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India: Mural painting of Krishna playing a flute on a palace wall at Udaipur City Palace, c.18th-19th century

India: Mural painting of Krishna playing a flute on a palace wall at Udaipur City Palace, c.18th-19th century

Krishna (literally 'dark, black, dark-blue') is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. 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 Mahābhārata.

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.

City Palace, Udaipur, is a palace complex in Udaipur, in the Indian state Rajasthan. It was built by the Maharana Udai Singh as the capital of the Sisodia Rajput clan in 1559, after he moved from Chittor. It is located on the east bank of Lake Pichola and has several palaces built within its complex. Udaipur was the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar in the Rajputana Agency and its last capital.

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