The Colour Of Krishna’s Skin - Devdutt Pattanaik In the Sanskrit Valmiki’s Ramayana, Hanuman describes Ram as ‘shyama-varna’, which means one of dark-complexion. In folk peotry, peots describe Krishna as ‘ghana-shyam’, as dark as monsoon clouds. Yet, in our most popular art, we find Ram and Krishna visualised in blue colour. So, we wonder, are they black, and blue, or only blue One is met with a stony silence.