Wikipedia Trail: Krishna to Kshatriya

The Om symbol, a sacred sound and spiritual icon in Hinduism. Source: Wikipedia

For this week's Wikipedia trail I started with Krishna since we have the option to read his tales for our storytelling for the week. Krishna is the 8th avatar of Vishnu. He has many names. He goes by Govinda, Mukunda, Makhan Chor (which literally means cream/butter thief!) He loved to eat butter as a child, hence his name, and he played the flute. All of the women surrounded by him are the avatars of Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort.
Krishna led me to searching for avatar and its meaning. Avatar means descent, or the incarnation of a godly figure on earth. Avatar is most commonly associated with Vishnu because he has so many forms. The same concept of incarnation can apply in Buddhism.
The next term I was led to was the Bhagavad Gita, a Hingu scripture written in Sanskrit. It is a part of the Mahabharata. It was written by the sage Vyasa, since the Mahabharata was written by him. This text has been motivation for many leaders in the history of India, including Mahatma Gandhi.
Finally, I was led to Kshatriya, which is a social class (one of the castes). In the past, this group was responsible for protecting society by fighting during the wars. They often governed when they experienced peacetime.