Historical Krishna Part 3

Let us first start analyzing the facts that we know. The sources of information about Sri Krishna’s life are primarily four fold – 1) Mahabharata 2) Vishnu Purana 3) Srimad Bhagavata Purana 4) Harivamsa Purana

Of these, Mahabharata primarily deals with an adult Krishna of Dwaraka and his relationship with the Kuru Pandavas. In Mahabharata Krishna Balarama does not appear until Draupadi’s swayamvara. We come to know some aspects of his childhood from his own statements in Sabhaparva and also that of the abuses of Shishupala. Harivamsa gives his exploits and the details about the Yadava dynasty and its kings. Vishnu Purana also has many interesting accounts. But the most comprehensive account of his life and childhood and found in Srimad Bhagavatam or Bhagavata Purana. It is said that there was an older version of Bhagavatam which was composed possibly before Buddhist period. But Bhagavatam underwent some fundamental changes and between 6^th and 8^th century AD it was transformed into a fully grown devotional text, sacred to the Vaishnavas, possibly by the Alwars of South India, a greatly devotional sect who flourished during this period (vide Swami Tapasyananda – Bhakti Ratnavali). But Bhagavatam also has the maximum appeal among all the Puranas to the readers of all hues because of the higher and deeper philosophical insights it provides. Bhagavatam is not sectarian like some other Puranas, it has a broader outlook as it has given equal status to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and has unequivocally declared that all the forms are but different manifestations of the same Supreme God Head. Srimad Bhagavatam devotes three cantos to the life of Sri Krishna and prepares the reader for his advent and teachings through the previous cantos. Vishnu Purnana according to the scholars is one of the oldest Purana and it provides the early life and some portions of the later life of Sri Krishna.

Let us glance through the facts from the life of Sri Krishna which is found in Puranas and Mahabharata But first, a little bit about the Puranas and why they differ so much in content. The Puranas were recited during the Vedic sacrifices by a class of people called Sutas or Magadhis who were historians and bards. They had preserved the history and philosophical knowledge of many generations through an oral tradition. Though originally Puranas were recited by the Brahmins, the rishis, it seems later the tradition was changed and Sutas took up the role. Vyasa for instance after composing the Puranas taught it to his disciples Vaisampayana and Suta Lomaharshana. Lomaharshana in turn taught it to six of his disciples, including son Sauti Ugrasrava. It was Ugrasrava who recited the Puranas in the Naimisharanya in front of a gathering of the rishis. The Mahabharata was partly recited by him and partly by Vaisampayan in Janamejaya’s sacrifice. In the beginning one would assume that there was only one Purana that was taught by Vyasa but possibly once he had imparted the teaching to Lomaharshana, the divisions began. Vyasa is credited to have brought along the division but that is explicable given the propensity of most of the ancient authors to not to take any credit for any work and ascribe everything to their guru.

So according to the Puranas we have the following facts. There was a widespread turmoil during and before the birth of Krishna. Possibly there were oppressions all around. We find some of these instances from Mahabharata, that Pandavas, a virtuous lot, were denied their de share by their uncle. Kamsa, the tyrant usurped the throne of his father and ruled ruthlessly over Mathura. He had an iron grip over the Yadavas that included Vrishni, Bhoja, Andhaka and Kukkura tribes and the Saurasenis among them. Some of the Yadavas had to align with Kamsa for the fear of their lives or for gaining material prosperity. It would also appear that he was an illegitimate son of Ugrasena, the ruler of Mathura. Kamsa made some powerful alliances. In the east reigned Jarasandha of Magadha who had a vast and powerful army. Indeed Magadha became powerful possibly after the downfall of the Ikshakus of Ayodhya. Possibly parts of India or adjacent areas were ruled by non-Vedic tribes called Yavanas – one notable king among them was Kala Yavana whose reference is there in Bhagavatam as an enemy of Krishna. There may have been other non-Vedic tribes ruling some parts of the far North – like the Bahlikas, the Tukharas, the Pulindas, the Sakas, the Kambojas, the Daradas, all of whom were looked down upon for their non-Vedic customs. Pragjyotish or the Far East was ruled by Bhauma Naraka who was denoted as an Asura, possibly because of his atrocious behaviors. Kamsa aligned with Jarasandha through matrimonial alliance and they were powerful enough to rule over large tracts of India. One of the close confidantes of Kamsa was Vasudeva, a Sauraseni chieftain. He was engaged to marry Devaki, a cousin sister of Kamsa as Devaka was the brother of Ugrasena. It is to be noted that most of the chieftains belonged to one of the dynasties of the solar or the lunar with the sons of Yayati being the main branches from whom the sub branches spread throughout. Yadu was the eldest son of Yayati who was banished by his father for disobeying him. Yadu was the forefather of all the Yadava tribes including that of Krishna. Puru, the youngest one, the son of Sharmistha and the grandson of the danava king Vrishaparva was the forefather of the Kurus – both Pandavas and Kauravas. So Yadavas had a huge hold over many of the kingdoms through marriages, for instance Vinda Anuvinda of Avanti, Sishupala of Chedis, the Kekayas, were all born of Yadava princesses, not to mention about Kunti, the mother of Pandavas who was a Yadava princess herself and was a sister of Vasudeva. It was also a time of conflicts and conspiracies across states. There were a mysterious tribe called the Nagas who according to Dhirendra Nath Paul (Sri Krishna, His Life and Teachings) were oppressed by Kamsa and hence were his sworn enemies. Nagas were identified as serpents in the Puranas and Mahabhrata but also were described as human like. There were Nagas an then there were sarpas. The later  were possibly more vicious tribesmen having Vasuki as their king. In Gita the Lord says in Vibhuti Yoga that "among sarpas I am Vasuki and among Nagas I am Ananta, ", thus clearly differentiating between then two. It is to be noted here that Vasuki was related to Kunti, the mother of Pandavas. His sister  Jaratkaru was married to a sage of the same name whose only child Astika was instrumental in stopping the Sarpa sacrifice of Janamejaya to avenge the death of Parikshit in the hand of Takshaka. It is to be noted that Takshaka was a sarpa, a vicious, violent one, who was a friend of the chief of gods Indra and who had a score to settle with Pandava dynasty as his son Aswasena and his wife were killed by Arjuna, the former during the war and the later during Khandava forest destruction. Naga also means elephant and incidentally Airavata is the name of a Naga chieftain and also that of an elephant of Indra. So possibly Nagas were a tribesmen belonging to Kashyapa clan who had snake or elephant as totem, just as residents of Kiskindhya had apes as their totem and were called Vanaras. The cowherds or the Gopas were very large in number but were sympathetic to the Saurasenis. Atleast the king of the Gopas, Nanda was a good friend of Vasudeva.