How did Krishna become blue as he was originally black?

Q: How did Krishna become blue as he was originally black?

Krishna: I will answer this question from a scientific point of view.

Image source: THE HINDU GALLERY

The name "Krishna" (कृष्ण) in Sanskrit primarily means "black" or "dark," or dark blue but also encompasses interpretations like "all-attractive" or "all-auspicious".

(By the way Krishna is my name too)

Dark skin is primarily obtained due to an increased production and concentration of melanin, a pigment that gives skin its colour, in cells called melanocytes.

Factors Influencing Melanin Production:

Genetics: A person's genes determine their inherent ability to produce melanin. In populations living in areas with high levels of sunlight, natural selection favored darker skin pigmentation as a way to protect against the harmful effects of UV radiation.

Sun Exposure: Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun stimulates melanocytes to produce more melanin, leading to a tan or darkening of the skin.

Hormonal Changes: Hormonal fluctuations, such as those that occur during pregnancy or puberty, can also affect melanin production.

Inflammation: Skin inflammation or injury can sometimes trigger increased melanin production, leading to hyperpigmentation or darkening of the skin.

According to science, blue-tinged skin can occur due to a rare genetic condition called methemoglobinemia, where the hemoglobin in red blood cells is unable to effectively release oxygen, leading to a bluish appearance.

This condition arises when there's an abnormal amount of methemoglobin, a form of hemoglobin, in the blood.

In methemoglobinemia, the hemoglobin is unable to release oxygen effectively to the body tissues, leading to a bluish discoloration of the skin, lips, and nails (cyanosis).

Another condition that can cause blue skin is argyria, which is caused by the buildup of silver in the body, often from ingesting too much colloidal silver.

Blue baby syndrome, also called cyanosis, is a condition in babies in which their skin appears blue or purple tinged. It may be caused by many things like birth defects, heart ailments, or lung diseases.

Uranium toxicity because of contaminated water is also believed to have the potential to cause ‘blue baby syndrome’. Cases of blue baby syndrome were reported in villages in Romania and Bulgaria that faced sanitation problems and high levels of nitrates in groundwater.

Some bacterial infections too cause blue baby syndrome.

Nobody who lives now saw Lord Krishna. All that we know about him is from descriptions in religious books written during ancient times when science was not developed.

So we clearly don’t know about Krishna’s skin colour and why he got that colour.

All that people can do now is ‘imagine and speculate’.

But do we really care? We love the boy in the picture. He is so adorable.