Bala Krishna (Sanskrit: बाल-कृष्ण bālakṛṣṇa, literally "child Krishna") sometimes translated to "Divine Child Krishna", is historically one of the early forms of worship in Krishnaism and an element of the history of Krishna worship in antiquity. This tradition is considered as a part of the number of other traditions that led to amalgamation in a later stage of the historical development and culminate in worship of Radha Krishna as Svayam bhagavan. Other monotheist traditions are Bhagavatism and Cult of Gopala, that along with Cult of Krishna-Vasudeva form the basis of the current tradition of the monotheistic Krishna religion. The worship of Balakrishna, the divine child, while a significant feature of the Krishna religion, often receives less attention, however it is one of the most popular deities of Krishna in many parts of India today. Early evidence of such worship can be found or as early as the 4th century BC according to evidence in Megasthenes and in the Arthasastra of Kautilya, when Vāsudeva (as the son of Vasudeva was worshiped as supreme Deity in a strongly monotheistic format, where the supreme Being was perfect, eternal and full of grace.
Balakrishna or Balakrishnan is Hindu surname, derived from Bala Krishna. Notable people with the surname include: