Worshipped as the Eighth avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu, Krishna is worshipped in forms of a child god, cowherd, warrior, lover, philosopher and the Jagadguru. He is worshipped in various forms across the country with equal fervour and devotion.
The Krishnajanma Bhoomi Temple, Mathura is the place where the Almighty Bhagwan Vishnu was born as Shri Krishna in the prison of his uncle Kamsa. A temple is dedicated carrying the images of Shri Krishna, Radha and Balram. Behind the temple stands the prison where Shri Krishna was born.
Shri Krishna is worshipped as the Dwarakadish in the temple of Dwaraka, his hometown in Gujarat. Although the iconic city which was built by the divine architect Vishwakarma lies submerged in the sea, the present temple stands on the shores of the sea wherein Shri Krishna is worshipped as Dwarakadish, the king of Dwaraka. The temple is believed to be built by the great grandson of Shri Krishna Vajranabh. There is a temple dedicated to Bhagwathi Rukmini very close to the main temple shrine.
Shri Krishna is worshipped as Jagannath, the protector and king of the universe, in the divine temple of Puri in Odisha. He is flanked by his brother Balram and sister Subhadra and their murals are carved out of a wooden plank. This temple was built by the Ganga dynasty king Anantavarma Chodaganga in the 12 th century. One of the exquisite features of this temple is that its shadow never falls on the ground.
The Dwaraka of the South, Guruvayoor temple is where Bhagwan Krishna is worshipped as the Bala Krishna – the child. Adorned with the peacock feathers and pearls necklaces, he wins the hearts of all with his divine magnificence. He is offered worship thorugh ritual dances called the Krishnattam, which depict the childhood deeds of Shri Krishna.
The Prem mandir in Vrindavan, is one of the magnificent temples built in marble and dedicated to Radha and Krishna, for their eternal love. The temple has beautiful images carved on the stories of Shri Krishna in Vrindavan. The temple was built under the patronage of the Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj, the saint from Varanasi.
Udipi Math temple is where the divine god appears in the form of the enchanting butter thief, with butter in one hand and blessings his devotees with the other. The idol was found in an anthill by the great saint Madhwacharya, who installed it in the temple of Udipi. The unique feature of this temple is when the great saint Kanakadas, was refused darshan of Shri Krishna, he sat dejected at the back of the temple. Then, Shri Krishna turned himself to the back of the temple wall, and gave darshan to his devotee from the back wall. Even today, devotees have a darshan of Shri Krishna from a window on the back wall.
The Parthasarathi Temple in Chennai, Tamil Nadu depicts Shri Krishna as the charioteer of Arjun. Although the main idol here is of Bhagwan Vishnu, he is worshipped as Shri Krishna being the charioteer of Arjun and where he gave the universal discourse of the Bhagavad Geeta. It is one of the 108 Divya Kshetras of Bhagwan Vishnu too and was built in the 8th century by the Chola kings.
Forms are many, but the worship and faith remains the same and be it a small temple, or a historical temple, Shri Krishna is omnipresent and faith in him is the greatest strength one can possess.