Krishna is one of the most popular deities throughout India. Krishna is considered the eighth avatar, or incarnation, of the god Vishnu. According to legend Krishna was not only divine, but heroic as well. Krishna is believed to have defeated numerous dragons and monsters, and eventually, as predicted, killed his half-uncle, the tyrannical king Kamsa. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described by the Vedas. Mathura is the birthplace of lord Krishna. The city of Mathura is located in the western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, in the northern region of India. It is situated on the bank of the river Yamuna. Mathura is 150 km south of Delhi and 50 km northwest of Agra.

Krishna literally "dark, black, dark-blue" is a central figure of Hinduism and is the central character of the Bhagavad Gita, along with Arjuna. He is an Avatar of Vishnu and considered in some monotheistic traditions as the Supreme Being. Krishna is identified as a historical individual who participated in the events of the Mahabharata. Krishna is often described as an infant or young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana, or as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita. The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions. They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the Supreme Being. The principal scriptures discussing Krishna's story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana.

Worship of a deity or hero called Krishna, in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna or Gopala, can be traced to as early as 4th century BC. Worship of Krishna as svayam bhagavan, or the Supreme Being, known as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the bhakti movement. From the 10th century AD, Krishna became a favorite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Venkateshwara in Andhra, Jagannatha in Orissa, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan. The Gaudiya Vaishnavism sect of Krishnaism was established in the 16th century, and since the 1960s has also spread in the West, largely due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Since 1966, the Krishna-bhakti movement has also spread outside India. This is largely due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The movement was founded by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who was instructed by his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, to write about Krishna in English and to share the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy with people in the Western world.

My friend Vishnu has collected these photos from various sites