Editing Krishna (section)

=== Adulthood ===
{{further information|Krishna in the Mahabharata}}
[[File:Krishna Rukmini Satyabhama Garuda.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Krishna with his consorts [[Rukmini]] and [[Satyabhama]] and his mount [[Garuda]], Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th–13th{{nbsp}}century<ref name="lacma">{{cite web|url=http://collections.lacma.org/node/203163|title=Krishna Rajamannar with His Wives, Rukmini and Satyabhama, and His Mount, Garuda &#124; LACMA Collections|publisher=collections.lacma.org|access-date=2014-09-23|archive-date=16 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716040855/http://collections.lacma.org/node/203163|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
Krishna legends then describe his return to Mathura. He overthrows and kills the tyrant king, his maternal uncle Kamsa/Kansa after quelling several assassination attempts by Kamsa. He reinstates Kamsa's father, [[Ugrasena]], as the king of the [[Yadava]]s and becomes a leading prince at the court.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bryant|2007|p=290}}</ref> In one version of the Krishna story, as narrated by Shanta Rao, Krishna after Kamsa's death leads the Yadavas to the newly built city of [[Dvārakā|Dwaraka]]. Thereafter Pandavas rise. Krishna befriends [[Arjuna]] and the other [[Pandava]] princes of the [[Kuru (kingdom)|Kuru]] kingdom. Krishna plays a key role in the ''Mahabharata''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rao|first1=Shanta Rameshwar|title=Krishna|date=2005|publisher=Orient Longman|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8125026969|page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJ747fOWTRMC&pg=PA1}}</ref>

The Bhagavata Purana describes [[Ashtabharya|eight wives]] of Krishna that appear in sequence as [[Rukmini]], [[Satyabhama]], [[Jambavati]], [[Kalindi]], [[Mitravinda]], [[Nagnajiti]] (also called Satya), [[Bhadra (Krishna's wife)|Bhadra]] and [[Lakshmana (Krishna's wife)|Lakshmana]] (also called Madra).<ref name="Hudson2008">{{cite book|author=D Dennis Hudson|title=The Body of God : An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMCxbOezDi4C&pg=PA264|access-date=28 March 2013|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-970902-1|pages=263–264}}</ref> This has been interpreted as a metaphor where each of the eight wives signifies a different aspect of him.<ref>{{cite book|author=D Dennis Hudson|title=The Body of God : An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMCxbOezDi4C&pg=PA264|access-date=28 March 2013|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-970902-1|pages=102–103, 263–273}}</ref> Vaishnava texts mention all Gopis as wives of Krishna, but this is understood as spiritual symbolism of devotional relationship and Krishna's complete loving devotion to each and everyone devoted to him.<ref>{{cite book|author=George Mason Williams|title=Handbook of Hindu Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LOZfwCDpEC&pg=PA188|access-date=10 March 2013|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533261-2|pages=188, 222}}</ref>

In Krishna-related Hindu traditions, he is most commonly seen with [[Radha]]. All of his wives and his lover Radha are considered in the Hindu tradition to be the [[avatar]]s of the goddess [[Lakshmi]], the consort of Vishnu.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rosen|2006|p=136}}</ref>{{sfn|Bryant|2007|p=443}} [[Gopi]]s are considered as Lakshmi's or Radha's manifestations.{{sfn|Bryant|2007|p=443}}<ref name=hawley13>{{cite book|title = The Divine Consort: Rādhā and the Goddesses of India|author=John Stratton Hawley, Donna Marie Wulff|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publisher|date= 1982|isbn = 978-0-89581-102-8|page=12}} Quote: "The regional texts vary in the identity of Krishna's wife (consort), some presenting it as Rukmini, some as Radha, some as Svaminiji, some adding all ''gopis'', and some identifying all to be different aspects or manifestation of one [[Devi]] Lakshmi."</ref>