Sri Krishna, the prophet and his message

Sri Krishna and Gautama Buddha were the two great prophets of ancient India whose teachings; the ‘Bhagvad Gita’ and the ‘Four Noble Truths’ are relevant even in the present times. Both belonged to the Kshtriya class and their teachings, influenced by the Upanishads, were inclusive in nature and meant for the whole of humanity. But unlike Buddha who became a monk, Sri Krishna till his end remained active in public life, dethroning tamasik rulers and empowering sathvik rulers. While Buddha’s teaching that ‘life is full of misery’ evokes pessimist outlook in life, Sri Krishna urged people to actively discharge their duties in life but without any attachment for the results.

Ancestry of Sri Krishna

Sri Krishna, belonging to the Lunar race was the son of Vasudeva who was the 93^rd descendant from Vrshni, who was the son of Bhima Satvata, the 66^th descendant of Kroshtu, son of Yadu and grandson of Yayati. Hence Krishna is said to be identified with the Yadavas, Vrshnis and Savatas. As his mother Devaki was the daughter of Ugrasena who was a descendant from Andhaka, son of Bhima Satvata, Krishna is also identified with the Andhaka clan.¹ The Jaina tradition makes Krishna a cousin and contemporary of Neminatha, the Jain Tirthankara before Parshvanatha of the 8^th century B.C.²

Were there two different Krishna’s?

According to some scholars Sri Krishna of the Mahabharata is not the same person as the Sri Krishna of the Puranas because- The story of Krishna’s childhood has no place in the Mahabharata though later on a supplement in the form of Harivamsha was added giving a detailed account of the early life of Sri Krishna. But it is outside the mainstream of the Mahabharata text and is a sort of Purana in itself.³

The character which is ascribed to Sri Krishna in the Puranas is altogether unbecoming of the great sage who, later on, became the teacher of such lofty thoughts as are embodied in Bhagavad Gita, and so according to these scholars the two Krishna’s cannot possibly be the same person.⁴

According to R.G.Bhandarkar the cow-herd Krishna of the Puranas is different from the Vrishni prince Vasudeva of the Mahabharata. Krishna was most probably the god of a nomadic cow-herd tribe known as the Abhiras who lived in the region extending from the vicinity of Mathura in the east to that of Dwaraka in the west. Stories about Krishna’s childhood exploits current among this nomadic tribe might have afterwards been incorporated in the Puranas, after the worship of Sri Krishna was adopted in Hinduism is the view of R.G.Bhandarkar.⁵

But Bahadur Mal feels that in the Mahabharata itself, there are passages in which Vasudeva is described as Krishna of the Yadava and Vrishni tribes of Mathura. Probably Vasudeva the Vrishni prince in his infancy was brought up in a cow-herd settlement at Gokula and then at Brindavan.⁶

Confusion regarding Krishna’s teacher

The earliest mention of Krishna is to be found in the Chandogya Upanishad and all scholars have asserted that Devakiputra Krishna described there was the disciple of Ghora Angirasa.⁷ But Puranic traditions does not recognize Ghora Angirasa and mention Sandipani as the teacher of Krishna.⁸

While H.C.Rayachaudhuri considers Krishna as the disciple of Ghora Angirasa and identifies the Krishna of the Chandogya Upanishad with the epic Krishna by showcasing the identity of the teachings of Gita with those contained in the conversation between Ghora Angirasa and Krishna,⁹ S.N.Tadapatrikar believes that Krishna initiated by Ghora Angirasa was quite different from Krishna of the epic and Puranas and the messenger of Bhagavad Gita.¹⁰

However Bimanbehari Majumdar asserts that the original text of Chandogya Upanishad does not say that Krishna is the disciple of Ghora Angirasa and it was Shankaracharya in his commentary on the above mentioned Upanishad had said that Krishna was the disciple of Ghora Angirasa. According to Bemanbehari Majumdar, Ghora Angirasa addresses Krishna as Achyuta (infallible), Akshita (indestructible and Prana Sanshita (the very essence of life), which shows that Ghora Angirasa regarded Krishna as a divine being. Interestingly in the Bhagavad Gita also we find the term, Achyuta being used by Arjuna to call Krishna.¹¹

Multi facet personality of Sri Krishna

A daring personality who fought with the mighty and powerful, Sri Krishna was an astute statesman, a master strategist, a counselor, a mystic and a religious reformer.

Krishna’s strength and valour, knowledge and wisdom placed him above all others. All the great men of his times bowed down their heads in reverence to him. As he was the greatest of all, he received the agra puja at the Rajasuya sacrifice. According to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Sri Krishna will stand out as the resplendent embodiment of all good qualities in all places and all times.¹²

Sri Krishna was a master of various arts like the art of healing, driving chariots; was a good singer and musician. He invented a new weapon, the Sudharshana Chakra.¹³

Under the watchful eyes of Acharya Sandipani, Krishna mastered over ‘64 fine arts’. He was known for breeding and training horses. The names of his four favourite horses; Shaibya, Sugriva, Megha-Pushpa and Balahaka have come down to us and it seems that with the help of these horses, Sri Krishna used to cover the distance between Indraprastha (Delhi) and Dwaraka in a week. He is credited to have reclaimed land from the ocean by a feat of engineering not detailed in the available text and built the great city of Dwaraka. He is also said to have introduced a new flower, Parijata.¹⁴

Sri Krishna’s campaign against autocratic rulers

Sri Krishna was a relentless fighter in the cause of justice and righteousness. He waged throughout his life, incessant war against tyrants and evil doers and destroyed them. Kamsa, Jarasandha, Shishupala and Salva were some of the evil tyrant rulers eliminated by him. In Drona Parva of the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra refers to the Angas, the Vangas, the Kalingas, the Magadhas, the Kashis, the Kosalas, the Vatsyas, the Gargias, the Karusas, the Paundras, the Avantis and others being vanquished by Sri Krishna. During the Rajasuya yajna, Bhishma while speaking about the great qualities of Sri Krishna, declares that there was hardly a king among those present in the yajna, who had not been defeated by Sri Krishna at one time or another. Allowing for any exaggeration that there might possibly be in this description of the battles waged by Sri Krishna, there is no doubt that he was unequaled, through the length and breadth of the country, in martial valour and skill in arms.¹⁵

Sri Krishna as a religious reformer

According to K.V.Raman, the Bhagavata school centering around the worship of Sri Krishna and the teachings of Bhagavad Gita evolved around 2^nd century B.C. in the Mathura region. The Bhagavata school was a very important reformist movement, a liberal reaction to the protest movements within the Hindu fold which became popular throughout India. Though the Krishna cult was popularized by the shepherd class of the Yadavas, the Bhagavata movement received active support and encouragement from the caste including the higher ones and it became one of the most popular movements in our history spreading to different parts of the country.¹⁶

The gist of Bhagavad Gita

The whole and sole teaching of the Gita, is very pragmatic, very practical and very rational. That teaching is, in brief: “Do your duty, not out of blind faith in any petty, paltry, ritualistic and dictatorial conventions, but after ascertaining it in the light of Atma Vidhya – the all-coordinating, all illuminating science; and then do it without craving for fruit, fearless of consequences, sure that right resolve and right effort can never go in vain, but will always bring right results, soon or late”.¹⁷

Krishna cult, a revolt against the Vedic cult

Even in his boyhood and youth, Sri Krishna was a zealous reformer of religion. He battled bravely as a boy against the prevalent excessive and sensuous Vedic formalism and ritualism; warred upon vested priestly or rather priest-crafty interests and pretensions; successfully abolished the Indra-Makha with its blood sacrifices and libations and potations; and established instead the more rational cult of the cow, so eminently suited to an agricultural civilization. This open condemnation of hypocritical, cunning, selfish and senseless, or perverse and depraved sacerdotal formalism and of the endeavor to hypnotize the people with the mere outer word of the Veda is briefly but strongly repeated by him in his later teachings of the Gita.¹⁸

“ The flowery speech of the foolish men who are always talking of ‘Veda, Veda’, as if there were nothing else, filled with desires, greedy of paradise, ambitious of powers, craving after luxuries- they who allow their minds to be carried away by that deceptive speech, they never attain to the steadiness of the understanding which sees the Self in and by meditation. Rise above the Vedas, Arjuna! Rise beyond the reach of the three gunas, rise beyond the pairs of opposites, rise to the supremacy of the Self. To the man who knows the immensity of the Self, the whole of the Vedas is of no more use than is a small and shallow puddle in the time of widespread flood”.¹⁹

In its real character, Bhagavatism was not very favourably inclined towards the varnashramadharma and the Brahmins, and the Vrishnis among whom Sri Krishna was born were noted for their irrelevant attitude towards Brahmins and casteless foreigners were freely admitted into the Bhagavata religion.²⁰

In Vaishnavism (due to the influence of Krishna’s cult), the rituals consist of fruits, leaves, flowers and water given (offered) with devotion. The god accepts it because of devotion. This form of worship is entirely non-Vedic, it avoids sacrifices and its strong predilection for non-violence precludes offering living creatures.²¹

The Bhagavad Gita which contains the message of Sri Krishna marks a clear departure in its religious and social outlook from the Vedic tradition which had its base on priestly power and knowledge and control of sacrifice. The Bhagavad Gita presented the Bhakti marga as a way of salvation open for the men of the world including women, Jnana marga for those who could attain it and Karma marga for the warrior class.²²

Bhagavata religion co-opted by Vedic followers

The worship of Krishna Vasudeva as a divine chieftain had taken place even before the compilation of the epic Mahabharata. In the earliest literary references, Krishna is already remembered as a leader and the religious preceptor and the God of gods of the Vrsni or Sattvata people of north India of plebeian social status. Later the Sattvatas rose from the low original status to the rank of warriors or Kshatriyas in status. Their faith called Sattvatadharma became the personal religion of many members of the north Indian knightley circles and by the time when the epic had reached the point of mid formation, the cult of Krishna had began to attract members of India’s other and highest aristocracy, that of the Sanskrit speaking Brahmins.²³

One of the reason for the Sattvatadharma to gain adherents from the upper castes was due to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to the disaffected householders leaving their civil duties and entering monastic life; that salvation can be gained by doing one’s duty in the society without expectations.²⁴

Also the greatness of Sri Krishna and the excellence of the Bhagavad Gita which came to be regarded as one of the three prasthanas of Vedanta led to the Bhagavata religion, which was once regarded as outside the pale of Vedism to be admitted into the Vedic fold. This also led to the Yadu clan to which Sri Krishna belonged and which is said to have originally been regarded as a shudra one to be recognized as a Kshtriya clan.²⁵

Infused Vedic ideology with Bhagavatism

Though Bhagavatism/Vaishnavism was imbued with non-Brahmanical/Vedic ideas and practices, it seems that among the early worshippers of Vishnu, there was one section of people who, though won over to the worship of Sri Krishna, looked upon the Vedas as authorities, attached great importance to varnasharamadharma and the smrti rules. It was these type of Brahmins who were the authors of present Puranas who on one hand while glorifying Sri Krishna/Vishnu, on the other hand tried to establish the varnashramadharma and the authority of the Vedas.²⁶

Entering the Krsnaite religion in increasing numbers, Brahmins undertook to give Krishna worship the status of an orthodox Vedic religion by identifying Krishna with the Rig Vedic god Vishnu. The Sattvata religion received a more inclusive name as Bhagavatism- the religion devoted to Bhagavan or Sri Krishna and absorbed the sect of the Pancaratrins who honoured Brahmins and the Vedas but who refrained scrupulously from taking life in ritual or in diet.²⁷

Deification of Sri Krishna

According to Bimanbehari Majumdar, the earliest mention of Sri Krishna is to be found in the Chandogya Upanishad, where Ghora Angirasa addressed Krishna as Achyuta (infallible), Akshita (indestructible and Prana Sanshita (the very essence of life). As the date of the composition of Chandogya Upanishad is said to be sometimes before the 6^th century B.C., the godhood of Krishna must have taken place some centuries earlier than the date of the composition of Chandogya Upanishad.²⁸

We find references to Krishna Vasudeva in Panani’s Astadhyayi (400 B.C.), as well as in the commentary of Patanjali on the same.²⁹ Buddhist canon Niddesa of the 4^th century B.C. mentions about the worship of Vasudeva.³⁰ Inscriptions found at Ghosundi (200 B.C.) and at Nanaghat cave (189 B.C.), helps us fix the time when Krishna began to be worshiped as an incarnation of God in India.³¹ Evidence of the worship of Sri Krishna comes from the Greek accounts of an Indian group that migrated to Armenia in the period 149-127 B.C., who worshiped Kishen or Damodara, a derivative and epithet of Krishna respectively.³²

During the Kushana period, Mathura was a stronghold of the Krishna cult. One of the Kushana kings was named Vasudeva. The earliest representation in India of Krishna belongs to that period and comes from Mathura. It is the Mathura Museum relief, No.1344, which represents Vasudeva carrying new born child Krishna to Gokula across the Yamuna.³³

Under the patronage of the Guptas who called themselves, Paramabhagavatas, the Bhagavata religion gained popularity in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of northern India.³⁴ Vidisha or Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh was also an important centre of Bhagavata religion as a bulk of inscription and monuments of that religion comes from this region. The most important being the inscribed Garuda column erected at Besnagar in the 2^nd century B.C. in honour of Vasudeva by Heliodoros, a Greek ambassador to the court of the Sunga king, Kashiputra Bhagabhadra.³⁵

In south India, we find references to Krishna (who was known as Mayon, the deity of the Mullai or forest region) in the Sangam literature.³⁶ Some of the important temples of Krishna in south India includes, the Krishna temple at Udupi consecrated by Madhvacharya (13^th century A.D.), the Krishna temple at Guruvayur in Keralam (which during 16^th century had become very famous) and the Parthasarathi temple in Triplicane in Tamilnadu where along with Krishna and Rukmini, we find the images of Balarama, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Shatyaki.³⁷

Character assassination of Sri Krishna

According to Bahadur Mal, there is no historical basis for the current stories of love between Sri Krishna and the cow-herd maidens of Brindavan. We do not find any mention of such things in the Mahabharata. These stories are the creation of a later age, when the bhakti cult with reference to Sri Krishna as the incarnation of God had been firmly established. The yearning of a soul for God was given a concrete symbolic expression in the form of love which a woman feels for her lover. Gradually these stories at the hands of various writers assumed a fantastic proportion of the Puranas including the Bhagavata Purana. Even the character of Radha is a creation of the rich imagination of later writers.³⁸

Scholars like Daya Krishna wonder why though the gopis who are depicted as living eternally in the memory of those days they had passed with Sri Krishna, never make the slightest effort to seek him out and meet him once more or even try to find where he is or how he is. Similarly we do not find any reference about Sri Krishna visiting the gopis.³⁹ All these show the untrustworthiness of the stories of love between Sri Krishna and the gopis found in the Puranas.

Similarly the stories of deceit and falsehood said to have been practiced by Sri Krishna against his enemies in the Mahabharata war is a pure fabrication introduced into the main story in order to malign him. It is unbelievable that Sri Krishna who in point of valour and righteousness, towered above all the great heroes of Mahabharata should have so openly and crudely violated the universally accepted code of honorable warfare, as is popularly supposed.⁴⁰

Sri Krishna was a monogamist

Sri Krishna had only one wife, Rukmini and after Krishna was identified with the supreme Vishnu, Rukmini was identified with Lakshmi.⁴¹ According to Asha Goswami, Sri Krishna who had incarnated on the earth (according to popular belief and faith) to lead the people on to the path of righteousness and duty could not have been so fickle and frivolous about his marriage which in fact is a very important social event in human life.⁴² The number of wives of Krishna and their names given in different sources like the Mahabharata and the Puranas differ widely.⁴³ The epic Mahabharata hints out Krishna as a monogamist where it enlists Krishna with the known monogamists of the age like Sri Rama, Nala, Satyavan, etc.⁴⁴

Worship of child Krishna

Beginning about 300 A.D., a mutation occurred in Vaishnava mythology in which the ideals of Sri Krishna worshippers were turned upside down. The Harivamsha Purana, which was composed at about that time, related in 32 chapters, the childhood of Sri Krishna that he had spent among the cow-herds. The tales had never been told in Hindu literature before. The old adoration of Sri Krishna as moral preceptor went into a long quiescence. The age of Krishna as a sportive being- as a doer of lilas had begun. This has continued even to this day with the great sects that dominate Vaishnava religious life in north India today worship Sri Krishna as Gopala, the cowherd boy.⁴⁵

The growth of the cult of child Krishna among the bhaktas in the middle ages is attributed to the teaching of Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 A.D.), for whom Krishna inspired the feeling of vatsalyabhava bhakti, the love for God which is like that of a parent for a child. It is said that Krishna appeared to him in a vision and asked him to ‘promulgate his worship in the form of the divine child known as Bala Gopala”.⁴⁶

The Vallabhacharya sect devoted to Krishna worship ignores altogether that aspect of the great life, Krishna, the super-hero, the matchless warrior, the unrivalled statesman, the breaker of the militarist oppressors of the people, the experimenter with republicanism, the teacher of the Gita and instead its practice is limited to the dwelling on and enacting of the scenes and doings of Krishna’s childhood and adolescence, of flirtations and dances with the dairy-maids, and the enjoyment of tongue and sex – which elemental appetites somehow manage to become the chief objects of worship, in one disguise or another.⁴⁷

Hindus emasculated by worshiping baby gods

Instead of worshiping the valorous statesman and a world teacher, Sri Krishna, the Hindus have been worshiping child Krishna and shamelessly enact imaginary acts of child Krishna like breaking of pots filled with curds/butter in a sport called ‘Dahi handi’ and flirt in a dance called ‘Raas leela’ during his birth celebration. Even the recent consecration of Sri Rama done with much fanfare at the temple of Ayodhya was that of a child Rama called ‘Ram Lalla’ instead of the adult Sri Rama who had vanquished the mighty king of Lanka, Ravana. Probably Hindus fear that if they start worshiping adult gods, they may have to emulate their qualities which involves exhibiting manliness when confronting problems or injustice, whereas worshiping child gods would give them license to behave in a childish manner and act frivolously in the name of devotion.

Even when senseless accusation are made against Sri Krishna like he had married 16,000 maidens, let alone ordinary Hindus, even the so called highly educated, scholars and religious heads don’t take trouble to introspect whether it is possible or practical to marry 16,000 maidens; and that these type of accusation is a blot on the character of Sri Krishna; and they have a responsibility to see that the factual accounts of Sri Krishna is presented to the masses; and think of the ways to prevent slanders being hurled on their prophet.

Reference

1. F.E.Pargiter – Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, Oxford University Press, London, 1922, pp:88,105,107,145,148

2. Amarnath Ray – Sri Krishna and the Source of the Bhagavadgita, Indian Historical Quarterly, vol-9, p.188

3. Bahadur Mal – Sri Krishna, His Philosophy and his Spiritual Path, Vishveshvaranand V.R.Insitute, Hoshiarpur, 1960, p.7

4. Ibid, pp: 7,8

5. Ibid, p. 8

6. Ibid, pp: 8,9

7. Bimanbehari Majumdar – Krsna in History and Legend, University of Calcutta, 1969, p. 2

8. Ibid, p.4

9. Ibid, p. 263

10. S.N.Tadapatrikar – The Krishna Problem, ABORI, vol – X, April 1929, pp: 332,333

11. Bimanbehari Majumdar – Op.Cit, pp: 2,3,4,281,282

12. P. Banerjee – The Life of Krishna in Indian Art, National Museum, New Delhi, 1978, pp: 2,3

13. Dhirendra Nath Pal – Sri Krishna – His Life and Teachings, C C Basak, The Research House, Calcutta, 1923, pp:76, 386,48,207,208

14. Bhagavan Das- Krishna – A Study in the Theory of Avataras, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1962 pp:48,49,50

15. Bahadur Mal – Op.Cit, pp: 14,15

16. K.V.Raman – Presidential Address – Cultural Heritage – A Synthesis, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol 46 (1985), pp: 100,101

17. Bhagavan Das- Op.Cit, p.96

18. Ibid, pp: 85,86

19. Ibid, pp: 86,87

20. R.C.Hazra – Pre-Puranic Hindu Society before 200 A.D., The Indian Historical Quarterly, vol-xv, 1939, p. 412

21. Sukumari Bhattacharji – Indian Theogony -Comparative Study of Indian Mythology from Veda to Purana, Firma KLM Private Ltd, Calcutta, 1978, p. 306

22. K.V.Raman – Op.Cit, p.101

23. Norvin Hein – A Revolution in Krsnaism: The cult of Gopala, History of Religions, vol 25, No 4., Religion and change ASSR Anniversary volume, May 1986, p. 297

24. Ibid

25. Amarnath Ray – Op.Cit, pp: 190,191

26. R.C.Hazra – Op.Cit, pp: 417,418

27. Norvin Hein – Op.Cit, p. 298

28. Bimanbehari Majumdar – Op.Cit, pp: 281, 282

29. Bahadur Mal – Op.Cit, p. 6

30. S.N.Tadapatrikar – Op.Cit, p. 272

31. Bahadur Mal – Op.Cit, pp: 6,7

32. Charles S. J . White – Krishna as Divine Child, History of Religions, vol – 10, No.2, November 1970, p. 158

33. P. Banerjee – Op.Cit, p. 68 (The famous Keshavarai temple at Mathura built by Maharaja Virasimha of Orchha during the time of Jahangir was destroyed by Ramjan Shah in 1670 A.D. at the orders of Aurangzeb, P. Banerjee – Op.Cit, p. 75)

34. Ibid, p. 69

35. Ibid, p. 103

36. Ibid, p. 114

37. Ibid, pp: 117,125,128

38. Bahadur Mal – Op.Cit, pp: 30,31

39. Edited by Nalini Bhushan, Jay L . Garfield, Daniel Raveh, Contrary Thinking – Selected Essays of Daya Krishna, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 275

40. Bahadur Mal – Op.Cit, pp: 16,17

41. Asha Goswami – The Monogamist Krishna, Charu Deva Shastri Felicitation Volume, Delhi, 1974, p. 450

42. Ibid, p. 443

43. Ibid, p. 444

44. Ibid, pp: 447,448

45. Norvin Hein – Op.Cit, p. 296

46. Charles S. J . White – Op.Cit, p. 166

47. Bhagavan Das- Op.Cit, pp: 160,161

The Historic Krishna

Sri Krishna the hero of the Yadavas and counselor of the Pandavas was the main character in the epic Mahabharatha. If not for his teachings contained in the Bhagavad Gita, now a part of Mahabharatha, the said epic would have been a bland story of a quarrel between cousin brothers. In the annals of ancient Indian history, Krishna possessed a unique personality. A master political strategist, he refused to ascend the throne of Mathura, though it was the wish and plea of his fellowmen.¹ Krishna was a master of various arts like the art of healing² and in the art of driving chariots.³ He was also a good singer and musician.⁴ He invented a new weapon; the Sudharshan Chakra.⁵ Krishna was the first socio-religious reformer of India who questioned the significance of the dry rituals of the Vedas⁶ and in its place founded an egalitarian and universally applicable religion called Bhagavatism.⁷ Its philosophy now contained in the Bhagavad Gita teaches paths to salvation through selfless action (karmayoga), devotion (bhaktiyoga) and meditation (dhanyayoga). In fact, the vast literature known as Upanishads, which the whole world admires, contains the teachings of Bhagavad Gita as its kernel.⁸

But over the centuries, various myths were built around Krishna’s personality with some of the events associated with him being exaggerated and interpolated with stories which blemished his character. Some of his views/opinions on statecraft and ethics were also appropriated and its credit given to other historical characters.⁹ In this article, an attempt has been made to demythologize some of the myths associated with Krishna and to find the reason behind this act of interpolating his history with absurdities.

Critical evaluation of the sources

Is it possible to write objectively on Krishna’s history? Yes, if we critically evaluate the sources which give us information about him, namely the Puranas and the epic, Mahabharatha. First, we will critically examine the Puranas. Amara Simha in his lexicon Amarakosa spoke of the five characteristics which Puranas possessed, namely-

1. Sarga- about creation;

2. Pratisarga- about recreation;

3. Vamsa- genealogy of gods and sages;

4. Manvantara- cosmic cycles and

5. Vamsanucharita- accounts of royal dynasties.

Except for the Vishnu Purana, none of the present Puranas have these five characteristics.¹⁰ By the middle of 4^th century A.D. the Puranas gradually began to lose their original character and turned into important codes of Hindu rites and customs by including chapters on chapters on Varnashramadharma, achara, shraddha, prayashichita, dana, puja, vrata, thirtha, diksha, utsarga, etc.¹¹ Consequently, the accounts of the genealogies of kings and sages were little cared for and often fabricated. People also took absolute liberty in making changes in the text resulting in the increase of textual corruption in the Puranas.¹² With regards to information on Krishna, except for the Vishnu Purana, Brahma Purana, Bhagavata Purana and Brahma Vaivarta Purana, the story of Krishna is very briefly told in the other Puranas and their accounts is in no way different from those given in the first four Puranas named above.¹³ Even among these four Puranas, the original Brahma Vaivarta Purana is lost and the present Brahma Vaivarta Purana is a modern creation of some enthusiastic religious scholar,¹⁴ while the Bhagavata Purana is based on some other older Purana.¹⁵ Coming to the Brahma Purana, the account of Krishna given in this Purana and Vishnu Purana is identical word for word in 26 chapters. This means that both the Puranas have quoted these 26 chapters narrating the career of Krishna from some other older work.¹⁶ As Vishnu Purana is the only one which has retained some characteristics which a Purana should possess as mentioned by Amara Simha, only this Purana can be relied for reconstructing the history of Krishna. Coming to the Mahabharatha, Vyasa had composed only the essence of Mahabharatha comprising 8800 shlokas and that work was known as Jaya. Vaishampayana added a few verses of his own and brought the number of shlokas to 24,000 and gave the book the name, Bharata Samhita. It was Suta who made many more addition and made the book so big as to fetch it the name Mahabharatha. It took perhaps centuries to get this transformation of the book from Jaya to Mahabharatha.¹⁷

Hence on the nucleus of the family feud of the Kauravas and Pandavas, in its present form the Mahabharatha contains myths and legends pertaining to Brahmanical philosophy, ethics and law stressing the superiority of Brahmins, myths of Vishnu and Siva, fables, parables, fairy tales and moral stories.¹⁸ With regards to information on Krishna, he appears for the first time in the epic at the svayamvara of Draupadi where he had come from Dwaraka and the epic is silent as to his earlier life. This is because the Mahabharatha is principally concerned itself with the history of the Bharatas. The Harivamsha which forms the supplement of Mahabharatha deals exhaustively and exclusively with the life and history of Krishna on which the Mahabharatha is silent.¹⁹

A critical study of the Harivamsha reveals that the descriptions of things in the Vishnu Purana are all expanded in the Harivamsha. The Harivamsha is a later work than Vishnu Purana and the story of Krishna that it gives is apparently borrowed from Vishnu Purana.²⁰

Hence it is quite apparent that the works such as the Puranas and the Mahabharatha were made the vehicles by various enthusiastic writers of different cults at different times to promulgate their own dogmas and doctrines. They became the store houses of writings of all sorts of men of all shades of opinions, nay of any and everyone who thought that he had written something clever. From big books to single couplets, everything was thrust into them by every sort and grade of men who desired to publish their composition and to secure for them a wide circle of readers.²¹ Therefore, the story of Krishna’s life is chiefly found in the Vishnu Purana and the Mahabharatha; one about the early life and the other about his later life. But both of them in their present form are mixed with annals, legends and fictions.²² But by putting the searching light of history, analysis and logic, it would not be difficult to find out which portions of it are fictions and stories and which are after-interpolations.²³

Why interpolation/slander of Krishna took place?

Bhagavatism the religion founded by Krishna was not very favourably inclined towards the varnashramadharma and the Brahmins. This religion freely admitted women, shudras and even foreigners into its fold.²⁴ And from about the beginning of the 5^th century A.D. if not earlier, the Vaishnavas (Bhagavatas and Pancharatras) and probably the Shaivas came to be influenced by Tantricism. It is not yet definitely known how and when Tantricism arouse but that it is of considerable antiquity cannot be denied. Tantricism was purely of non-Vedic in origin and its ideas and practices were also non-Vedic. In its early character it did not seem to have recognized the varnashramadharma and the authority of the Vedas.²⁵ The ideas, rites and practices of Pancharatras (the aagamic literature of the Vaishnavas), aagamic Shaivas and the Tantriks amply testify to their non-Brahminical or rather anti- Brahmanical character. These sectarian faiths discouraged priesthood, and its rituals which were all non-Vedic affected the Brahmins very seriously²⁶ (in terms of their livelihood). The rise and propagation of these rival faiths proved very fatal to the sacrificial religion of the Vedas which was already on the decline.²⁷ To reestablish the varnashramadharma and the authority of the Vedas, the Brahmins introduced smrti materials into the Mahabharatha and the Puranas.²⁸ The varnashramadharma and Vedic rituals must have had been proved quite sophisticating, stifling for all and sundry of the ancient Indian society. The people and society were wallowing in the grip of superstitions, rituals and cumbersome process of prestation society. Moreover, the priestly class must have had been interfering in every walk of life as they had woven such intricate web of ‘dry rituals’ in each and every aspect of individual and collective life that it might have had been quite exasperating. The rigid and stratified social order might have had been proving to be anathema to the progress and development. Krishna had not only broken the backbone of this prestation society by establishing a monotheistic sect Bhagavata and propounding Samkya yoga, but also virtually abolished the varnashramadharma and the stratification thereof. The Samkya Yoga and Bhagavat Sect that Krishna founded had led to the loss of power and privilege of the priestly classes. He punished and dethroned anti-people, cruel and selfish kings and emphasized on debate and discussion, making ruling elites sensitive to public opinion.²⁹

Krishna had ushered in social revolution by stopping the worship of serpents, ghost and superstitious figures like Indra.³⁰ Krishna had become the biggest threat to the two classes or castes of Indian society- social and political elites (priestly and political class). He gave an open challenge to the priestly class by opposing the system of worshiping based on fear and greed (of getting heaven or birth in a rich and prosperous family) and terming Vedas and Vedic ritual as obstruction instead.³¹ Hence, they (priestly and political class) started the greatest farce of the humanity. Gita was distorted, Krishna was mystified and made god so that nobody could dare to repeat his great acts. There were many insertions made in the Gita related to the varnashrama based caste system which was against the very principle and values of Krishna. The Avatar system was concocted to prevent any repetition of Krishna like acts by any human being in future.³² Interpolation also took place as the authors who revised the Puranas and epics wanted to make them amusing and interesting to the masses before whom they were recited and sung. Hence fanciful and poetic descriptions and extraordinary miracles were added to them over the years.³³

The priests of Shiva were the last to retouch the Mahabharatha and as there is as much Shaivism in the Mahabharatha as there is Vaisnavism; sectarian rancor may have been responsible for inventing some incidents and darkening the character of Krishna.³⁴

Myths on Krishna decoded

Now we shall scrutinize some of the myths/exaggerated accounts related to Krishna’s life mentioned in the Puranas and Mahabharatha and through logic and critical analysis find the actual facts.

Myth– Putana a rakshasi was deputed by Kamsa to kill Krishna. She went to his house in disguise as a gopa woman and fed him on her breasts. But Krishna the child extracted her life also with her breast milk and she assumed her original form and fell down dead.³⁵

Fact– During his childhood Krishna was attacked with a fatal disease named Putana which has been referred by Susruta in his work Uttara Tantra, chapter twenty seven and thirty seven.³⁶

Myth– A fierce serpent called Kaliya lived in Kalindi. The trees on the banks of the river were withered and dried up on account of the poisonous breadth emitted by him. One day the Gopalas and their cattle drank water in the Kalindi and fell down dead. Krishna then jumped into the river, fought with Kaliya, who being defeated begged for mercy. At the instance of Krishna, Kaliya with his family left the place.³⁷

Fact– At Vrindavana lived a settlement of Nagas whose chief was Kaliya. The Gopas were in great fear of the fierce Nagas. Krishna challenged the Naga chief to a single combat and in a fierce encounter defeated Kaliya. Krishna then commanded him to leave the forest which the Nagas did.³⁸

Myth– Once Krishna picked up the clothes of Gopa women bathing in Yamuna river.³⁹

Fact– The incident of Krishna removing the clothes of the maidens when they were bathing described in the Bhagavata Purana is the creations of the author of Bhagavata Purana according the Dhirendra Nath Pal.⁴⁰ Whether this incident is fictitious or real, a more reasonable explanation which one can give is that having seen some maidens bathing all naked in river Yamuna, Krishna collected their clothes lying under a tree and placed it up in the tree. Later when the maidens expressed their regrets; Krishna returned their clothes with a warning not to repeat the act of bathing naked in public places.⁴¹

Myth– The people of Vrindavana used to perform yajna every year in favour of Indra for rainfall. Krishna opposed it and instead asked them to worship mount Govardhana. Angered by this Indra let loose heavy rains on Vrindavana. Krishna uprooted and held mount Govardhana like an umbrella and people took shelter under it. Beaten at this own game, Indra sang the praises of Krishna, came and saluted him.⁴²

Fact– It is impossible to believe that a boy of ten years of age or for that matter any being in human form could have lifted a mountain and held it on his finger. Probably Krishna might have dug a big cave in which his people and cattle took shelter during the rains. It might be an allegory signifying that the Indra worshippers finding their god slighted attacked the Gopas and made an attempt to destroy their new sacrifice and that Krishna in this armed attack protected the hill on which the Gopas took shelter.⁴³ It is also probable that there occurred heavy rains during the time of the yajna which flooded the Yamuna and Govardhana. Krishna while grazing cattle near the Govardhana Mountain might have gained good knowledge about the terrain of the said mountain which had large caves there. At the time of the floods, Krishna shifted the residents to the caves in Govardhana and saved them. For that he was given the title, ‘Giridhar’.⁴⁴

Myth– At the advent of spring the melody of Krishna’s flute rendered the Gopa women lovelorn. Gopa women both married and unmarried mad with love roamed about Vrindavana with Radha calling ‘o Krishna’, ‘o Krishna’. Krishna appeared, entered the waters of Yamuna with them and satisfied them.⁴⁵

Fact– Raasa means simply a dance. Sridhara Swami the great commentator of the Bhagavata, thus explains the word. ‘It is a circular dance of men and women by holding one another’s hand’. Such dances were very popular amongst the people in which Krishna was born. There was nothing wrong in these amusements and none was charged with carnality who joined in them. Hence the Raasa leela of Krishna is nothing but the innocent sports of merry boys and girls at Vrindavana. Krishna was a mere boy about eleven years of age when these sports were held. Is it possible for a boy of eleven to entertain any idea of carnality? When Krishna was most foully abused by Shishupala, he was never charged by him with sensuality. If Krishna really did what some of the Puranas wanted us to believe, he would not have been spared by Shishupala. Nowhere in the Mahabharatha, which is a much earlier work than any one of the Puranas, have we found Krishna described as a man of lewd character.⁴⁶ Radha is a poetical creation. She is not to be found in the Mahabharatha, or in Vishnu Purana or Harivamsha or Bhagavata.⁴⁷ Perhaps she is the creation of the author of the original Brahma Vaivarta Purana which is now lost. It is possible that the author of this Purana picked up one of the many gopa maidens who sported with Krishna in the Vrindavana and giving her a name, he painted her in the highest flight of poesy. Since then innumerable poets have used their great powers to develop the character of Radha. Her love for Krishna has been painted as the highest development of devotional love of the human soul for the supreme one.⁴⁸ Bhasa in his two dramas Balacharita and Panchasatra refers to Hallisaka dance of the cowherd boys and girls. The latter’s names are Ghosa, Sundari, Vanamala, Candrarekha and Mrigaksi and Radha is conspicuous by her absence even in Harivamsha and Vishnu Purana.⁴⁹

Myth– Krishna went to Pragjyotisa the kingdom of Narakasura, defeated him and released his 16,000 daughters from captivity. After returning to Dwaraka along with them, Krishna assumed the guise of 16,000 men and married these 16,000 girls.⁵⁰

Fact– Even a person of average intelligence can understand that it is impossible for a person to have sixteen thousand children; that too of the same age group. Then the question arises as to why he imprisoned his own children and how; as the sheer number of the prisoners would have required a place which could have outstripped Tihar jail in area.

These types of absurd stories can be found only in the Puranas and hence rightly religious reformers from Rajaram Mohan Roy to Dayananda Saraswathi had condemned the Puranas as products of a degenerate age.⁵¹ Some historians who believe in this story opine that it is not sixteen thousand but 16 wives of Narakasura whom Krishna married. According to them sixteen thousand of the Puranas mean 16 only. Shata and sahasra (100 and 1000) are very often meaningless addition in the Vedic parlance.⁵² But the fact is Krishna was a yogi and a reluctant husband. It is said that one day Krishna asked Rukmini why she married a person like him when there were several powerful, mighty, wealthy and handsome monarchs who were eager to marry her? Krishna says that he had quarrelled with the strong and abandoned all royal prerogatives; indifferent to both to his home and body, he has no desire for wife, son or riches and happy as a recluse.⁵³ According to Dhirendra Nath Pal there are many accounts of Krishna’s various wars in the Mahabharatha, Harivamsha, Vishnu Purana and other Puranas. But they are narratives, full of extraordinary descriptions and it would be mere waste of time to make an attempt to pick up from them any historical facts and this include the story of Krishna’s war with Narakasura and his rescuing and marrying the sixteen thousand women imprisoned by Naraka.⁵⁴

Myth– Krishna had 80 sons, ten each born to his eight wives namely Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Satya, Bhadra and Lakshana.⁵⁵

Fact– The list of wives of Krishna given in the various chapters of Vishnu Purana and Harivamsha differs in numbers and names. Except Rukmini and Satyabhama none of these wives ever appear on the scene of action. Satyabhama appears only once or twice, but those places of the Puranas or Mahabharatha in which she appears are apparently interpolations. Again, none of the sons of these wives except of Rukmini and Jambhavati is to be met with in any period of Krishna’s life. Jambhavati was a bear’s daughter and therefore it is impossible to believe that she gave birth to a human being. It is said this son Samba carried away the daughter of Duryodhana name Lakshana. This story is mentioned only in the Puranas; no mention is made of it in the Mahabharatha. If this story had any truth in it, it must have a place in the Mahabharatha which is the history of Duryodhana and the Kurus. Rukmini’s son Pradumna however is present all through Krishna’s career. It is his grandson, Vajra, who finally ascended the throne of the Vrisnis. Under the circumstances we shall not be very wrong if we doubt the very existence of any other wives of Krishna except Rukmini.⁵⁶ Bankim Chandra Chatterjee considers the mention of the various wives of Krishna in the Puranas as products of imagination and interpolations and in his work Krishnacarita asserts that Krishna had only one wife and she was Rukmini. It was her son and grandson who alone figures in history and her great grandson Vajra became the king.⁵⁷

Myth– Krishna taught Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the eve of the battle at Kurukshetra.

Fact– It is hard to believe that the armies of Pandavas and Kauravas were waiting till Krishna recited the eighteen adhyayas (chapters) of Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.⁵⁸ As we know the Gita is in verse form and nowhere have, we found people talking in verse. It is nowhere mentioned in the Mahabharatha that the Rishi Vyasa was present when Krishna told it to Arjuna or when Sanjaya recited it to the king Dhritarashtra. Thus, we can by no means trace the Gita as it now exists to Krishna.⁵⁹ Moreover, the present Gita contains innumerable interpolations and grafting of Brahmanical discourses, particularly in respect of Vedic authority, rituals and varnasharama. This has distorted the Gita and has transformed it into a confusing treatise with several passages’ contradictory with one another. How could the same Krishna adhere to the supremacy of the Vedas and the Vedic rituals which he considered as obstruction for, liberation?⁶⁰

It has also been proved by many great oriental scholars that the present Gita is a work written many years subsequent to the time when the original Mahabharatha was written. But by whomsoever written it was written based on the teachings of Sri Krishna. Krishna delivered a lecture to the Pandavas just before the great battle and Vyasa must have briefly mentioned it in the original Mahabharatha he wrote. It was quite natural that Arjuna and the Pandavas should be filled with great despondency when they came face to face with their dearest friends and relatives whose death meant their victory. To remove this despondency Krishna had lectured them and this was briefly mentioned by Vyasa in the original Mahabharatha. A subsequent writer wrote the present Gita in verse based on these teachings. It is evident from the meager accounts that we get of Krishna in the Puranas and the Mahabharatha that he founded and preached a new religion; but neither the Puranas nor the Mahabharatha clearly say what it was. The little of his teachings that we meet with in the Puranas and the Mahabharatha leads one to conclude that his religion could not but be that which has been told in the Gita.⁶¹

Myth– During the Mahabharatha war Drona was killed deceitfully on the advice of Krishna. It is written that when Krishna found it impossible for the Pandavas to kill Drona, he advised them to leave the path of righteousness and kill Drona by a most shameful stratagem. He advised them to go and tell Drona that his son Ashwathama was killed. It he hears this news; he would be overwhelmed with grief and he would surely give up arms. Arjuna flatly refused to do it but Yudhisthira hesitatingly agreed. Bhima then killed an elephant named Ashwathama and went to Drona and told him that his son was dead. Drone did not believe Bhima’s words and said that he would believe none except that embodiment of virtue, Yudhisthira. So Yudhisthira went and said-‘Ashwathama was dead’, adding in a low voice, ‘Ashwathama the elephant’. On hearing this Drona left his arms and Dhristadumna cut off his head.⁶²

Fact-This story is a palpable fiction as it is impossible to believe that Yudhisthira who went to exile only to keep his word would tell a lie or Krishna who spoke of the Gita would advise him to do so. It is written in the Mahabharatha itself that Ashwathama obtained immorality by his asceticism. Drona was fully aware of it. It is not possible that he should take even Yudhisthira’s words as truth knowing fully well that his son could not die. It is also impossible that a man like Krishna should advise to say something which was in the face of it could not be taken as true. It is also impossible that Drona would not ask anyone of his party to enquire whether Ashwathama was really dead of not. Drona’s death was due to fatigue and his great religious devotion for which he gave up arms and concentrated his mind on god, determined to die instead of retiring from the field with ignominy and shame. This story was subsequently added to save the great Panchala dynasty from the reproach of their prince having killed a Brahman, – an act which in later age became one of the greatest sins amongst the Hindus.⁶³ It might be asked why this scandalous incident has been fastened on Krishna. It is very easy to explain. The answer would be ‘because he was God and to God, right or wrong, sin or virtue are all alike for nothing touches him’. The poetaster who made these foolish embellishments over the descriptions of great Vyasa has fastened on Krishna all wrongful acts done on the Pandava side; for the poor fellow thought that he would thereby save the reputation of the Pandavas without doing any harm to anybody; for nobody would blame Krishna for anything as he was the incarnation of God. Such writers have done the greatest possible injury to our great religion and great men.⁶⁴

Myth– During his last days Krishna retired into the deepest forest and lay down on the ground with his feet raised. An asura called Jara mistaking Krishna’s raised feet for a deer, shot it with his arrow and Krishna expired. There is a story behind the reason why Krishna died after his feet was hit by an arrow. Once sage Durvasa went to Dwaraka as Krishna’s guest. One day he expressed his desire to taste pudding and accordingly was served the same. After tasting it Durvasa asked Krishna to smear his whole body with the leftover pudding. Krishna did so, except the region below his feet. Then Durvasa smeared the body of Rukmini with the remaining pudding, yoked her to a chariot, whipped her and rode on the streets of Dwaraka with Krishna running after him. After going some distance, Durvasa jumped out of the chariot and went to the forest. Before that he told Krishna that he was pleased with the service accorded to him by them and said that Rukmini would not be affected by old age and Krishna would never meet with death by being hit at those parts of his body which had been smeared with the pudding. As Krishna had not smeared his feet with the pudding, he was killed by the hunter’s arrow.⁶⁵

Fact– This story is evidently an allegory. Jara means old age and Krishna died of old age in a forest.⁶⁶ With regards to the story of Durvasa smearing the body of Krishna and Rukmini with pudding we can easily make out that this is one among the numerous stories interpolated in the Mahabharatha to show that Brahmins had power to change the destiny of even Gods.

Need to bring critical editions on Krishna’s history

The teachings of Krishna contained in the Bhagavad Gita is universal in outlook and if we want to showcase his teachings to the world then we have to first expunge all absurdities and silly fables interpolated in the literary sources providing information about his life and times. Even the Gita which has been interpolated with contradictory statements has to be critically edited.

One reason why fables was interpolated and incidents exaggerated by editors of Puranas and epics was to amuse the masses to whom these were recited. But now times have changed and with access to modern education and information available at the touch of their fingertips, people no longer believe in things which defy common sense and logic. Moreover, all these texts are being translated into English and other languages of the world. If absurdities and silly descriptions contained in these texts are not removed, Hindus stand exposed in the world as those who are immature and believe in cock and bull stories.

By not bringing critical editions of the Puranas and the epics we are providing ammunitions to Hindu baiters who ridicule historic Hindu personalities and sages by citing the information provided in the Puranas and epics. It is no use blaming Marxists for depicting Hindu society in poor light as they do so by quoting the Puranas and epics.

Bibliography

1. During the time of Krishna, it was a practice for a person who dethroned a king to ascend the vacant throne. In the history of ancient India, we find none who did not avail himself of this privilege except Krishna. For a cow herd boy to withstand the great temptation of becoming a king and to refuse the supplications of the whole Yadu race bespoke a strong will. Cited in Dhirendra Nath Pal- Sri Krishna- His Life and Teachings, Published by C.C.Basak, The Research Home, Calcutta, 1923, p. 84.

2. Ibid, p.76

3. Ibid, p.386

4. Ibid, p.48

5. The chief weapon of Krishna was a discus- a circular steel instrument with sharp edges all round which he used to throw at the enemy by whirling it on his finger. It was a tremendous weapon of offence. Ibid, pp:207,208

6. Krishna was opposed to the sacerdotalism of the Vedic religion and preached the doctrines which he had learnt from Ghora Angirasa. His opposition to the Vedic cult comes out in passages where Indra when vanquished humbled himself before Krishna. S.Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad Gita, George Allen & Unwin (India) Pvt Ltd, 1971, p.29.

7. There is a consensus among scholars in favour of the view that Krishna, a warrior chief and religious teacher of the Yadava clan founded in ancient India a monotheistic religious system called Bhagavata or Sattvata Dharma. The cult gained momentum and flourished steadily and Krishna the nucleus of the cult was apotheosized even before 5th century B.C. Janmajit Roy- Theory of Avatara & Divinity of Chaitanya, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2002, p. 26.

8. Bhagavad Gita contains a total synthetic view of life and it would be more reasonable to accept the kernel of the teachings of Bhagavad Gita as forerunner of the vast class of literature known as Upanishad. Ibid, p.132

9. Bhishma’s wisdom on the statecraft, war, thumb of the rules for conducting the stately affairs, the pro-people, just equalitarian rule and related subjects as imparted to Yudhisthira after his coronation as king of Hastinapur after the great war while he was lying on deathbed seem to be that of Krishna’s appropriated to the patriarch, perhaps to counter balance the latter. This also seems to be interpolation as to how a dying man could preach such wisdom and ideas on the statecraft. Moreover, his teachings seem to be more of Krishna’s than that of Bhishma. Gopal Chowdhary – The Greatest Farce of History, Partridge India, 2014, p. 114

10. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp: xv, xvi

11. Rajendra Chandra Hazra- Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, 1987, p.6

12. Ibid, p.7

13. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, p. xxiii

14. Ibid, p. xxiv

15. Ibid, p. xxv

16. Ibid,

17. VettamMani- Puranic Encyclopedia, Motilal Banarsidass, 1975, p.122

18. A.D.Pusalker- The Epic and Puranas, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1955, p. xxi

19. Ibid, p.58

20. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, p. xxvi

21. Ibid, pp: xxxi, xxxii

22. Ibid, pp: xxiii, xxxiv

23. Ibid, p. ix

24. Rajendra Chandra Hazra- Op.cit, pp: 199, 200

25. Ibid, p.218

26. Ibid, p. 225

27. Ibid, p. 194

28. Ibid, p. 213

29. Gopal Chowdhary – Op.cit, p. 203

30. Ibid, p. 56

31. Ibid, p.107

32. Ibid, p. 154

33. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, p. xlix

34. A.D.Pusalker- Op.cit, p. 60

35. Vettam Mani- Op.cit, p. 421

36. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp:25,26; A.D.Pusalker- Op.cit, p. 68

37. Vettam Mani-Op.cit, p. 422

38. A.D.Pusalker- Op.cit, p. 69; According to Dhirendra Nath Pal, Kaliya was a thief of the wild men who was driven out of Vrindavan by Krishna (p.43)

39. Vettam Mani- Op.cit, p. 423

40. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, p.67

41. J.P.Mittal- History of Ancient India (4250 B.C.-637 A.D.) Vol- II, , Atlantic Publishers and distributors, New Delhi, 2006, p.434

42. Vettam Mani- Op.cit, p.423

43. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp:60,61

44. J.P.Mittal- Op.cit, p.433

45. Vettam Mani- Op.cit, p. 423

46. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp:68,69

47. Though traditional pandits try to find veiled references to Radha in the Bhagavata Purana, it is seen that the name occurs for the first time in the 9^th century A.D. and that the Radha worship is a late growth in Bhagavatism. A.D.Pusalker- Op.cit, p. 81

48. Ibid, p.70

49. Venkatakrishna Rao – Krishna’s story in its various settings, QJMS, vol- XLIX, 1958, No.1, p.28

50. Vettam Mani-Op.cit, p. 426

51. Bimanbehari Majumdar- Krishna in History and Legend, University of Calcutta, 1969, p.249

52. K.C.Singhal and Roshan Gupta- The Ancient History of India, Vedic Period, a New Interpretation, Atlantic Publishers and distributors, New Delhi, 2003, pp:196,197

53. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp: 106,107

54. Ibid, p. 105

55. Vettam Mani-Op.cit, p. 426

56. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp:98,99

57. Bimanbehari Majumdar- Op.cit, p.243

58. Prof Vrinda Nabar and Shanta Tumkur- The Bhagavad Gita, Translated from the Sanskrit- Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1997, p.XIII

59. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, p. 285

60. Gopal Chowdhary – Op.cit, pp:99,110

61. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, pp:285-287

62. Ibid, pp:415,416

63. Ibid, pp:416,418

64. Ibid, p. 418

65. Vettam Mani- Op.cit, p. 429

66. Dhirendra Nath Pal, Op.cit, p.450