Historical Krishna Part 1

Historically the character of Krishna is disputed by many scholars. They point out to the mythology and the impossible stories around him which they disregard disdainfully. However such mythological stories have developed around many eminent historical figures, including Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ. So just because there has been some supposedly impossible stories is no ground for dismissal of a well-entrenched personality in the psyche of an entire Nation. In response to the criticisms of the Western scholars who were often driven by narrow prejudices, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the first to pen a historical account of Krishna. His Krishna Charitra was aimed at finding and establishing facts among myths and providing a fitting reply to missionaries and their propaganda and also to respond to the unfounded and often dubious assertions of scholars and historians like Weber. Similar attempts were made by others, often towing the lines of Bankim Chandra. However in the process of rationalizing they overlooked and dismissed certain stories as pure fictional as for instance the legend around Radha, a Gopika and her special relationship with Krishna on which the entire Vainshnava practice of love and devotion, the love for love’s sake and the madhur bhaava, are centred. This did not do justice to the entire personality of Krishna.

To begin with, to establish historicity of Krishna we need to establish him as a person who existed and was not a mere myth. Now where do we find the legends of Krishna occurring among Indian texts? Mahabharata in this respect is an important source. Even though it is primarily centered on Kuru Pandava dynasty, Krishna plays a very important role, but his backgrounds are covered only briefly, esp. in the Sabha Parva when Krishna had to contend with Jarasandha and Sishupala. Next comes Vishnu Purana, Hari Vamsa and Bhagavat Purana which are very important literary sources pertaining to the entire background of Krishna, including his childhood and many other exploits in adult hood which were not covered in Mahabharata. However the Puranas are essentially bhakti texts and it is difficult to ascertain how much of the stories were extrapolated later by various sources, esp. the later Vaishnava sects of Southern India. Krishna and some of the characters of Mahabharata esp. the Pandavas and Draupadi are mentioned in some of the Buddhist texts like Jataka stories, Lalita Vistara etc, although in a somewhat derogatory fashion. The references also occur in Jain texts. Krishna’s name appears in the Chandogya Upanishad as the Devaki Putra and disciple of Ghora Angirasa. It is to be noted that Bhagavat and other biographies of Krishna never mention the name of Ghora Angirasa as Krishna’s guru but rather sage Sandipani as the teacher. But it is quite possible that Krishna had several teachers and Sandipani came into prominence because of the marvelous story around his guru dakshina. Krishna's name also appears in Panini’s grammar and in Asvalayan’s works, both of which pre dates Buddhism. Krishna is of course abundantly found in the texts post Sungas and esp. during the Guptas. In Meghadutam we find poet Kalidasa extolling the beauty of the rainbow by comparing it with the plumes on the head of Vishnu in his cowherd (Gopa) form. Various literature including some of the later Vedic Sutras in Shatapatha Brahman, Aranyaks etc. other Mahabharata characters are mentioned. The following inscriptions are a testimony to the existence of the Vasudeva cult atleast 2000 years ago – Nanaghat inscriptions between 200 BCE and 100 BCE belonging to Satakarni dynasty which mentions about Vasudeva and Samkarshana, Ghosundi inscriptions in 200 BCE mentioning about Samkarshana and Vasudeva, and most famously the Heliodorus column declaring Heliodorus as a Bhagavata or follower of Krishna Vasudeva, which dates to 113 BCE. Greek texts of Arrian and Pliny refers to Sauraseni (Saurasenoi) dynasty, to Mathura (Methora) and to Yamuna (Jobares, a navigable river)  river and Kleisobora (Krishna – Pura or Dwarka?) as well as to the Indian Heracles which scholars think to be a Greek reference to Hari Kula Isa or the Lord of the dynasty of Hari. Some believe that the stories of Heracles are basically exploits of Balarama or Samkarshana. Megasthenes refers to the image of Heracles forming the vanguard of the king Puru’s army during the invasion of Alexander. In Yaska’s Nirukta, which also probably pre dates Buddhism, there is a reference to Syamantaka jewel in the possession of Akrura. This is a famous story from Bhagavat Purana. In Baudhayana Dharma Sutra there is a reference to Vishnu as Keshava,  Damodara, Govinda etc. which were names of Krishna. In Patanjali’s Mahabhasya there are references to the killing of Kamsa. The name of king Parikshit and Janmejaya appears in Vedas. Parikshit for instance is lauded in the twentieth book of the Atharva Veda Samhita as the Lord of the Kurus whose kingdom flowed with milk and honey. It is to be noted that Bhagavat Purana had also lauded the brilliance of Parikshit in bringing prosperity to his people and for keeping Kali Yuga at bay. Aitiriya and Satapatha Brahmana refers to Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit and the asvamedha yagnas performed. Names of several Kaurava ancestors also occur in the Vedic literature – viz. Pratipa, Shantanu, Dhritarastra, Vichitravirya, Pururava, Nahusha, Yayati, Ajamidha, Kuru, Ucchaisravas, Dushyanta, Bharata etc. The genealogy tallies with Mahabharata and since the historicity of Sri Krishna is of consideration here, the historicity of Mahabharata is intrinsically linked to it as Krishna is indispensable for Mahabharata, not just as the friend and guide of Pandavas, but also for guiding and deciding the course of the war through his superior strategy and policy. The archeological excavations have been very recent corroborations and discovery of the ruins of Dwaraka under the sea atleast points to the fact that Mabhabharata stories were not all imagination. If there are grains of truth like the city that got submerged under the sea then atleast the core of the poem must be true. An excavation is also going on in Barnwa district of Baghpat which has a very ancient tunnel, believed by locals to be made by Pandavas while escaping from Lakshagruha or the house of inflammable materials. Baranwa is a derivative of Varanavat, the Mahabharata village which was also one of the five villages sought by the Pandavas from Duryadhana as a conciliatory measure.