11/22/2023 0 Comments Trickster god![]() ![]() If they have anything in common, it is a tendency to trickery and deceit, but always, presumably, in the service of the good.” Birth ” Dimmit and van Buitenen go so far as to say that “Kr̥ṣṇa the divine child and Kr̥ṣṇa the epic hero appear to be two distinct and separate personalities, one human, one divine. This version of Krishna as divine is “utterly different from Kr̥ṣṇa’s exploits in the. The epic, heroic, and human figure of Krishna largely disappears from the Puranas, replaced by a fully divine figure closer to his depiction in the Bhagavad Gita. In the Mahabharata, for example, Krishna is a semi-historical figure and folk hero, the ruler of Dvaraka and “a human hero in the process of becoming a god.” It is only within the Bhagavad Gita, a shorter text absorbed into the Mahabharata, that Krishna claims to be the supreme godhead. They also identify notable differences in the depiction of Krishna’s divinity across the Puranas, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Harivamsa. Among these are Govinda, “cow-finder” Dāmodara, “rope-belly” Keśava, “fine-hair” and the like. In this way Viṣṇu acquired for himself a number of epithets derived from Kr̥ṣṇa’s exploits. It appears likely that he was first an independent deity, or hero, who was eventually absorbed by Viṣṇu as supreme god. van Buitenen likewise consider Krishna’s status as an avatar of Vishnu to be a later development, saying, The myth of the child Kr̥ṣṇa is only dimly foreshadowed in Vedic and Epic texts, though it may have been a very old folk legend in the non-Sanskrit tradition (as yet unconnected with the god Viṣṇu), and this part of the Kr̥ṣṇa cycle is first told in full in the Harivaṃśa, the Purāṇic appendage to the Mahābhārata. (like Rāma) a mortal warrior, but merely one among many, and his identification with Viṣṇu only begins to take place in the latest parts of the Epic. However, Wendy Doniger notes that Krishna’s development from local cult-hero to avatar of Vishnu took centuries: įurthermore, a coin of the Indo-Greek king Agathocles (early second century BCE) bears an image of Balarama on the obverse and Vasudeva on the reverse, showing that the cult of these heroes not only existed at that time but was also popular enough to be included on royal coinage. Cross-referencing Antialkidas and the inscription’s writing style gives scholars a solid footing for dating Krishna’s worship (or that of a precursor to Krishna) to at least the late second century BCE. The pillar is notable for its image of Garuda, the mount of Vishnu, and features an inscription written in a northwestern Prakrit with some Sanskritic elements. The earliest record of Krishna appears on the Heliodoros pillar, a stone column named for an ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas. The cult of Krishna in the form of Vasudeva can be confidently dated back to antiquity, with evidence of his worship appearing in inscriptions and on coinage from that era. His brother, Balarama, remained a constant companion throughout his adventures, and his 16,000 marriages led to thousands of children. Krishna’s family ties are more complicated than those of other gods, as he is the biological son of Vasudeva and Devaki but was raised by Nanda and Yashoda in a small cowherding village. He is also famous for his acts of strength and for slaying demons-somewhat comparable to the Greek hero Heracles. He embodies the concept of lila, or playful sport. DomainsĪs a semi-divine playboy, Krishna is well known for his erotic exploits and trickery. This weapon, along with his blue or dark skin, emphasizes his connection with Vishnu. Krishna’s most recognizable weapon is the Sudarshana Chakra, a magical discus that returns to his hand after being thrown. Kr̥ṣṇa also describes “the dark half of the lunar month from full to new moon.” Pronunciation ![]() According to Monier Monier-Williams, the Sanskrit kr̥ṣṇa can mean simply “dark, darkish, blue, black.” For this reason, depictions of Krishna show him with blue or darkened skin, similar to Rama and other Vishnu avatars. ![]()
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