Krishna
Krishna (Sanskrit: कृष्ण, Kṛṣṇa, “the Dark One”) is the eighth avatar of Vishnu and one of the most widely worshipped deities in Hinduism. He appears as the divine charioteer and teacher in the Bhagavad Gita, the cowherd-lover in Vrindavan, and the supreme personality of Godhead in Vaishnavism. Krishna embodies the Self as divine totality: simultaneously playful child, passionate lover, wise teacher, and cosmic destroyer.
The Bhagavad Gita
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna serves as the spiritual guide to the warrior Arjuna, who stands paralyzed on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, refusing to fight. Krishna’s teaching unfolds the entire spectrum of Hindu soteriology: selfless action (karma yoga), loving devotion (bhakti yoga), discernment (jnana yoga), and the nature of the Self as imperishable consciousness.
The dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna is the archetypal Wise_Old_Man–Hero encounter: divine wisdom meeting mortal paralysis in the moment of ultimate crisis.
See Also
- Bhagavad Gita — the text in which Krishna reveals his teachings
- Arjuna — the warrior-hero to whom Krishna teaches
- Hinduism — the religious tradition in which Krishna is central
- Jungian_Self — the totality of the psyche that Krishna embodies
- Wise_Old_Man — the archetype Krishna enacts as teacher
- Veil_of_Maya — the illusion Krishna teaches Arjuna to see through