k r r 
tuve; I am the fatherand mother of this world, the grand/ire 
and the preferyer; I am deuthand immortality; I am en¬ 
tity and nonentity ; I am never-failing time ; I am all- 
grafping death, and 1 am the relurre&ion. I am the em¬ 
blem of the immortal, and of the incorruptible ; of the 
eternal, of jultice, and of endlefs bliis. Neither the fun, 
nor the moon, nor the fire, enlighteneth that place, whence 
there is no return, and which is the fupreme manfion of 
my abode.” 
Sanjay, one of the interlocutors of the Gita, defcribes 
Krilhna, as he revealed his “ million forms divine” to 
Arjun, “covered with every marvellous thing—the exter¬ 
nal god, whole countenance is turned on every fide. The 
glory and amazing fplendour of this mighty being may 
be likened to the fun riling at once into the heavens with 
a thoufand times more than ul'ual brightnefs. The fon 
of Pandu then beheld within, the body of the god of gods, 
Handing together, the whole univerle divided forth into 
its vail variety.” Anjun, terrified at this wondrous ex¬ 
hibition, exclaims: “Thou art the fupreme being ! I fee 
thee without beginning, without middle, and without 
end; of valour infinite, of arms innumerable; the fun 
and moon thy eyes ; thy mouth a flaming fire ; and the 
whole world lliining with thy reflefted glory. Having 
beholden thy dreadful teeth, and gazed on thy counte¬ 
nance, emblem of time’s lalt fire, I know not which way 
to turn ; I find no peace. Have mercy then, O god of 
gods! thou manfion of the univerfe ! and fiiow me thy 
celeftial form, with the diadem on thy head, and thy 
hands armed with the club and chakra. Aflume then, O 
god of a thoufand arms ! image o£the univerfe ! thy four- 
armed form.” 
Krilhna has eight regular wives afligned him, whcfe 
names are, i. Rukmeni or Radha, an incarnation of Le- 
chemy; 2. Yamuminti; 3. Kalenderi, a water-nymph, 
daughter of Surya, or the Sun; 4. Satyavama ; 5. Leche- 
my ; 6. Mitravinda; 7. Satya; 8. Vrundi. lie befides 
attached to him 16,000 women that he found virgins in 
the ample feraglio of a five-headed tyrant, who, for his 
manifold crimes, Krilhna flew. The legendary tales de- 
fcriptive of thefe events are of great length and variety. 
Each of thefe 16,008 women bore him ten fons, and c-ach 
fuppoled herfelf the exclufive favourite of her lord. Ka¬ 
ma, the god of love, is faid to have been the offspring of 
bis firlt wife Rukmeni; and in this birth he was named 
Pradyamna. 
He is ufually painted of a dark-blue colour; his name 
Krilhna denotes this ; and with four arms; elegantly 
drefifed with a profufion of jewels, and often playing on a 
pipe. Many plates of him are given in the Hindoo Pan¬ 
theon, from original images and pictures, and many le¬ 
gends are there related, connected with their fubjefts. In 
the Gita Govinda he is thus defcribed : “His azure brealt 
glittered with pearls of unblemilhed luftre, like the full 
bed of the cerulean Yamuna, interfperfed with curls of 
white foam. From his graceful wailt flowed a pale yellow 
robe, which refembled the golden duff of the water-lily 
fcattered over its blue petals. His pafiion was inflamed 
by the glances of Radha’s eyes, which played like a pair 
of water-birds with azure plumage, that fport near a full¬ 
blown lotus, on a pool in the fealon of dew. Bright ear¬ 
rings, like two funs, difplayed, in full expanfion, the 
flowers of his cheeks and lips, which gliftened with the 
liquid radiance of fmiles. His locks, interwoven with 
bloflbms, were like a cloud variegated with moon-beams ; 
and on his forehead {hone a circle of odorous oils, extract¬ 
ed from the fandal of Malaya, like the moon juft appear¬ 
ing on the dnficy horizon; while his whole body feemed 
in a flame, from the blaze of unnumbered genm.” 
It is believed, bj' fome of the mod refpectable re- 
fearchers into Hindoo theology, that the worlhip of 
Krilhna, Rama, and other deified perfonages, is modern, 
compared with the inftjtutions of the Vedas, in which no 
snention is made of fuch deities. As noticed in the de» 
K It I 875 
fcription of Jagan-Matb, one of the names of’ Kriflma, he 
is principally worfhipped at that extenfively-revered tem¬ 
ple. See vol. x. p. 119, The name of Krilhna is vari- 
oully written in European languages : Crilhria, Criflna, 
Krultna, Kilhna, Kiflnah, Quixena, Kilhen, &c. and is 
differently pronounced in different provinces of India. 
KRIS'LING, a town of Prufiia, in Ermeland: ten 
miles fouth-weft of Allenftein. 
KRITAN'TA, a name of Yama, the Hindoo Pluto. 
Kritamala is the name of a river connected with the hif- 
tory of this perfonage-under fome of his forms, and may 
have a common origin. See Yajwa. 
KRIT'IKA, in Hindoo aftronomy, a name of the Plei¬ 
ades, refpefting which their poetical mythologifts have re¬ 
lated many pleallng tales, every thing connected with Hin¬ 
doo fcience being veiled in allegories. This conffellation 
perfonified is, as one of the manfions of the moon, or Soma, 
fabled to be a beautiful nymph receiving the inconftant 
deity in his nofturnal wanderings. The fix Krkikas are 
feigned alfo to have been the wet-nurfes of Kartikya, as 
mentioned under that word, p. 636. Other legends make 
them the wives of the Rilhis, who, among other characters, 
are made to Ihine the feven bright Aars in Urfa major; but, 
being unequal in number,farther fables became neceflary 
to reconcile the difference ; and an altronomical legend is 
related in the Hindoo Pantheon, affording a fpecimen of 
the manner in which the Brahmans have buried, in my¬ 
thological fictions, liiftorical, or fcientific faCts, and of 
the coincidence of thole fictions with the tales of weftera 
fabulifts. It is related that Agni, or Pavaka, the ardent 
deity of fire, was charitably and gallantly difpofed to com¬ 
municate a portion of his warmth to thefe ladies, wives 
of the frozen Rilhis ; and, fituated as they were in the 
arctic circle, their complacency to fuch a comfortable 
fuitor is not furprifing. But it is faid that he had not, in 
faCt, complete fuccefs; for that his w-ife, dreading the re- 
fentmentof the holy Rilhis, alfumed fuccelfively the lhape 
and countenance of each of their defirable wives, and thus 
perfonifying them, fatisfied her hulband’s ardour. Arund- 
hati, however, the wife of Vafiflita, having always been 
exemplary as to holinefs and fimCtity, was not fufpeCted 
on this unlucky occafion ; but the other fix Rilhis, in 
confequence of fcandalous reports, not only diffniffed. 
their fparkling fpoufes, but, like great bears, drove them 
out of the arftic circle, and they now Ihine tiie Pleiades. 
In this wild tale we fee an allufion to the difi.ppearance of 
the feventh ftar of the Pleiades. Arnndhati, the wife of 
Vafilhta, is retained by him. The liar called by his name 
is in lat. 6i° N. and file is the frnaller ftar near him. They 
are proverbial for conftancy ; and aftrologers carefully 
watch their motion, as their influences are varioully mo¬ 
dified: whatever newly-married couple fee them in an au- 
fpicious conjunClion or pofition, are fureJy to live happily 
together for a hundred years. The Pleiades, according to 
mythologifts in the weft, were entrufted likewife with the 
education of Bacchus (who, accordingto Macrobius, was 
the fame with Mars, or Kartikya), and on that account 
he trandated them into heaven. Moor's Hindoo Pantheon. 
KRITZ'WA, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of Ra- 
konitz : nine miles fouth of Rakonitz. 
KRIV'ELNIKa town of. Walachia: feven miles north- 
eaft of Cfernitz. 
KRJVI'NA, a town of European Turkey, in Bulgaria, 
on the Danube : thirty-three miles ealt of Nicopoli. 
KRIUKOV', a town of Ruflia, in the government of 
Ekaterinoflav, on the Dnieper : eighty miles weit-fouth- 
weft of Ekaterinoflav. 
KRIVOI'ROG, a town of Ruflia, in the government 
of Ekaterinoflav, on the Inguletz : fixty-four miles welt- 
fotith-weft of Ekaterinoflav. 
KRIVOLUT'SICA, a town of Ruflia, in the govern¬ 
ment of Irkutlk, on the Lena: fourteen miles fouth-wefi: 
of Kirenfle. 
KRIVOZER'SKOX, a fortrefs of Ruflia, in the govern- 
s. snesfe 
