© Richard Randall

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In the 1st century BCE, the Greek Heliodorus erected at Besnagar near Bhilsa a column with the inscription : This Garuda-column of Vasudeva the god of gods was erected here by Heliodorus, a worshipper of the Lord [Bagavata], the son of Diya [Greek Dion] and an inhabitant of Taxila, who came as ambassador of the Greeks from the Great King Amtalikita [Greek Antialcidas] to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra the saviour, who was flourishing in the fourteenth year of his reign ....(missing text)... three immortal steps . ....(missing text)...when practised, lead to heaven—self-control, charity, and diligence.

A 1st century BCE, inscription from Mathura records the building of a part of a sanctuary to Vasudeva by the great Satrap Sodasa.

The grammarian Patanjali, who wrote his commentary the Mahabhashya upon Panini's grammar about 150 B. c., quotes a verse to the following effect: May the might of Krishna accompanied by Samkarshana increase ! One verse speaks of Janardana with himself as fourth (Krishna with three companions, the three possibly being Samkarshana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha). Another verse mentions musical instruments being played at meetings in the temples of Rama (Balarama) and Kesava (Krishna). Patanjali also describes dramatic and mimetic performances (Krishna-Kamsopacharam) representing the killing of Kamsa by Vasudeva.

In the 1st century BCE, there seems to be evidence for a worship of five Vrishni heroes (Balarama, Krishna, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Samba) for an inscription has been found at Mora near Mathura, which apparently mentions a son of the great Satrap Raj Uvula, probably the Satrap Sodasa, and an image of Vrishni, " probably Vasudeva, and of the '-"Five Warriors "

From the early centuries of the common era, the inscriptions and references to worship of Krishna become very numerous.

The Bhakti tradition

Bhakti, meaning devotion, is not confined to any one deity of Hinduism. However Krishna has become the most important and popular focus of the devotional and ecstatic aspects of Hindu religion.

Devotees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, or divine play as the central principle of the universe. This is counterpoint to another avatar of Vishnu: Rama, "He of the straight and narrow path of maryada, or rules and regulations."

Those bhakti movements devoted to Krishna first became prominent in southern India in the late 1st millennium. The earliest works included those of the Alvar saints of the Tamil country. A major collection of their works is the Divya Prabandham. The Alvar, Andal's popular collection of songs - Tiruppavai, in which she imagines herself as a Gopi is perhaps the oldest work of this genre. Kulashekhara's Mukundamala was another another notable offering of this early stage.

Spread of Krishna-Bhakti movement

The movement spread rapidly from the south and the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva (12th century CE) in eastern India, became a landmark in the movement's literature . It elaborated a part of the story of Krishna, that of his love for one particular Gopi, called Radha, a minor character in the Bhagavata Purana but a major one in some others like the Bramhavaivarta-Purana. In some philosophical interpretations of this work the desire of Radha for Krishna is seen as allegory of the desire of humanity for union with the godhead. The poem is in Sanskrit and soon became famous all across India. Radha henceforth became inseparable from the devotion to Krishna.

While the learned sections of the society, well-versed in Sanskrit, could enjoy works like Gita Govinda or Bilvamangala's Krishna-Karnamritam, the masses sang the songs of the Bhakti devotee-poets who composed in the regional languages of India. These songs expressing intense personal devotion were written by the devotees from all walks of life. The songs of Mirabai and Surdas became the epitomes of Krishna-devotion in north India.

These devotee-poets, like the Alvars before them, were only loosely alligned to any specific theological schools, if at all. But by 11th century CE, Vaishnava Bhakti schools with elaborate theological frameworks around the worship of Krishna were established in north India. Nimbarka (11th century CE), Vallabhacharya (15th century CE) and especially Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (16th century CE) were the founders of the most influential of these schools. Chaitanya's tradition, called Gaudiya Vaishnavism, sees Krishna as the supreme God, rather than as an avatara of Vishnu. Followers of Chaitanya maintain that he is himself an incarnation of Krishna.

Devotion to Krishna in recent Times

Since 1966 devotion to Krishna has spread from within India and is now practiced in many places around the globe, including America, Europe, Africa, Russia & South America. This is largely due to the growth of the 'Hare Krishna' movement, the largest part of which is officially known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The driving force behind the change was the movements founder A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who was instructed by his guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to translate the Vedic stories concerning Krishna into the English language and to share Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy with people in the Western world.

Krishna in Jainism

The most exalted figures in Jainism are the 24 Tirthankaras. Krishna when he was incorporated into the Jain list of heroic figures presented a problem with his activities which are not pacifist or non-violent. The concept of Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prati-Vasedeva was used to solve it. The Jain list of 63 Shalakapurshas or notable figures includes amongst others, the 24 Tirthankaras and 9 sets of this triad. One of these traids is Krishna as the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Baladeva and Jarasandha as the Prati-Vasudeva. He was a cousin of the 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha. The stories of these triads can be found in Harivamsha of Jinasena (not be confused with its namesake, the addendum to Mahabharata) and the Trishashti-shalakapurusha-charita of Hemachandra.

In each age of the Jain cyclic time is born a Vasudeva with an elder brother termed the Baladeva. The villain is the Prati-vasudeva. Baladeva is the upholder of the Jain principle of non-violence. However Vasudeva has to forsake this principle to kill the Prati-Vasudeva and save the world. The Vasudeva then has to descend to hell as punishment for this violent act. Having undergone the punishment he is then reborn as a Tirthankara.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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