page_title: Bala Krishna
section_title: Monuments
hierarchical_section_title: Bala Krishna / Monuments
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of Bala Krishna at Hampi. Relief of Balakrishna temple.
context_page_description: Bala Krishna sometimes translated to "Divine Child Krishna", or Bal Gopal is historically one of the early forms of worship in Krishnaism and an element of the history of Krishna worship in antiquity. This tradition is considered as a part of the number of other traditions that led to amalgamation in a later stage of the historical development and culminate in worship of Radha Krishna as Svayam bhagavan. Other monotheist traditions are Bhagavatism and Cult of Gopala, that along with Cult of Krishna-Vasudeva form the basis of the current tradition of the monotheistic Krishna religion. The worship of Balakrishna, the divine child, while a significant feature of the Krishna religion, often receives less attention, however it is one of the most popular deities of Krishna in many parts of India today. Early evidence of such worship can be found or as early as the 4th century BC according to evidence in Megasthenes and in the Arthashastra of Kautilya, when Vāsudeva
context_section_description: The prominent historical Site is the Balakrishna temple in Hampi built by the ruler Krishnadevaraya in 1513. Main altar of the temple is 
  dedicated to Bala Krishna and it is one of the few temples where stories of Puranas were carved on the walls of the temple and its main tower. Other notable image is murti of Bala Krishna worshiped by Madhvacharya in his Sri Krishna Matha of Udupi. It is believed the form was transported by sea from Dwarka. Legend has it that this was the very same murti which wife of Krishna, Rukmini, had worshipped. Liberation from the world of matter required grace and dependence on God and active devotion, such as worshipping the Lord in the form of an icon (murti). Madhva placed such an icon of Bala Krishna in his monastery in Udipi where it remains to be seen by pilgrims to this day. Ever since the image was installed, Udupi has been steadily gaining in importance as a centre of pilgrimage. It is believed Madhvacharya saved drifting ship, from which he received in gratitude two large balls of chandan clay used as a ballast. To the amazement of all in each there was confined a deity form, one of Krishna and one of Balarama, the deity of Krishna with a churner in his hand was called Bala Krishna and was installed in the main Udupi shrine. The sacred lamps at this statue of Bala Krishna recovered from the sea in the 14th century were lit by Madhvacharya himself and are being kept burning as a part of the ritual continuously, and that is for the last 700 years.
caption: A 14th-15th century CE relief of Balakrishna in Hampi, Vijayanagara in Karnataka South India
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