Balarama in the context of "Shesha"

Jagannath (Sanskrit: जगन्नाथ, Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, romanized: Jagannātha, lit. 'Lord of Universe', Odia pronunciation: [dʒɔɡɔnːat̪ʰɔ]; formerly English: Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and his sister, Subhadra.

Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is a form of Krishna, sometimes as an avatar of Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.

Sasirekha Parinayam is an Indian Telugu folktale based on oral traditions popular in Telugu States. While it uses characters who appear in the Mahabharata, the story is not present in the epic. The plot concerns the marriage of Sasirekha, called Vatsala in some versions, the daughter of Balarama, to Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. It echoes the marriage of Arjuna to Subhadra in the Mahabharata.

The story is popular in performances, including Tholu bommalata (shadow puppets), Yakshagana, and Kuchipudi. By early 1950s, Surabhi theatre troupes made the folktale popular across Telugu-speaking regions.

The Dashavatara (Sanskrit: दशावतार, IAST: daśāvatāra) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word Dashavatara derives from daśa, meaning "ten", and avatāra, roughly equivalent to "incarnation".

The list of included avatars varies across sects and regions, particularly with respect to the inclusion of Balarama (brother of Krishna) or the Buddha. Though no list can be uncontroversially presented as standard, the "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is [...] Krishna, Buddha." Most draw from the following set of figures, in this order: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, or Balarama, Buddha or Krishna, and Kalki. In traditions that omit Krishna, he often replaces Vishnu as the source of all avatars. Some traditions include a regional deity such as Vithoba or Jagannath in penultimate position, replacing Krishna or Buddha. All avatars have appeared except one: Kalki, who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga.

Neminātha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi (Devanagari: अरिष्टनेमि), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (Avasarpini). Neminath lived 84,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankar Parshvanath. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi of the Yadu dynasty in the north Indian city of Sauripura. His birth date was the fifth day of Shravan Shukla of the Jain calendar. Balarama and Krishna, who were the 9th and last Baladeva and Vasudeva respectively, were his first cousins.

Neminatha, when heard the cries of animals being killed for his marriage feast, freed the animals and renounced his worldly life and became a Jain ascetic. The representatives of this event are popular in Jain art. He had attained moksha on Girnar Hills near Junagadh, and became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.

Subhadra (Sanskrit: सुभद्रा, romanized: Subhadrā, lit. 'auspicious') is a figure in Hindu tradition, particularly revered in Vaishnavism as the sister of the deities Krishna and Balarama. She is mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures, including the epic Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana. A princess of the Vrishni clan and the daughter of Vasudeva, Subhadra married the Pandava prince Arjuna and became the mother of Abhimanyu.

Subhadra is part of the triad of deities worshipped at the Jagannath Temple at Puri, along with Krishna (as Jagannatha) and Balarama (or Balabhadra). One of the chariots in the annual Ratha Yatra is dedicated to her.

The Vrishni heroes (IAST: Vṛṣṇi vīras), also referred to as Pancha-viras (IAST: Pañca vīras; 'the five heroes'), are a group of five legendary, potentially semi-historical deified heroes who are found in the literature and archaeological sites of ancient India. Their earliest worship is attestable in the clan of the Vrishnis near Mathura by 4th-century BCE. Legends are associated with these deified heroes, some of which may be based on real, historical heroes of the Vrishni clan. Their early worship has been variously described as cross-sectarian, much like the cult of the Yakshas, related to the early Bhagavata tradition of Hinduism, and with possible links to Jainism as well. They and their legends – particularly of Krishna and Balarama – have been an important part of the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.

The Vrishnis were already known in the late Vedic literature. They are also mentioned by Pāṇini in Astadhyayi verse 6.2.34, while Krishna is referred to as Krishna Varshneya ("the Vrishni") in verse 3.187.51 of the Mahabharata. Beyond texts, their importance in ancient India is attested by the ancient inscriptions found near Mathura and coins discovered in the ruins of Ai-Khanoum (Afghanistan), bearing images of the two main Vrishni heroes, with Greek and Brahmi legends.

Vasudeva (/ˌvʌsuˈdeɪvə/; Sanskrit: वसुदेव [ʋɐsudéːʋɐ]), also called Anakadundubhi (anakas and dundubhis both refer to drums, after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna (Vāsudeva, i.e. "son of Vasudeva"), Balarama, and Subhadra. He was a king of the Vrishnis. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu and elder brother Samudravijaya is father of Neminath.

The patronymic Vāsudeva (with a pronounced ā) is a popular name of Krishna, the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. "Vāsudeva" is a vṛddhi, a derivative of the short form "Vasudeva", a linguistic pragmatic in Sanskrit signifying "of, belonging to, descended from". "Vasudeva" as an object of worship in Hinduism usually refers to the son Vāsudeva (Krishna), rather than his father Vasudeva.

The Harivamsa (Sanskrit: हरिवंश, lit. 'The genealogy of Hari', IAST: Harivaṃśa) is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the anustubh metre. The text is also known as the Harivamsa Purana. This text is believed to be a khila (appendix or supplement) to the Mahabharata and is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa. The most celebrated commentary of the Mahabharata by Neelakantha Chaturdhara, the Bharata Bhava Deepa also covers the Harivamsa. According to a traditional version of the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa is divided into two parvas (books) and 12,000 verses. These are included with the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata. The Critical Edition has three parvas and 5,965 verses.

The Adi Parva of Harivamsa describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary history of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of Krishna. Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the Mahabharata. Bhavishya Parva, the third book, includes two alternate creation theories, hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of the Kali Yuga. While the Harivamsa has been regarded as an important source of information on the origin of Vishnu's incarnation Krishna, there has been speculation as to whether this text was derived from an earlier text and what its relationship is to the Brahma Purana, another text that deals with the origins of Krishna.

Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-east of Mathura.