred by tears.
Krishna gave him counsel.
Lord Krishna
Why this cowardice in time
of crisis, Arjuna? The coward is ignoble, shameful, foreign to
the ways of heaven.
Don't yield to impotence!
It is unnatural in you! Banish this petty weakness from your
heart. Rise to the fight, Arjuna!
Arjuna
Krishna, how can I fight against Bhishma and Drona with
arrows when they deserve my worship? It is better in this world
to beg for scraps of food than to eat meals smeared with the
blood of elders I killed at the height of their power while
their goals were still desires. |
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Krishna and the Serpent Kaliya
Lord Krishna came to know that a very large and poisonous
serpent had made its home in a lagoon on the Yamuna river.
Because the serpent was so poisonous, not only all the fish
died, but even the trees and grass surrounding the lake were
dying. When birds flew over the area, they immediately dropped
dead and fell into the lake, due to the highly poisonous vapors
emanating from the water.
In that time, there were many frightful demons, who had all
kinds of mystic powers.
Lord Krishna had specifically appeared to rid the world of
all these disturbing elements. The Lord came to this place with
His cowherd boyfriends and decided to confront the king of the
snakes. He climbed the large Kadamba tree and from there, jumped
into the poisonous waters of the Yamuna.
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Lord
Krishna then began splashing about and making very loud noises just
to disturb the
Kaliya
serpent. Sure enough, the
Kaliya
snake
came up to the surface to see who was attacking his home. This huge
black serpent
Kaliya
(Kaliya
means black) possessed over one hundred hoods, each bedecked with a
precious gem. When he breathed, fire emanated from his nostrils. He
suddenly seized
Krishna
in his powerful coils, and bound the Lord as tightly as possible. But
unfortunately this serpent did not realize that within its coils was the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, playing as a child and enjoying His
earthly pastimes in the transcendental land of Vrindavana. Without
warning,
Krishna, the Supreme Mystic, started to expand His body, and
Kaliya,
who began to feel the incredible pressure, was forced to release the
Lord from his deadly coils.
Krishna
then jumped on to the hoods of the great serpent and started to dance,
stamping His foot down on the heads of the
snake
demon,
Kaliya.
This stamping of
Krishna,
felt to
Kaliya
serpent like Indra's thunderbolt striking a mountain. The Lord jumped
from one hood to another, and
Kaliya
felt helpless and bewildered; in anger he spat fire from his many mouths
but the Lord was so dexterous that His dancing movements caused the-snake
to become dizzy. After so many kicks from the Lord, Kaliya
started to first vomit blood, and then refuse, before becoming almost
unconscious. At that time, the many wives of the
Kaliya
serpent appeared and begged the Lord with folded hands to spare their
husband.
Krishna decided to banish
Kaliya
to the great ocean never to return again. Thereafter, the giant
snake
along with his wives, departed forever, and the transcendental Lord
re-joined His cowherd boyfriends on the bank of the Yamuna, to continue
their wonderful pastimes in the land of Vrindavana.
Click here to view all of
Lotus Sculpture's statues of Krishna |
