Iconography Of Lord Krishna
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Krishna is easily recognized by
his representations. Though his skin color may
be depicted as black or dark in some representations, particularly in murtis, in other images such as modern
pictorial representations, Krishna is usually shown with blue skin. He is often
shown wearing a yellow silk dhoti and a peacock feather crown. Common
depictions show him as a little boy, or as a young man in a characteristically
relaxed pose, playing the flute. In
this form, he usually stands with one leg bent in front of the other with a
flute raised to his lips, in the Tribhanga posture, accompanied by cows, emphasizing his position as the
divine herdsman, Govinda,
or with the gopis (milkmaids).
Krishna is also depicted and
worshipped as a small child (Bala Krishna, Bāla Kṛṣṇa the child Krishna), crawling on his
hands and knees or dancing, often with butter or Laddu in his hand being Laddu Gopal. Regional variations in the iconography
of Krishna are seen in his different forms, such as Jaganatha of Odisha, Vithoba of Maharashtra , Venkateswara (also Srinivasa or Balaji) in Andhra Pradesh, and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.
Representations in temples
often show Krishna as a man standing in an upright, formal pose. He may be
alone, or with associated figures. His
brother Balarama and sister Subhadra, or his main
queens Rukmini and Satyabhama.
Often,
Krishna is pictured with his gopi-consort Radha. Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but as Radha Krishna, a combined image of
Krishna and Radha. This is also a characteristic of the schools Rudra and Nimbarka
sampradaya, as well as that of Swaminarayan sect. The traditions celebrate Radha Ramana murti, who is viewed by Gaudiyas as a form of Radha Krishna.
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