For your home temple
Choose a Krishna murti, Charan Paduka or compact Laddu Gopal that fits your shelf and daily pooja space.
Svastika's
Lord Krishna
श्री कृष्ण
Laddu Gopal and Kanha ji, the flute player, Radha Krishna and Shreenathji, for the home mandir, a desk, the car and for gifting.
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Before you bring one home
Choose the Krishna form that fits your space
Choose the Krishna form
Compare flute and cow forms, Baal Krishna, Laddu Gopal, Shreenathji, Charan Paduka and symbolic designs.
Match size and finish
Check the dimensions, then compare brass, plated, antique and marble-dust finishes by weight, care and placement.
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A short guide
Krishna murti and Kanha ji idols
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Krishna is kept in more forms than any other deity, and the reason is that people meet him at different points of their lives. A student gets the flute player. A new mother gets the child. A couple gets Radha at his side. A driver gets a pair of hands and a flute on the dashboard. Same god, four completely different objects, and the choice between them is not really about the shelf.
He answers to as many names as forms. A Krishna ji murti in one house is a Kanha ji murti in the next, or Kanha ji ki murti in everyday Hindi. Kanhaiya and Bal Gopal for the child, Laddu Gopal for the infant kept in seva, Shreenathji at Nathdwara, Krishna Bhagwan in plain speech, and a Krishna statue or a Kanha ji statue when the listing is written in English. The material gets the same treatment: what a listing calls brass is pital in most of North India, and it is the same metal. One of these forms carries a daily practice the others do not, which is the single most important thing to understand before buying.
Laddu Gopal, and whether you can keep up with it
Laddu Gopal, also written Ladoo Gopal and known as Bal Gopal or Kanha ji, is the infant Krishna, and he is not kept the way other murtis are. In households that keep him he is treated as a member of the family: woken, bathed, dressed in seasonal poshak, offered bhog, put to rest at night. That is not sentiment layered onto a statue. It is formal Pushtimarg theology, in which the image is understood as personally present and served in the mood of Yashoda toward her child.
Which raises the question that stops most people buying: can I keep up with it?
The tradition answers generously. The Bhagavad Gita is explicit that what is offered matters less than the devotion behind it, a leaf or a flower or water offered with love being accepted. The Bhagavata Purana's own chapter on deity worship allows service according to available means. Households across India keep Kanha ji with a morning bath, a change of clothes and a simple bhog, and that is a complete practice. If you have been told you must perform eight formal services a day or not begin at all, you have been told something the texts do not say.
The Laddu Gopal size numbers
Laddu Gopal is sold by number rather than inches, and the number is what decides which poshak will fit him.
- No. 0, around 1.75 inches
- No. 1, around 2.2 inches
- No. 2, around 2.75 inches
- No. 3, around 3.15 inches
- No. 4, around 3.4 inches
- No. 5, around 3.8 inches
- No. 6, around 4.4 inches
- No. 7 and above, from roughly 5 inches
Two caveats. The number measures height alone, head to toe, and it is a trade convention rather than an enforced standard, so makers differ by a few millimetres. Buy on the listed height, particularly when matching a poshak you already own. Nos. 2 and 3 are the usual household choice. Choose a size you can comfortably lift, because you will be handling him every day.
The other forms of Krishna
Krishna with the flute is the most kept adult form, standing in the tribhanga pose, sometimes with a cow beside him or a peacock feather at the crown. This is the conventional choice for a home mandir and the one that asks nothing of the household beyond dusting.
Radha Krishna is the pair, and the single most given wedding gift in this catalogue. On the belief that a Radha Krishna murti is unsuitable for a married couple: we went looking for a source and could not find one, and the tradition points the other way, since the pair is the central worship form of the Nimbarka, Gaudiya and Pushtimarg lineages, with a marriage narrative in the Garga Samhita that Phulera Dooj commemorates annually. Give it without worrying. See the pair kept together.
Shreenathji is Krishna as the lifter of Govardhan, the presiding form at Nathdwara and the central image of Pushtimarg. Instantly recognisable to anyone in that following, and a considered gift within it. Makhan Chor is the butter thief with his matki, the child form people ask for by name more than any other; it is made in brass and comes and goes, so check what is listed rather than assuming.
For a vehicle there are divine hands with the flute, and flute-and-feather pieces sized and weighted for a dashboard rather than merely being small; see what suits a dashboard. Where there is no shelf at all, a pocket temple closes around Shreenathji or Radhe Krishna. For a wall rather than a surface, there is a murti frame, which wants a wall a lamp or window actually reaches; see wall pieces. Jagannath is theologically a form of Krishna but a separate tradition with its own festival and region, so it keeps its own collection.
What size, from a dashboard to a big Krishna statue
Two to four inches covers the dashboard pieces, the smaller Laddu Gopals and anything going on a desk or a crowded shelf. Five to eight inches is the home mandir range and where most of these sit. Above that reads as a statement and wants a surface of its own.
People searching for a big size Krishna murti usually have a hall, an entrance console or a dedicated pooja room in mind, and they think in feet. Heights here are listed in inches, so one foot is a twelve inch listing. The standing figures in this collection run to around ten inches, with the murti frame reaching a foot on the wall, so this is not the place for a three foot statue. Larger pieces are made to order in brass, and if that is what you want, send the height and the finish through the enquiry page rather than ordering and hoping.
Whatever the height, read the base width beside it. A Krishna with a cow, or a Radha Krishna pair, is two or three figures on one base and takes far more shelf than a single standing figure of the same height.
Small Krishna idols for gifting
The right Krishna idol for gift and the right one for your own mandir are rarely the same piece. More of this collection is bought to give than to keep, and the small sizes are where most of that lands. That is not a compromise. A small Krishna idol is easier for the recipient to place when you do not know their shelf, it travels without risk, and at the same money a smaller finely finished piece beats a larger plain one every time.
Match the form to the occasion and it becomes an easy gift. Radha Krishna for a wedding or an anniversary. A small Laddu Gopal, or the crawling Kanha, for a birth or a naming ceremony. A flute-playing Krishna or a pocket temple for a housewarming where you do not know the family deity, because neither asks anything of the recipient. A dashboard piece for someone who has just bought a car, and for a child's room a small crawling Kanha, which is handled rather than only looked at. For an office desk, the divine hands with flute read as devotional without taking over the desk.
One caution when gifting a Laddu Gopal, and it matters: you are giving someone a daily practice rather than an ornament. Give him where you know that is welcome. Where you are not sure, the flute-playing form is the safer gift.
By occasion, see weddings, griha pravesh, annaprashan and mundan, where a small child-form Krishna is conventional. For a company list or an event, gifting at scale, ordering in quantity, or send numbers through the bulk order enquiry page.
What decides Krishna murti price
Four things, in roughly this order. Material comes first, because solid brass is metal all the way through and a plated piece is a finish over a cast core. Size second, since a taller figure is more of whatever it is made of. Composition third: a Krishna with a cow, or a Radha Krishna pair, is two or three figures on one base and costs accordingly. Hand-finishing last, and it is the one people underestimate, because the work that separates crisp fingers and a readable face from a soft blur is done by a person after the casting.
The practical consequence is that a small, well finished murti and a large, plainly finished one can sit at the same money and are not the same object. Enlarge the photograph and look at the face, the fingers and the flute. That is where the difference shows.
Which material
Brass if the murti will be bathed or handled daily, which for a Laddu Gopal it certainly will be. It is the only material here that tolerates milk, water and kumkum, and it can be cleaned back indefinitely with lemon and salt or tamarind. It is poured into a mould made for that one idol and the mould is broken open once the metal has cooled, which is where the detail comes from. See solid brass.
Gold and silver plating is for display and gifting, and it is built in three layers: a resin core, a layer of copper over it, then the gold or silver on top. That construction is why a plated piece is light and sharply detailed, and why water and milk take the finish off, which makes it the wrong choice for a Kanha ji you intend to bathe. See plated pieces.
Marble dust is a resin core with a marble dust coating over it, and the jewellery is cast separately in brass, plated, and set on by hand one piece at a time; see the white and gold range. Both stay dry, and neither can be bathed.
The antique finish Krishna and Shreenathji pieces are a patina applied on purpose rather than one the metal earned, so they take a dry cloth and nothing else. A paste of the kind used on brass lifts the finish rather than the tarnish, and nothing puts it back. See antique finishes.
Janmashtami, and Vishu
Krishna's birth is observed on Ashtami in the dark fortnight, decided by two criteria, the Rohini nakshatra and midnight, both from the same chapter of the Bhagavata Purana. Smarta and Vaishnava traditions weight them differently, which is why the date occasionally differs by a day between communities. Check a panchang rather than a shopping page, this one included. A Laddu Gopal is the centre of the occasion in most households; see what is bought for the day.
In Kerala, Krishna carries a second occasion. Vishu, the Malayalam new year in mid-April, opens with the Vishukkani, an arrangement seen first on waking with a Krishna murti at its centre alongside konna flowers, rice, fruit, a mirror and a lit lamp. A small flute-playing Krishna and a brass urli are the usual pieces bought for it.
To furnish the mandir around him, the lamps, thalis and chowkis are in pooja essentials; for the wider pantheon, start from the deity a household keeps.
✦ Questions, carefully answered
The small things you wondered about
Laddu Gopal is sold by number rather than inches. The rough convention: No. 0 is about 1.75 inches, No. 1 about 2.2, No. 2 about 2.75, No. 3 about 3.15, No. 4 about 3.4, No. 5 about 3.8, No. 6 about 4.4, and No. 7 upward from around 5 inches. Nos. 2 and 3 are the usual household choice. Buy on the listed height rather than the number alone, since the convention drifts between makers.
Because poshak is sized to the number, not to inches. If you buy clothes for him later, or already own some, the number is what has to match. It is measured on height alone, head to toe, not on weight or width.
He is traditionally kept as a member of the household rather than as a statue, so yes, there is a daily practice. But the tradition is generous about its scale. The Bhagavad Gita is explicit that a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with devotion is accepted, and the Bhagavata Purana's own chapter on deity worship allows for service according to available means. A morning bath, a change of clothes and a simple bhog is a complete practice. Anyone telling you it is eight formal services a day or nothing is not quoting the texts.
One you can comfortably lift, which is the traditional advice and the practical advice at once. You will be handling him daily, so a smaller size in a household with limited time is the sensible choice rather than a compromise.
Yes. Kanha ji, Kanhaiya, Bal Gopal and Laddu Gopal all refer to the infant Krishna. Kanha ji is the affectionate everyday name in Hindi-speaking households, and you will see the murti listed under any of them. Krishna ji and Krishna Bhagwan usually refer to the adult forms, though the usage is loose.
Yes. Pital is the North Indian word for brass and the listings use the English name for the same metal. It is solid all the way through, tolerates milk, water and kumkum, darkens between cleanings as a surface oxide rather than damage, and comes back with lemon and salt. If the murti will be bathed, this is the one to buy. Keep the lemon and salt for solid brass alone, since a plated piece and an antique finish are both surfaces and a paste takes either of them off for good.
Brass is poured into a mould made for that one idol, and the mould is broken open once the metal has cooled. Every casting gets its own mould, which is where the detail comes from, since a mould built to be used once holds finer relief than a reusable sand mould. On this deity it shows in the fingers and the flute, which are the first things a soft mould loses.
Heights are listed in inches, so one foot is a twelve inch listing. The standing figures in this collection run to around ten inches, with the wall-mounted murti frame reaching a foot, so this is not the place for a two or three foot statue off the shelf. Larger pieces are made to order in brass; send the height and finish through the enquiry page rather than ordering and hoping.
The divine hands with flute, or a flute-and-feather piece sized and weighted for a dashboard rather than merely being small. A standing figure is top-heavy on a dashboard and takes more of the sightline than people expect. Anything on a dashboard also has to survive heat and vibration, which favours a low flat base over a tall silhouette.
The divine hands with flute. They read as devotional at a glance, take almost no depth, and do not dominate a working desk the way a full figure does. A small flute-playing Krishna is the other common desk choice.
A small flute-playing Krishna is the safest, because it asks nothing of the recipient and suits any household that keeps Krishna at all. Radha Krishna for a wedding or anniversary, a small Laddu Gopal or crawling Kanha for a birth or naming, a pocket temple where you do not know the shelf, and a dashboard piece for someone who has just bought a car. Avoid gifting a Laddu Gopal unless you know a daily seva practice would be welcome.
Material first, since solid brass is metal throughout and a plated piece is a finish over a cast core. Then size, then composition, because a Krishna with a cow or a Radha Krishna pair is two or three figures on one base. Then hand-finishing, which people underestimate: the work separating crisp fingers and a readable face from a soft blur happens after the casting. A small well-finished murti and a large plain one can cost the same and are not the same object.
No. We went looking for a source for that belief and could not find one, and the tradition points the other way: Radha and Krishna together are the central worship form of the Nimbarka, Gaudiya and Pushtimarg lineages, a marriage narrative exists in the Garga Samhita, and Phulera Dooj commemorates it annually. It is among the most given wedding gifts in India for good reason.
A Krishna murti for home temple use is most often the flute-playing form, which is the most kept adult form and the one conventionally associated with home worship. Laddu Gopal is the choice where the household wants a daily seva practice. Radha Krishna suits a couple's home and is the usual wedding gift. For a home temple with a narrow shelf, measure the base rather than the height, since a Krishna with a cow is much wider than a single standing figure.
Krishna as the lifter of Govardhan, the presiding form at Nathdwara and the central image of the Pushtimarg tradition. Instantly recognisable to anyone from that following and a considered gift within it.
Krishna as the butter thief, usually shown with a matki, the pot he is stealing from. It is one of the most loved child forms and the one people ask for by name more than any other. It is made in brass here and comes and goes, so check what is currently listed rather than assuming it is on the shelf.
Theologically yes, but ritually and regionally it is a separate tradition with its own festival and aesthetic, so we keep Jagannath idols in their own collection rather than filing them under Krishna.
Brass if the murti will be bathed or handled daily, which for a Laddu Gopal it certainly will be, since it is solid metal throughout and the only one of the three that tolerates milk, water and kumkum. Gold or silver plated for display and gifting: a resin core, a layer of copper, then the precious metal on top, which is why it is light and sharp but must stay dry. Marble dust is a resin core with a marble dust coating and hand-set plated brass jewellery, also a dry material. Antique finish is a patina applied on purpose, so it takes a dry cloth and nothing else.
Solid brass takes a paste of lemon and salt or tamarind, then a full rinse and a thorough dry, since trapped moisture is what dulls it again. Everything else on this page takes a soft dry cloth: on a plated piece an acidic paste lifts the gold or silver rather than the tarnish, on an antique finish it strips the patina that was applied on purpose, and marble dust is a dry material throughout. Lift a piece by its base rather than by the flute or an arm.
No. A plated piece is a resin core with a copper layer and the precious metal over it, so the gold or silver is a surface on a body that is not metal, and water, milk and kumkum will take the finish off. If the murti will be bathed, buy solid brass.
Krishna's birth is observed on Ashtami in the dark fortnight, and two criteria decide it: the Rohini nakshatra and midnight. Both come from the same chapter of the Bhagavata Purana, which places Rohini at the ascendant and the birth at midnight. Smarta and Vaishnava traditions weight the two differently, which is why the observed date sometimes differs by a day between communities. Check a panchang for the year rather than any shopping page, including ours.
It can be a wonderful one, with a caution: you are giving someone a daily practice rather than an ornament. Give him where you know that would be welcome. For a birth or naming, a small size is conventional. Where you are unsure, a flute-playing Krishna asks nothing of the recipient.
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