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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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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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Click here to view
all of Lotus Sculpture's statues of Krishna
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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
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