We have seen everywhere lord Krishna is always depicted with blue skin. I’m sure the thought has crossed your mind why is he always depicted in blue color? Here are the top beliefs that answer the question. But before answering the questions let’s understand why he is believed to be the supreme god.

Krishna: Supreme God

Lord Krishna who is the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu is considered the supreme god. He is the god of protection, compassion, and love. His birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami which falls in late August or early September as per the Gregorian calendar. He is the creator of the popular religious grantha Bhagvat Gita, Mahabharata

Krishna: Blue Skin God

There are multiple beliefs to answer why the skin of lord Krishna is blue. To understand this we have to first understand why someone’s skin turns blue. Normally a human’s skin would turn blue when he is exposed to some kind of poison. That’s why lord Shiva’s throat is also blue as he drank poison at the time of Samudra Manthan. The reason behind lord Krishna’s blue skin is also the same. There are multiple occurrences when he was exposed to poison.

1. When Krishna was a child:

When lord Krishna was a child, one fine day he felt hungry, and a demon Putana tried to breastfeed him. But as she was a demon she tried to kill him with poisoned milk. She was sent by his evil uncle Kansa. Kansa was told that her sister’s son would be the end of him. So he tried to kill Krishna by sending one of her demons.

Putana disguised herself as a young beautiful lady and tried to breastfeed infant Krishna. While breastfeeding Krishna sucked her life along with the milk out of her chest. She was the first demon that he killed. But as she performed a noble act of breastfeeding he then performed last rites with all the respect someone dead deserved.

2. When Krishna was a teenager:

Krishna and his friend used to play near the Yamuna River which flowed through the city of Vrindavan. While playing their ball went into the river. Yamuna was meant to be the home of a five-headed snake, which was very dangerous. It was also a demon and was very evil. Due to its venomous nature, the water of the River Yamuna became toxic. Whoever drank or used it became sick and died due to its toxicity.

Krishna being a fearless teenager jumped right ahead into the river. He then fought the snake bravely and it is said that while fighting the snake he was exposed to its venom. Krishna was not affected by the venom as he is the supreme god. He then killed the snake and saved the city of Vrindavan by providing them with fresh water from the Yamuna River.

Another Beliefs:

There are other beliefs as to why Krishna’s skin is blue. One of which is he used to lay a lot of cosmic strength which is invisible to human eyes, hence the skin of Krishna is blue. His blue skin might not be blue, maybe he was dark skinned as mentioned in many books. But due to the cosmic energy he emits the skin appears to be blue.

This is just a belief but exposure to poison/venom is a more factual theory by Indian Hinduism as to why Krishna’s skin is blue.