Mark Gagnon

like the early centuries BC and the first millennium AD.

Now, earlier Vedic texts barely really mention Krishna.

It's in these epic and puranic layers that Krishna becomes this character that people love, this flute-playing, butter-stealing child, this cosmic teacher.

And in Hindu theology, the idea of the avatar comes from the Sanskrit word avatara, which literally means descent, and refers to a being who descends into the material world.

So Vishnu is the preserver within the Hindu trinity.

Obviously, you have Vishnu, you have Shiva, then you have Brahma, and they all act as a trinity.

And depending on which sort of philosophy and tradition of Hinduism you subscribe to, you actually believe that they are a three in one trinity similar to Christianity, or there are three distinct beings.

Regardless.

Vishnu is said to incarnate repeatedly throughout the ages in order to restore cosmic order.

Now, this is known as Dharma within the Hindu tradition.

So as the cosmic order declines, of course, Vishnu, the preserver, is going to come and manifest in our reality.

As some being in order to preserve our world.

So to be an avatar Vishnu means that the supreme sustaining principle of the universe takes this embodied form, not merely like, like a prophet that gets blessed.

words, you know, or like an inspired teacher, but literally God coming into history as God.

So in many traditions, Krishna is seen as one of these incarnations.

And in others, specifically, you know, different devotional schools, he is understood not just as an avatar, but as the original source from whom even Vishnu emanates.

But again, this depends on how

your devotional tradition is sort of structured but basically i need to know is that the avatar is the you know one of the the top triune beings of hinduism that basically come down they descend into our reality to preserve the order that we live and krishna is arguably the most infamous so

Where does Krishna actually come from?

What is the story of Krishna?