Krishna

Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu in the common list and, for many Vaishnavas, the supreme lord himself. He is shown as a dark-skinned youth with a flute and peacock feather, as the child Gopala of Vrindavan, and as the charioteer of Arjuna who speaks the Bhagavad Gita. In Odisha, Jagannath is worshipped as Krishna at Puri, and the Odia shrines include Sakshigopal and Khirachora Gopinatha. Jayadeva's Gita Govinda is sung at the Jagannath temple. Janmashtami, the Dola festival of spring and the winter Dhanu Yatra of Bargarh are important Odia observances.

According to the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana, Krishna was born in Mathura in the prison of King Kamsa, as the eighth child of Vasudeva and Devaki. He was carried to Gokula and raised by Nanda and Yashoda among the cowherds. As a boy he defeated demons sent by Kamsa, and as a youth he...