Krishna

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Krishna \Krish"na\ (kr[i^]sh"n[.a]), n. [Skr. k[.r]sh[.n]a ' The
     black.'.] (Hindu Myth.)
     The most popular of the Hindu divinities, usually held to be
     the eighth incarnation of the god Vishnu.
     [1913 Webster]
  


     Note: Krishna is a well-known Hindu deity. Originally the
           ethnic god of some powerful confederation of Rajput
           clans, by fusion with the Vishnu of the older theology
           Krishna becomes one of the chief divinities of
           Hinduism. He is indeed an avatar of Vishnu, or Vishnu
           himself. In his physical character mingle myths of
           fire, lightning, and storm, of heaven and the sun. In
           the epic he is a hero invincible in war and love,
           brave, but above all crafty. He was the son of Vasudeva
           and Devaki, and born at Mathura, on the Yamuna, between
           Delhi and Agra, among the Yadavas. Like that of many
           solar heroes, his birth was beset with peril. On the
           night when it took place, his parents had to remove him
           from the reach of his uncle, King Kansa, who sought his
           life because he had been warned by a voice from heaven
           that the eighth son of Devaki would kill him, and who
           had regularly made away with his nephews at their
           birth. Conveyed across the Yamuna, Krishna was brought
           up as their son by the shepherd Nanda and his wife
           Yashoda, together with his brother Balarama, 'Rama the
           strong,' who had been likewise saved from massacre. The
           two brothers grew up among the shepherds, slaying
           monsters and demons and sporting with the Gopis, the
           female cowherds of Vrindavana. Their birth and infancy,
           their juvenile exploits, and their erotic gambols with
           the Gopis became in time the essential portion of the
           legend of Krishna, and their scenes are today the most
           celebrated centers of his worship. When grown, the
           brothers put their uncle Kansa to death, and Krishna
           became king of the Yadavas. He cleared the land of
           monsters, warred against impious kings, and took part
           in the war of the sons of Pandu against those of
           Dhritarashtra, as described in the Mahabharata. He
           transferred his capital to Dvaraka ('the city of
           gates'), the gates of the West, since localized in
           Gujarat. There he and his race were overtaken by the
           final catastrophe. After seeing his brother slain, and
           the Yadavas kill each other to the last man, he himself
           perished, wounded in the heel, like Achilles, by the
           arrow of a hunter. The bible of the worshipers of
           Vishnu in his most popular manifestation, that of
           Krishna, consists of the {Bhagavatapurana} and the
           {Bhagavadgita}. See these words.
           [Century Dict. 1906]
  
     {Hare Krishnas} A popular name for the group {International
        Society for Krishna Consciousness} (abbreviated {ISKCON}),
        devotees of Krishna, founded in 1966 by A. C.
        Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (born 1896, died 1977).
        They are called thus because of their frequent public
        chanting of the words "Hare Krishna".
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Krishna
       n : 8th and most important avatar of Vishnu; incarnated as a
           handsome young man playing a flute