Krishna - some thoughts

Krishna - some thoughts

Krishna is well-known to the Hindus. As Jagannath in Puri, Balaji of Tirupati, Krishna in Guruvayur and Udipi, Vithoba in Pandharpur, Ranchhodji in Dwaraka, Srinathji in Rajasthan, besides innumerable small and big temples all over India, Krishna is worshipped in his diverse forms. However, an impartial enquiry, bereft of religious considerations, into the historicity of Krishna and the development of that personality, whether real or mythical, as the one of the most favourite divinities in Hindu religion, will be an interesting and informative task. A section of indology scholars opines that Krishna might at best have been actually a living hero of the people sometime in the remote past, who, in the course of time, came to be deified by his followers and by favourable turns of circumstances, gradually became the central divinity of the bhagavata cult.

While the word, or name " Krishna" appears in rigveda¹ itself, the reference is not to the Krishna known to us in the Mahabharata. The rishi of VIII. 74 of the rigveda is stated, by the anukramani, as one Angirasa Krishna. The third rik² in that hymn gives the name also.The next reference of Krishna, son of devaki, is found in the chhandogya³ upanishad, in which he is the pupil of sage Ghora Angirasa. Krishna here is an ordinary student undergoing his studentship under the tutor Ghora of the Angirasa gotra. There is no mention about his being a king or his being endowed with superhuman powers as Srimad bhagavata depicts him even in his infancy.

The kausitaki brahmana⁴ also contains a reference to Krishna who is a brahmanacchamseen ('reciting after the brahmana or the brahman’, a priest who assists the brahman or chief priest at a soma sacrifice). Then comes Panini’s ashtadhyayi and the Mahabharata. There is some difference of opinion as to which one of these is earlier. Since ⁵ashtadhyayi 6.2.38 refers to Mahabharata, it may be taken to precede Panini. ⁶ ashtadhyayi 4.3.98 reference is made to Vasudeva and Arjuna.

Ghata Jataka of the Buddhist lore gives a version of Vasudeva ⁷, which is very close to the Srimad bhagavata story in regard to the birth of Krishna and killing of kamsa. The account of Krishna’s life in the Jaina text is different from the Hindu version but it gives similar episodes in respect of some of the facets of Krishna well-known to the Hindus. This will be given in the next post.

harivamşa, Srīmad bhãgavata and mahãbhãrata cover, within them the full story of Krishna; other purãn̥ãs like the brahmavaivarta give the story of rãdhã and her love for Krishna as also their dalliance and related incidents. Of these three, mahãbhãrata can be considered as the oldest as it depicts Krishna as a king and astute advisor to the pãn̥davãs. It does not mention his birth or details connected with that or about his childhood and boyhood.

In the mahãbhãrata, kṛṣṇa makes his appearance as an onlooker in the palace of drupada, on the occasion of draupadīswayamvara (wedding of draupadī)⁸. From then onwards he is decisively involved till the end, of himself as also his yādava clan in the mausalaparvan (book 16).

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¹ अवद्रप्सो अम्शुमतीमतिष्ठदीयानः कॄष्णो दशभिस्सहस्रैः ।

आवत्तमिन्द्रश्शच्याधमन्तमपस्नॆहितीर्‌नृनणा अधत्त ॥ RV . VIII. 85.13

द्रप्समपश्यम् विषुणॆ चरन्तमुपह्वरेनद्यॊ अम्शुमत्याः ।

नभोनकृश्णावतस्थिताम्समिवोवृषणो युध्यताजौ ॥ RV. VIII. 85.14

These riks are interpreted as referring to Indra’s killing an asura by name Krishna or as referring to ‘drapsam Krishnam’ – the black drop. In either case the reference in these earliest texts of the Hindu religion is definitely not to any Krishna of the type known in the mahabharata.

² The rik goes as under:-अयम् वा कृष्णो अश्विना हवते वाजिनीवसु । मध्वस्सोमस्य पीतये ॥ VIII. 74.3

³तद्धैतद्घोर आङ्गिरसः कृष्णाय दॆवकीपुत्रायोक्त्वोवाचापिपास एव स बभूव सो/न्तवेलायामेतत्त्रयम्

प्रतिपद्येताक्षितमस्यच्युतमसि प्राणसँशितमसीति तत्रैते द्वे ऋचौ भवतः _Ch.Up. III. 17

Ghora Angirasa expounded this well-known doctrine to Devaki’s son Krishna and said, ‘Such a knower should, at the time of death, repeat this triad – "Thou art the imperishable, Thou art unchangeable, Thou art the subtle essence of Prana". (On hearing the above) he became thirstless. There are these two rik stanzas in regard to this.

Sankara’s commentary explains that by ‘thirst’ what is meant here is ‘thirst for any other knowledge’ (स चैतद्दर्शनम् श्रुत्वापिपास एवान्याभ्यो विद्याभ्यो बभूव).

⁴कृष्णो ह एतद् आङ्गिरसो ब्राह्मणाछम्सीयायै तृतीय सवनम् ददर्श ।

kr̥shn̥ö ha ētad ãngirasö brāhman̥ācchamsīyāyai tr̥ tīya savanam dadarśa / - KB_30.6.23:

⁵ महान् व्रीह्यपराह्णगृष्टीष्वासजाबालभारभारतहैलिहिलरौरवप्रवृद्धेषु । 6.2.38

⁶ वासुदेवार्जुनाभ्याम् वुन् | 4.3.98

⁷ A summary is given in Appendix-01.

⁸ halāyudhastatra ca keśavaś ca; vṛṣṇaṣṇyandhakāś caiva yathā pradhānāḥ
prekṣāṃ sma cakrur yadupuṃgavās te; sthitāś ca kṛṣṇasya mate babhūvuḥ

_M. Bh. 1.178.8

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Appendix-01

http://threeroyalwarriors.tripod.com/id11.html

Ghata Jataka No. 454 (translation by Prof. E.B. Cowell from the Pali Text Society, copyright expired) Slight modifications made by me.

The Buddhist story of Krishna

Once upon a time, a king named mahākaṃsa reigned in uttarāpatha, in the kamsa district, in the city of asitāñjanā. He had two sons, kamsa and upakamsa, and one daughter named devagabbhā. On her birthday the brahmins who foretold the future said of her: “A son born of this girl will one day destroy the country and the lineage of kamsa.” The king was too fond of the girl to put her to death; but leaving her brothers to settle it, lived his days out, and then died. When he died, kamsa became king, and upakamsa was viceroy. They thought that there would be an outcry were they to put their sister to death, so resolved to give her in marriage to none, but to keep her husbandless, and watch; and they built a single round-tower, for her to live in.

devagabbhā had a servant-woman named nandagopā, and the woman’s husband, andhakaveṇu, was the servant who kept watch on the princess. A king named mahāsāgara reigned in Upper mathurā, and he had two sons, sāgara and upasāgara. On mahāsāgara’s death, sāgara became king and upasāgara was viceroy. upasāgara was upakamsa’s friend and trained by the same teacher. Once when upasāgara had a clandestine love affair with one woman in his brother’s harem, and was detected, he escaped to upakamsa in the kamsa kingdom. upakamsa introduced him to king kamsa, and the king bestowed great honor to him.

upasāgara while waiting upon the king observed the tower where dwelt devagabbhā and on coming to know of her fate, fell in love with the girl. devagabbhā also saw him once as he went with upakamsa to wait upon the king. She asked who that was and being told by nandagopā that it was upasāgara, son of the great king mahāsāgara, she too fell in love with him. upasāgara gave a present to nandagopā, the servant-woman, and requested her to arrange a meeting for him with devagabbhā. nandagopā agreed and told the princess about it. devagabbhā being already in love with him, agreed at once. One night nandagopā arranged a secret rendez-vous, and brought upasāgara up into the tower; and there he stayed with devagabbhā. Due to such secret meetings devagabbhā conceived. In course of time her pregnancy became public, and the brothers kaṃsa and upakaṃsa questioned nandagopā. She made them promise her pardon, and then told the truth. The kamsa brothers thought, that they could not put their sister to death, and that if she bears a daughter, it could be spared but if it was a son, they would kill it. So they gave devagabbhā in marriage to upasāgara.

devagabbhā delivered a daughter. The brothers named the child añjanā and also allotted the village govaddhamāna. upasāgara and devagabbhā lived in the village of govaddhamāna.

devagabbhā concived again, and that very day nandagopā also conceived. Both of them delivered on the same day, devagabbhā a son and nandagopā a daughter. Since devagabbhā was afraid that her son might be put to death by her brothers, she sent her child secretly to nandagopā, and received nandagopā’s daughter in return. They told the brothers of the birth of a daughter. The kamsa brothers allowed the daughter to be brought up. In the same way devagabbhā bore ten sons, and nandagopā ten daughters. The sons lived with nandagopā and the daughters with devagabbhā, and the secret was known only to devagabbhā, nandagopā, andhakaveṇu and upasāgara.

The sons of devagabbhā were named vāsudeva, baladeva, caṇḍadeva, sūryadeva, aggideva (agnideva), varuṇadeva, ajjuna (arjuna), pajjuna (parjanya?), ghaṭapaṇḍita, and aṃkura, respectively. They grew up as the sons of andhakaveṇu the watcher, and were called the Ten Slave-Brothers.

The brothers grew to become big, very strong, fierce and ferocious, and then they went about plundering, even daring to plunder a present being conveyed to the king. The people complained to the king about the atrocities of the Ten Brothers. The king summoned andhakaveṇu, and rebuked him for permitting his sons to plunder. When the complaint was made three or four times, the king threatened him. andhakaveṇu, now being in fear of his life, craved a boon of safety from the king, and told the entire secret, that how these were not his sons, but of upasāgara and devagabbhā. The king was alarmed and consulted his courtiers as to how these ten fellows could be cought. The courtiers advised the king that since they were wrestlers, a wrestling match should be held in the city, and as soon as they entered the wrestling ring, they could be cought and put to death. So they sent for two wrestlers, cāṇūra muṭṭika, and caused a proclamation to be made throughout the city by beat of drum, that on the seventh day there would be a wrestling match.

cāṇūra muṭṭika went down into the ring, and strutted about, jumping, shouting and clapping their hands. The Ten Slave Brothers also came. On their way they plundered the washer men’s street, and clad themselves in robes of bright colors, and stealing perfume from the perfumers’ shops, and bouquets of flowers from the florists, with their bodies all anointed, garlands upon their heads, earrings in their ears, they strutted into the ring, jumping, shouting, clapping their hands.

As cāṇūra was walking about and clapping his hands baladeva seeing him, thought, “I won’t touch you fellow with my hand!” so catching up a thick strap from the elephant stable, jumping and shouting he threw it round cāṇūra’s belly, and joining the two ends together, brought them tight, then lifting him up, swung him round over his head, and dashing him on the ground rolled him outside the arena. And cāṇūra was dead, the king sent for muṭṭika. baladeva smote him, and crushed his eyes; and as muṭṭika cried out ---“I’m no wrestler! I’m no wrestler!” baladeva tied his hands together, saying,”wrestler or no wrestler, it is all the same to me,” and dashing him down on the ground, killed him and threw him also outside the arena.

muṭṭika in his death-throes, uttered a prayer -“May I become a goblin, and devour him!” And he became a goblin, in a forest called by the name of kālmaṭṭiyā. The king ordered the ten brothers to be taken away but just then vāsudeva threw a wheel, which lopped off the heads of the two brothers (i.e. kamsa and upakamsa). The terrified crowd, fell at the feet of vāsudeva, and prayed to him to be their protector.

Thus the Ten brothers, having slain their two uncles, assumed the sovereignty of the city of asitāñjanā, and brought their parents there.

They now set out, intending to conquer all of jambūdvīpa. In a while they arrived at the city of ayojjhā (ayodhyā), the seat of king kālasena. They encircled it and destroyed the jungle around it, breached the wall and took the king prisoner, and took the sovereignty of the place into their hands. From ayojjhā they proceeded to dvāravatī (dvārakā) which

had the sea on one side and mountains on the other. It was believed that the place was haunted by goblin. A goblin would be stationed on the watch, who on seeing his enemies, would take the shape of an ass would bray. At once, by magic of the goblin, the whole city would rise in the air, fly and deposit itself on an island in the midst of the sea. When the foe was gone, the city would come back and settle in its own place again. This time, as usual, no sooner the ass saw those Ten Brothers coming, than he took the shape of an ass and brayed. Up rose the city in the air, and settled upon the island. Since the brothers could not see any city and turned back and then back came the city to its own place again. They returned to attack – again the ass did as before. They could not conquer the city of dvāravatī (dvārakā).

So they visited kanhādīpāyana (kṛṣṇadvaipāyana in pāli), told him about their failure and asked his advice. He said that in a certain ditch an ass would be found and that that the ass would bray on seeing an enemy, and immediately the city rose in the air. They should clasp hold of his feet (i.e. beseech him), and that is the way to accomplish their end. When they held the feet of the ass and prayed to it not to bray, the ass replied that it could not but bray, but if four of them brought large iron posts into the grounds at the four city gates and fasten them with strong iron chain to four great iron hooks fixed on to the city walls, the city will not rise. When they did the way the ass suggested, they were able to enter the city. They then killed the king and conquered dvāravatī (dvārakā).

Thus they conquered all of jambūdvīpa, and in “three and sixty thousand” cities they slew by the wheel all the kings, and lived at dvāravatī (dvārakā), dividing the kingdom into ten shares. But they had forgotten their sister, the añjanā. So they thought of dividing their kingdom into eleven shares. aṃkura , the youngest of the brothers asked that his share might be given to their sister and that he would take to business on condition that his taxes would be remitted. They consented, and gave his share to his sister; and with her the nine of them dwelt in dvāravatī (dvārakā), while aṃkura embarked on trade.

In course of time, they were all begat sons and daughters; and after a long time had gone by, their parents died. At that period, they say that man’s life was twenty thousand years.

At that time one son of the great king vāsudeva. The king, half dead with grief, neglected everything, and lay lamenting, and clutching the frame of his bed. Then ghaṭapaṇḍita thought to himself, “Except me, no one else will be able to soothe my brother’s grief; I will find some means of soothing his grief for him.” So assuming the appearance of madness, he paced through the whole city, gazing up at the sky, and crying out, “Give me a hare! Give me a hare!” All the city was excited: “ghaṭapaṇḍita has gone mad!” they said. Just then a courtier named rohiṇeyya, went to the king vāsudeva, and reported the matter. Vāsudeva immediately went to ghaṭapaṇḍita and assured him that whatever type of hare (made of gold, jewels, silver, brass, shell or coral) he desired and not to go about raving for a lost hare. ghaṭapaṇḍita replied that what he wanted was the hare on the moon. Vāsudeva advised his brother that he would die but would not be able to achieve his wish. Thereupon, ghaṭapaṇḍita asked vāsudeva that his grieving for his lost son is worse because whereas the hare on the moon is at least visible, the dead son has been lost from wight as well.

Vāsudeva thus becomes wise and realizes that grieving over the dead is not a solution to anything and he thanks ghaṭapaṇḍita for his enlightening him.

And lastly vāsudeva praises his brother:

Thus do the merciful, and thus they who are wise indeed:

They free from pain, as Ghata here his eldest brother freed.”

In this manner was VAsudeva consoled by Prince Ghata.

After the lapse of a long time, during which they ruled their kingdom, the sons of the Ten Brothers thought: “They say that kanhādīpāyana possesses divine insight. Let us put him to a test.” So they procured a young lad, and dressed him up as a woman, and by binding a pillow about his belly, made it appear as though he were with child. Then they brought him into kanhādīpāyana’s presence, and asked him, “When, Sir, will this woman deliver?” The ascetic perceived that the time had come for the destruction of the ten royal brothers; then, looking to see what the term of his own life should be, he perceived that he must die that very day. Then he said, “Young sirs, what is this man to you?” “Answer us,” they replied persistently. He answered, “This man on the seventh day from now will bring forth a knot of acacia wood. With that he will destroy the line of vāsudeva, even though you should take the piece of wood and burn it, and cast the ashes into the river.” “Ah, false ascetic!” said they, “a man can never bring forth a child!” and they did the rope and string business, and killed him at once. The kings sent for the young men, and asked them why they had killed the ascetic. When they heard all, they were frightened. They set a guard upon the man; and when on the seventh day he voided from his belly a knot of acacia wood, they burnt it, and cast the ashes into the river. The ashes floated down the river, and stuck on one side by a postern gate; from thence sprung an eraka plant.

One day, the kings proposed that they should go for water-sport. They happened to come to the same postern gate; and they caused a great pavilion to be made, and in that gorgeous pavilion they ate and drank. Then in sport they began to catch hold of hand and foot, and dividing into two parts, they became quarrelsome. At last one of them, finding nothing better for a club, picked a leaf from the eraka plant, which even as he plucked it became a club of acacia wood in his hand. With this he beat many people. Then the others plucked also, and the things as they took them became clubs, and with them they cudgeled one another until they were killed. As these were destroying each other, four only – Vasudeva, Baladeva, the lady Anjana their sister and the chaplain—mounted a chariot and fled away; the rest perished, every one.

Now these four, fleeing away in the chariot, came to the forest of kālmaṭṭiyā. There muṭṭika the wrestler had been born, having become a goblin according to his prayer on death bed. When he perceived the coming of baladeva, he created a village in that spot with his goblin magic; and taking the semblance of a wrestler, he went jumping about, and shouting, “who’s for a fight?” snapping his fingers the while. baladeva, as soon as he saw him, said to vāsudeva, “Brother, I’ll try a fall with this fellow.” vāsudeva tried his best to prevent him; but down he got from the chariot, and went up to him, snapping his fingers. The other just seized him in the hollow of his hand, and gobbled him up like a radish-bulb. vāsudeva, perceiving that baladeva was dead, went on all night long with his sister and the chaplain, and at sunrise arrived at a frontier village of his kingdom. He lay down in the shelter of a bush, and sent his sister and the chaplain into the village, with orders to cook some food and bring it to him. A huntsman(his name was jarā, or Old Age) noticed the bush shaking. “A pig, sure enough,” thought he; he threw a spear, and pierced his feet. “Who has wounded me?” cried out vāsudeva. The huntsman, finding that he had wounded a man, set off running in terror. The king, recovering his wits, got up, and called the huntsman—“Uncle, come here, don’t be afraid!” When he came – “Who are you?” asked vāsudeva. “My name is jarā, my lord.” “Ah,” thought the king, “whom Old Age wounds will die, so the ancients used to say. Without doubt I must die today.” Then he said, “Fear not, Uncle; come, bind up my wound.” The mouth of the wound bound up, the King let him go. Great pains came upon him; he could not eat the food that the others brought. Then addressing himself to the others, “vāsudeva said: “This day I am to die. You are delicate creatures, and will never be able to learn anything else for a living; so learn this science from me.” So saying, he taught them a science, and let them go; and then died immediately.

Thus excepting the añjanā, everyone perished, it is said.