Search for the Historical Krishna
Prof. N.S. Rajaramwww.swordoftruth.com (September 4th, 1999)
"Krishna was a historical figure who lived towards the end of the Vedic Age. Traditional Indian accounts are closer to truth than thoseof Western Indology, which are colored by colonial and missionary biases and plagued by weak scholarship."
History or myth?
As we go on to celebrate another Sri Krishna-janmashthami, here is a question of interest to all of us: was Krishna a historical figure,or is he just a myth created to fill a void in the Hindu soul? As the most admired and adored figure in the Hindu pantheon, Krishnaoccupies a unique place in Indian history and tradition. Known since time immemorial as a Yadava prince of the house of Vrishni, andthe son of Vasudeva and Devaki, most Hindus have accepted Krishna an avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu. But now, in keepingwith the spirit of the scientific age in which we live, many people - including Hindus - want to know if he really existed. This is not anew phenomenon: the question of his historicity has engaged the attention of scholars for nearly two centuries, ever since Europeanscholars began to study India, questioning every belief that the Hindus had held for millennia. They concluded - and their Indianfollowers faithfully accepted - that Krishna was a myth. In reality, it was a preconceived answer, which they sought to justify bygiving it an appearance of scholarship. But in these articles I will present evidence to show that Krishna was indeed a historical figurewho lived about 5000 years ago.Since the life and career of Krishna lie within the century or so described in the great historical epic Mahabharata, if we candemonstrate the historicity of the characters and the principal episodes of the epic, we will essentially have established Krishna'shistoricity also. And the same goes for the date: once we know the dates of the principal events in the Mahabharata, like the War, weautomatically have an approximate date for Krishna. If, on the basis of our search, we can ascertain the existence of Krishna, andarrive also at an approximate date for him, we are justified in regarding him as a historical figure. The approach that I follow isinspired by the work Sri Krishna Charitra written more than a century ago by the great Bengali author Bankima Chandra Chatterji,supplemented by archaeological and other research that has come to light up to our own time. The topics presented in these articles arediscussed in greater detail in my forthcoming book, Search for the Historical Krishna.
Evidence for Krishna
According to Indian sources, Krishna was a Vedic figure. He was a younger contemporary of Krishna-dvaipayana - or 'Krishna of theIsland' - better known as Veda Vyasa - who by tradition was responsible for the organization of Vedic hymns into their four folddivision, the form in which we know them today. He is also by tradition the author of the earliest version of the Mahabharata. It isworth noting that the names of some of the characters of the period are found in the literature of the period and also on some Harappanseals that Jha and I have deciphered. For example, words like Paila (Vyasa's pupil), Akrura (Krishna's friend), Vrishni (Krishna's clan),Yadu (Krishna's ancestor), Sritirtha (old name for Dwaraka) are found on seals, some of which may go back five thousand years.The greatest barrier to a rational study of ancient Indian history continues to be a nineteenth century colonial fiction known as theAryan invasion of India. When the ruins of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were discovered about 70 years ago, this was followed by anew piece of fiction known as the Aryan-Dravidian wars. Science has now fully discredited both. We now know that the HarappanCivilization came at the end of the Vedic Age. I will not go into their details here, but only mention that in these articles I totallyignore both the Aryan invasion and the idea of the Harappan Civilization as Dravidian, unrelated to Vedic. (See my book The Politicsof History, Chapter 1. For a more detailed exposition.) Panini, the great grammarian mentions several Mahabharata charactersincluding Vasudeva(Krishna), Arjuna, Nakula, Kunti and others. We find the names of Mahabharata characters in Vedic literature -Vicitravirya in Kathaka Samhita; Sikhandin Yajnasena in Kaushitaki Brahmana; Janamejaya the grandson of Abhimanyu in AitareyaBrahmana; and Pariksita in Shatapatha Brahmana. And the list is far from exhaustive.Among Buddhist works Kunala Jataka mentions Krishnaa (i.e., Draupadi) in addition to Bhimasena, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva andYudhittila (Pali for Yudhisthira). Dhananjaya of the Kuru race (Arjuna) and Draupadi Svayamvara are referred to in Dhumakari Jataka.The same work refers also to Yudhisthira as an ancestor of the Kurus of Indapattana (i.e., Indraprastha) and also to Vidurapandita. Inaddition to these Mahabharata characters, Krishna himself is mentioned in Buddhist works such as Sutrapitaka and Lalitavistara.These works are often hostile to Krishna and his teachings, but the very fact they found it necessary to try to discredit him (and histeachings) shows that he was accepted as a historical figure even by them. They did not try to deny his historical existence.Returning to the late Vedic literature, one of the most interesting references to Krishna is to be found in the ancient ChandogyaUpanishad. It goes (my translation):"Ghora of the Angirasas spoke thus to Krishna, son of Devaki (Krishna Devaki-putra) - "Hearing your words I too am now free of thirst." And till the end of life he sought refuge in these three principles: "Thou art indestructible (akshita). Thou art eternal (acyuta).Thou art the flow of life (prana samhita)."
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Historical Krishna
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