krishna avatar of vishnu, The eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu is often debated to be between Krishna and his elder brother Balarama, but because Balarama, is an incarnation of Adi Shesha the serpent of Vishnu. Krishna is collectively accepted as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna, one of the most widely popular of all Indian divinities became the focus of numerous bhakti cults, which have over the centuries produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna's stories from the epic Mahabharata and Bhagvat Purana.

1. Krishna Avatar of Lord Vishnu
The eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu is often debated to be between Krishna and his
elder brother Balarama, but because Balarama, is an incarnation of Adi Shesha the
serpent of Vishnu. Krishna is collectively accepted as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu.
Krishna, one of the most widely popular of all Indian divinities became the focus of
numerous bhakti cults, which have over the centuries produced a wealth of religious
poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna's stories from the epic
Mahabharata and Bhagvat Purana.
A fact behind Krishna avatar:
There came a time when the earth was unable to bear the sins and cruelty committed
by evil kings and rulers. Earth then prayed to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe
to relieve her from these sinful kings. Brahma prayed to the supreme Lord Vishnu for
his reincarnation and to relieve the earth from these evil rulers. Kansa, the ruler of
Mathura was one such evil king; he had a sister named Devaki, who was married to
Vasudeva. The day Devaki and Vasudeva got married, a voice from the sky forecasted
that Devaki's eighth son will bring an end to Kansa's rule and will kill him. A frightened

2. Kansa held the couple captive. He then vowed that he would kill every child of Devaki
and Vasudeva.
A birth story of Shri Krishna:
Seeing their first seven children being killed by the cruel Kansa, the imprisoned couple
feared giving birth to their eighth child. One night Lord Vishnu appeared before them.
He told them that as their son, he will return and rescue them from Kansa's evil deeds.
The divine baby was born and the day he was born, Vasudeva found himself magically
freed from prison. In a subconscious state, he took the baby away from the prison and
placed him in a safer place. Vasudeva reached a house in Gokul, exchanged Lord
Krishna with a newborn girl of Nanda and Yashoda, and returned to the prison with the
girl child. As soon as Kansa came to know about the newborn, he again tried to kill the
child. The infant ascended to the heavens and transformed into the goddess Yogamaya
and said, "O foolish Kansa! What will you get by killing me? Your killer is already born."
Childhood of Lord Krishna:
Meanwhile, Krishna was raised as a cowherd in Gokul. The childhood of Lord Krishna is
filled with stories of his mischievous pranks and incidents that depict his divine nature.
According to a popular story, Krishna carried off the gigantic serpent Kaliya from the
river to the sea. Sri Krishna also raised the mount Govardhan hill with his little finger
and kept it as an umbrella to shield Vrindavan's people from the torrential rain caused
by Indra, who was irritated by Krishna. He was popular among the Gopis of Vrindavan,
especially Radha. Radha and Lord Krishna grew up together and their story forms the
Rasa-Lila. During his boyhood, due to unexpected events, the news confirming that
Krishna was indeed the son of Devaki and Vasudev broke out and Krishna had to leave
for Mathura, leaving behind his other family of Nanda and Yashoda. On his return to
Mathura, he slew Kansa and restored his father to power.
Why Lord Krishna move Mathura to Dwarka:

3. After many years of considering the kingdom dangerous, he led the Yadavas to
Kathiawar's west coast and set up his court in Dwarka. He married a beautiful princess
from the Vidarbha kingdom named Rukmini. Lord Krishna married seven other wives
Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Nagnajiti, Mitravinda, Lakshmana, and Bhadra. Krishna
is also famous for having 16,000 wives. Upon killing the demon Narakasura, Krishna
placed Bhagdatta on the throne and then freed all of Naraka's prisoners. Amongst the
prisoners were 16,000 women whom Narakasura had captured. Knowing that society
would not accept women who have been held captive by a demon for years, Krishna
married the 16,000 women making them all their wives and giving them a respectable
place in society.
Role of Lord Krishna in the Mahabharata war:
Shree Krishna became a counselor and friend to Pandava prince Arjuna. In the great
war of Kurukshetra between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Krishna declined to bear
arms. Still, he agreed to be present on one side of the army. To avoid any war between
the cousins Krishna requested the Kauravas to give a small amount of land to the
Pandavas. Duryodhana however, opposed any compromise. Shree Krishna gave his
dearest friend Arjuna a choice once war became inevitable. Either he could choose
Krishna himself, or he could choose the armies of Krishna. Arjuna preferred Shree
Krishna's presence instead of his troops while Duryodhana chose the Narayani Sena.
As the war began, Arjuna was moved by the thought of killing his family members and
putting down his weapon. Lord Krishna then advised him about the battle and its
repercussions, Karma, the purpose of life and death, and the power of dharma. This
conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna soon extended into a discourse that
was later brought together as the Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita explains how an
aspiring seeker could pursue a union with God. Like previous Indian scriptures, the
Bhagavad Gita did not require renunciation of the universe but encouraged
acceptance of the earth.
Shree Krishna also revealed his universal form (Vishva Roopa) to Arjuna, showing his
full spiritual realisation. After this, Arjuna, an admirer and relative of Krishna became
his disciple. Lord Krishna represents all the human and spiritual elements. He played a

4. human role as an avatar, but at the same time, he was a fully realized spirit, one with
god.
Why did Gandhari curse Lord Krishna?
Krishna met Gandhari after the battle of Kurukshetra was over to give her condolences
as the Pandavas had won the battle and Gandhari had lost her 100 sons to death.
Gandhari in her rage aggressively came up to Lord Krishna and poured her anger on
him. According to her, the mass killing could have been avoided by Krishna, but he did
not. Her grief turned into vengeance and she cursed Krishna that if her devotion
towards Shiva was pure and if she was true to her husband all her life then 36 years
from that day Krishna would die. His kingdom Dwarka would be flooded and the entire
Yadava clan of Lord Krishna would be destroyed, the same way he made the Kauravas
reach death.
36 years later Gandhari's curse came true. Dwarka was consumed by the Arabian Sea,
the Yadava race went extinct. Lord Krishna and Balarama had left the mortal world and
Kali-Yuga had arrived. The Pandavas felt that there was no purpose left for their
existence.
Conclusion:
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu is said to be the protector of the three
worlds. We find an example of this in all the incarnations mentioned above. All the
incarnations of Lord Vishnu were only for the protection of the universe, he took all
the incarnations to destroy the unrighteousness and establish the truth again. If you
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Read also: 10 Avatar of Lord Vishnu