Krishna :
Krishna , the king of Mathura and Dwarka is the eighth avatar of Vishnu and one of the most popular and worshipped incarnations . Although he appears as a surprisingly human and lovable person, a mysterious and intricate superhuman character is ascribed to him . Krishna is not only a protector of the people but also a symbol of eternal love between god and man . His followers, the Vaishnavas worship him not only as a revered god but as a child, as a romantic youth, a philanthrophic, an invincible warrior, and a philosopher, statesman and diplomat of the highest order . Krishna has been regarded as complete incarnation of God, endowed with all sixteen Kalas . Krishna belonged to the Yadavas, a pastrol race which dwelt in Vrindavana and Gokula . In those days Kansa , a wicked king, was the ruler of Mathura , a place near Vrindavana. The legend goes that Vishnu plucked out two of his own hair, one white and other black . The black hair entered the womb of Devki , sister of Kansa to became Krishna or Keshava . Krishna was later responsible for killing his tyrannical uncle Kansa.
Krishna married Rukmini, Jambavati and Satyabhama . He is said to have had 16 , 000 wives and 1 , 80 , 000 sons . His sons were named Samba and Pradyumna , and daughter Charumati.
Govinda was the name acquired by him in his childhood when he accompanied his cows to graze in the fields, indulged in mischievous pranks, teased his fellow mates, upset milk churns, and was lovingly admonished for stealing milk and butter from everywhere . As Mohana he played the flute in the serene surroundings of the countryside and mesmerised the beautiful gopis (milkmaids) , the plants as well as the animals . In his adolescence he was a favourite of the gopis (milkmaids). His flirtatious interaction with them was seen as an expression of the divine love for the soul . Krishna and Radha , his beloved, symbolized the love, separation and ecstatic reunion of the almighty and the soul .
He wore yellow clothes, carried a flute, a stick and sported a peacock feather in his curly locks . Krishna means ‘the dark one’ and his complexion was light blue in color . His lips were red, his face was like the full moon, and eyes were like the lotus flower .
Krishna plays a seemingly ordinary flute whose enchanting notes, hypnotized everyone who came within his ambit . His weapon was in the form of a wheel called Sudarshan Chakra , which he used once during the battle of Mahabharata , to protect the vow of Pitamaha Bheeshma .
We see Krishna in a different role in the Mahabharata , when his cousin Arjuna breaks down before the start of war . Krishna then delivers the message of the Bhagavada Gita – of selfless action, of the path of karma and the invincibility of the soul as compared to the mortal body that houses it . The beauty of his sermon was that it is as relevant in context of the modern times as it was in the bygone era . The worship of Krishna gained stimulas with the advent of the Bhakti cult which advocated belief in the loving adoration of God as a means of salvation . Krishna was a child, lover, friend, king, teacher, and a symbol of the pursuit of bliss and happiness .           The Krishna is known some more other names like, Mohana, Madan, Giridhara, Damodar, Gopala, Goverdhana, Vasudeva, Shrinath, Jagannath.