Kr̥ṣṇa in the Harivaṁśa (Vol II): The Greatest of All Sovereigns and Masters

By André Couture

This second volume of Krishna in the Harivamsha brings together texts written between 2000 and 2015, more than half of which are of more recent vintage than those  included in Volume I. While Krishna’s biography is clearly divided into two large units, childhood and adulthood — the kshatriya (warrior) of the second period manifesting himself first as a gopa (cowherd) — it is important to note that both sections of the biography are similarly structured and carry an identical message. This book contends that the child and adult Krishnas are indeed one and the same.
The initiation by guru Kashya Sandipani, the construction of the city of Dvaraka, and the fights involving Pradyumna and Aniruddha are among the best known episodes analysed in this volume. It is the oft-neglected Harivamsha version of these well-known stories that is studied here, version that has been passed over despite its early date of composition.
An unstated assumption still influences a great deal of Harivamsha research. Many scholars assume that an addition of this sort to the Mahabharata can be little more than a collection of ancient records bearing witness to the primitive mentality of a people unable to think logically. On this view, the Harivamsha becomes reduced to a pile of documents of diverse origins. The articles contained in this volume take the opposite view. Krishna’s biography, which at first blush might appear to be an amalgam of various stories, proves in fact to be a skilful construction which conveys a clear message.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.K. Printworld
• Release date: Mar 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9788124612019

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Kr̥ṣṇa in the Harivaṁśa

Kr̥ṣṇa in the Harivaṁśa

Vol. 2

The Greatest of All Sovereigns and Masters

André Couture

Cataloging in Publication Data — DK

[Courtesy: D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd. ]

Couture, André, 1945- author.

Kr̥ṣṇa in the Harivaṁśa / André Couture.

volumes cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents: vol. 2. The greatest of all sovereigns and masters

ISBN 9788124608913 (vol. 2)

1. Mahābhārata. Harivaṁśa – Criticism, interpretation, etc.

2. Krishna (Hindu deity) I. Title.

BL1138.86.C66 2016 DDC 294.5923046 23

ISBN : 978-81-246-1201-9 (E-Book)

ISBN : 978-81-246-0891-3 (Hb)

First published in India, 2017

© André Couture

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, except brief quotations, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the copyright holders, indicated above, and the publishers.

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Contents

Volume 2

The Greatest of All Sovereigns and Masters

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part 4: Kr̥ṣṇa and the Construction of Dvārakā

4.1 Kr̥ṣṇa’s Initiation at Sāndīpani’s Hermitage

4.2 Dvārakā : The Making of a Sacred Place

4.3 Kr̥ṣṇa’s Second Enthronement at Kuṇḍina in the Harivaṁśa: The Study of Late Episode

4.4 Kr̥ṣṇa in the Harivaṁśa: A God Who Shares His Wealth

Part 5: The Omnipresent Goddess

5.1 Kr̥ṣṇa, Saṁkarṣaṇa and the Goddess Ekānaṁśā in the Harivaṁśa

5.2 Kr̥ṣṇa’s Victory over Bāṇa and Goddess Koṭavī’s Manifestation in the Harivaṁśa

5.3 The Yawning of Divinities in the Mythology of the Epics and the Purāṇas

5.4 Noteworthy Resemblances between Pradyumna’s Childhood and Kr̥ṣṇa’s Childhood

5.5 The Emergence of a Group of Four Characters (Vāsudeva, Saṁkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha) in the Harivaṁśa: Points for Consideration

Part 6: The Epic Narrative without Oversimplification

6.1 Saṁkarṣaṇa and His Relationships with Kr̥ṣṇa: Presence and Absence, Coming Together and Moving Apart

6.2 Observations Concerning the Notion of Bhakti in the Mahābhārata

6.3 The Syamantaka Affair: A Key Episode for the Interpretation of the Harivaṁśa

6.4 Kr̥ṣṇa’s Victory over the Vedic Fires in the Harivaṁśa

Conclusion:

From Viṣṇu’s Deeds to Viṣṇu’s Play, or Observations on the Word Avatāra as a Designation for the Manifestations of Viṣṇu

Bibliography

General Index

Index of Passages

Abbreviations

For an easy reading, only a few abbreviations have been adopted in this book.

Introduction

Volume

2 brings together texts written between 2000 and 2015, more than half of which are of more recent vintage than those included in vol. 1. Its title, The Greatest of All Sovereigns and Masters, underscores the primary role played by Kr̥ṣṇa in the stories told by the authors of the HV. By the end of the 1990s, after a period in which I had focused on Kr̥ṣṇa’s childhood, I began to take a more pointed interest in questions related to the adult Kr̥ṣṇa. While it remains true that the HV has not received the scholarly attention it deserves, the sections dealing with the battles fought by Kr̥ṣṇa as a kṣatriya (chaps. 79-118) having been sorely neglected both by the Vaiṣṇavas themselves and by scholars in general. A number of episodes found in the BhP have been the subject of analyses — the initiation with the Guru Kāśya Sāndīpani, the construction of the city of Dvārakā, the fights involving Pradyumna and Aniruddha. However, the study of earlier versions of these same stories in the HV has largely been passed over.

The study of the narrative construction of Kr̥ṣṇa’s biography according to the HV, the ViP and the BhP, reveals the existence of two large units, childhood and adulthood. The kṣatriya (warrior) of the second period manifests himself at first as a gopa (cowherd). Despite this obvious division, it is clear that we are not dealing here with two Kr̥ṣṇas. Indeed, both sections are similarly structured and carry an identical message. On the one hand, during his childhood, the young Kr̥ṣṇa is living with his elder brother in a forest, sometimes called Mahāvana, before they, along with cows and herders, are forced to leave for a second forest, the marvellous Vr̥ndāvana, where a new settlement is built. On the other hand, the grown-up Kr̥ṣṇa, after some hotly contested battles against King Jarāsandha, decides to abandon Mathurā, moves west, where he builds a new city, the celebrated Dvārakā. Before he can take on this task, he has to fight the terrible Kālayavana. The basis for this parallelism seems to be the relationship of both series of episodes to the pralaya myth, that is, the destruction of a first world and the escape to a new ideal world (see Chap. 4.2). A second parallelism can be identified. In the forest surrounding Mathurā, the young Kr̥ṣṇa, with the help of his elder brother, fights against various incarnations of demons (Dhenuka, Pralamba, Ariṣṭa, Keśin) sent by King Kaṁsa to the cow settlement to annihilate him. Through these victories, he wins the title of Gopāla, that is, Pastor of the whole world. Similarly, all along the way from Mathurā to the marvelled city of Dvārakā, Kr̥ṣṇa fights the terrestrial kings Jarāsandha, Kālayavana, Rukmin and Naraka. He even snaps a celestial tree from Indra’s paradise. Kr̥ṣṇa’s sovereignty over heaven and earth are thus symbolically expressed through the conquest of the directional points (digvijaya) and through the marriages with numerous princesses that follow.

Volume 1 demonstrates that the Kr̥ṣṇa stories encourage reflection on the nature of the divine: Kr̥ṣṇa who generates packs of wolves from the hairs of his body is a manifestation of a terrible form of deity; the one who dives into a large pool in the Yamunā river in order to subdue snake Kāliya imitates Viṣṇu who descends into the human world; and the one who holds up Mount Govardhana acts as a new Brahmā, able to create a new world. The adult Kr̥ṣṇa can also be terrible when he destroys Kālayavana, and conquers Śoṇitapura, the city of Bāṇa, which enjoys Rudra’s protection. All around Dvārakā, he recreates a universal kingdom which includes every corner of India and even Indra’s paradise. He is also able to manifest himself in order to safeguard the distressed women imprisoned by King Naraka. To facilitate Saṁkarṣaṇa’s and Kr̥ṣṇa’s births, the presence of the Goddess Ekānaṁśā is indispensable. She is a manifestation of Nidrā or Yoganidrā, Viṣṇu’s eternal spouse. She springs forth from Viṣṇu’s body, ever obedient to Viṣṇu’s orders (HV 48.10). The same goddess appears in the assembly hall of Dvārakā standing between Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa. She is also present in the stories of Pradyumna and Aniruddha where she is known as Māyā or Koṭavī.

There is an unstated assumption that still influences a great deal of HV research. Many scholars assume that a complement to the Mbh of this sort is no more than a collection of ancient records bearing witness to the primitive mentality of a people unable to think logically. The HV is thus reduced to a pile of documents of diverse origins. This series of articles takes, as you might already suspect, the opposite view. Appearing externally as an amalgam of various stories, Kr̥ṣṇa’s biography is in fact a skilful construction conveying a clear message.

The first section of this volume (Vol. 2, part 4) contains four texts dealing with issues linked, either directly or indirectly, to the construction of the new city of Dvārakā. The first one (Chap. 4.1) is entitled Kr̥ṣṇa’s Initiation at Sāndīpani’s Hermitage. In HV 79 (as well as ViP 5.21, BrP 1.86, and BhP 10.45), Kr̥ṣṇa’s initiation takes place immediately after his killing Kaṁsa — an initiation which transforms the former child into an adult and which may be interpreted as the first step towards his triumph in Dvārakā. Occasionally mentioned in scholarly works, no attempt has yet been made to evaluate the significance of this event within the Kr̥ṣṇa tradition. The chapter begins with a summary of HV 79, and then moves on to examine the character of Sāndīpani and his connection with Garga/Gārgya, the brāhmaṇa who came to the settlement to perform the rites for the child’s initiation. The episode provides a narrative link between the childhood period of both children and the rest of the story that deals with their adult lives as kṣatriyas. As such, it helps clarify the overall structure of the HV.

The second paper, entitled Dvārakā: The Making of a Sacred Place, addresses questions related to the construction of the new city. The city of Dvārakā is said to have been constructed according to the rules. In fact, a proper site had been chosen to build what is called a fortress on the sea; and Viśvakarman, the architect of the gods, made the city as marvellous as the Amarāvatī of Indra. In addition to being a collection of the most precious things in the cosmos and an extension of Kr̥ṣṇa’s divine body, Dvārakā was expressly built using the ritual procedures for building a temple. The issues discussed include the ways found to deal with the lack of space needed for its construction, its link to the Goddess Ekānaṁśā and to dharma, and the strange fact that this city was built only to be destroyed and abandoned.

The third paper is entitled Kr̥ṣṇa’s Second Enthronement at Kuṇḍina in the Harivaṁśa: The Study of a Late Episode. This contribution is important from a methodological standpoint. Vaidya’s Critical Edition of the HV supplies a meticulous review of the versions which were available at the time of its publication. His work culminates in an Ur-text said to date back to

ce

600. Examining this hypothetical text, some scholars have identified layers which they believe may be traced back to several different sources. Without rejecting these attempts, the chapter works from the assumption that the current form of the HV gradually took shape over about a millennium (probably between

ce

200–300 and 1200–1300) and that new material was regularly added (or old material suppressed) in an effort to provide listeners with clear explanations of important points. It should be kept in mind that whenever a Paurāṇika read a text like this one to a new audience, he did so as the representative of a specific tradition. From the point of view of reception theory, the innovations added are not random accretions of odd bits of material, but rather an indication of a particular hermeneutical stance within which a particular set of additions becomes intelligible. Specifically, the chapter studies how an episode that seems to emerge from a later tradition, Kr̥ṣṇa’s enthronement by the kings in the city of Kuṇḍina — rejected in App. I, no. 20 of the Critical Edition — duplicates the earlier episode of young Kr̥ṣṇa’s consecration as Govinda or Upendra after the uplifting of Mount Govardhana. As will become evident, the new episode fills certain gaps in the larger narrative. Above all, it emphasizes teachings which appear to have been considered central at the time of its writing, namely the generous nature of a god who does not covet the sovereignty of Mathurā and who does not hoard the goods he conquers, but rather immediately lavishes them on his devotees. Repetitions of the same textual devices and reuse of old themes are all signs that the HV provides to answer questions raised by successive generations of devotees.

The fourth paper, entitled Kr̥ṣṇa in the Harivamśa: A God Who Shares His Wealth, was written in 2003, and published in 2008 in a collaborative book on wealth in the religious and economic context of India. The chapter resumes and develops an idea already presented in the preceding text, i.e. Kr̥ṣṇa’s natural generosity. In the various versions of the HV that appeared down through the centuries, so much new material was added that the resulting texts are two or three times longer than the version considered oldest by the Critical Edition. The repetition of the same textual devices when speaking of wealth and the insertion of additional stories leave the impression that the text intends to provide answers to questions put to it by successive generations of Vaiṣṇavas. Fuller justifications for this methodological approach will be given in the core of the chapter. It will become clear why I do not hesitate on the one hand to appeal to stories dating back to the most ancient versions of the HV and, on the other hand, to texts which, in all likelihood, are later additions. My analysis suggests that the use of wealth appears to be modelled on ancient sacrifice. In opposition to the renouncers, Kr̥ṣṇa readily accepts wealth (a city, spouses, jewels and so on), depriving his enemies of the goods that they have selfishly accumulated. Nevertheless, he does not hoard these goods, but rather lavishes them on his devotees.

The second section of vol. 2 (part 5) deals with the omnipresent goddess. This theme was touched upon in the first volume in the paper on Yoganidrā (Chap. 2.3). Five other articles are gathered here, addressing one aspect or another of this multidimensional figure.

The first paper deals with three appearances of the Goddess in the Harivaṁśa . It is entitled Kr̥ṣṇa, Saṁkarṣaṇa and the Goddess Ekānaṁsā and the Iconography of the Vr̥ṣṇi Triads and is an abridged version of The Harivaṁśa: The Goddess Ekānaṁsā and the Iconography of the Vr̥ṣṇi Triads, an article written with Charlotte Schmid and published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society. I consider this text to be the most important since it demonstrates that Kr̥ṣṇa and his elder brother Saṁkarṣaṇa cannot exist without the active collaboration of the goddess. The interactions of the Saṁkarṣaṇa–Ekānaṁśā–Kr̥ṣṇa triad are presented in three different circumstances in the HV. First, the goddess’ cooperation is required on the occasion of the birth of Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa (chaps. 47-48). Second, a black goddess (Kālī) plays a modest but real role in a previous confrontation between Viṣṇu and Kālanemi and is alluded to in Nārāyaṇa’s secret hermitage (chap. 40). Third, in an oft-forgotten passage, the same goddess, again referred to as Ekānaṁśā, reappears at Dvārakā between Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa, all three figures appearing in the precise order in which the current iconography shows them (HV 96). The main conclusion from this analysis is that Kr̥ṣṇa, Saṁkarṣaṇa and Ekānaṁśā, all of whom are present in Kr̥ṣṇa’s biography, are other manifestations of Nārāyaṇa, Śeṣa and Nidrā of the cosmic night, or its equivalent, the secret hermitage. The former are the manifestations of the latter, and both triads must be thought of in conjunction with one another if their significance is to be truly grasped.

The second paper is entitled Kr̥ṣṇa’s Victory over Bāṇa and Goddess Koṭavī’s Manifestation in the Harivaṁśa. In addition to testing the value and limits of Vaidya’s Critical Edition, this paper deals with two questions: the place characters dedicated to violence occupy in the world of Vaiṣṇava devotion, and the function of the goddess in these myths. The story under study, first, shows that these characters, who escape death, are allowed to dedicate themselves to violence with the proviso that they ultimately submit to Viṣṇu; and then that the goddess, whose action can be violent but is always very brief and unexpected, consistently works along with Viṣṇu-Kr̥ṣṇa for the maintenance of the svadharma of all beings.

The Yawning of Divinities in the Mythology of the Epics and the Purāṇas is the third paper in this section. According to Liṅgayasūrin (a commentary on the Amarakośa), jr̥mbha and jr̥mbhana are the names of a specific opening of the mouth at the end or in the beginning of sleep. At times identified as Viṣṇu’s spouse (Nidrā or Yoganidrā), Sleep (nidrā) is a terrifying power which appears in the human world to prepare the destruction of adharmic forces. Commentators have studied it extensively. Yawn, on the other hand, which is closely associated with sleep, has never been studied in its own right, and this, despite the fact that a yawning mouth appears regularly in the Epic and Purāṇic texts as a sign of approaching death. The highest gods and asuras even employ Yawn as a specific weapon to destroy their adversaries. I begin this chapter with a general survey of the use of yawn in Hindu mythology before moving on to a presentation of three different origins ascribed to Yawn in the Mbh and the HV. In the first text examined in the last part of the chapter, Yawn appears to be a creation that the gods used to destroy Vr̥tra; in the second it is linked to the presence of fever (jvara), an aspect of Maheśvara’s power; and in the final text it is explicitly related to the action of the great goddess Yoganidrā.

The fourth paper bears the title Noteworthy Resemblances between Pradyumna’s Childhood and Kr̥ṣṇa’s Childhood. Pradyumna is the son of Kr̥ṣṇa and Rukmiṇī, and the third of a quartet whose other members are Kr̥ṣṇa, Saṁkarṣaṇa and Aniruddha, who together became identified with the Pāñcarātra sect. After a presentation of the story as it is found in chap. 99 of the HV (the shorter version) and the variants presented by the vulgate of the text (the longer version), I concluded that the two versions of the story should be studied together, since the longer narration clearly appears to develop elements already known or at least suggested in the shorter text. After adding the material concerning Pradyumna found in the Mbh, I highlight similarities between Pradyumna’s childhood and Kr̥ṣṇa’s childhood, examining the role of the goddess in each.

It is usually assumed that the Mbh itself and the HV, unlike the Nārāyaṇīya-parvan of the Mbh, ignore the existence of a group of marvellous heroes referred to in the Pāñcarātra Saṁhitās as vyūhas. The fifth paper, The Emergence of a Group of Four Characters (Vāsudeva, Saṁkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha) in the Harivaṁśa: Points for Consideration, takes up issue with that assumption. Similarities exist between the way in which the HV presents Saṁkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Relying on research published in three earlier articles (presented here in Chaps. 5.1, 5.2 and 5.4), I attempt to show that the heroes in question already come very close to forming a coherent group. In this chapter, I begin by summarizing the conclusions drawn from earlier analyses before moving on to a study of the reception of this group of characters in Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas and their relationship to the goddess in her various forms. The last part of the paper deals with the meaning of a vyūha, an array of three figures, and the way Kr̥ṣṇa, Saṁkarṣaṇa and Pradyumna may be seen to form a true vyūha, when they fight the Rudraic forces binding the unfortunate Aniruddha.

Among the studies gathered in the third section of vol. 2 (part 6) the first two deal with issues concerning the Mbh and the HV; the last two, with the overall structure of the HV. The title, The Epic Narrative without Oversimplification, emphasizes the need for a thorough examination of each element in the narrative in order to make an appropriate interpretation of these texts.

The first paper, entitled Saṁkarṣaṇa and His Relationships with Kr̥ṣṇa: Presence and Absence, Coming Together and Moving Apart, deals with the relationships between Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa. The analysis focuses on Saṁkarṣaṇa, Kr̥ṣṇa’s elder brother. The survey was prompted by the realization that these two characters are said to be very close brothers, even though various episodes of the HV and the Mbh depict them as clearly separate from one other. The chapter begins with a substantial section on various episodes from the HV — some from Kr̥ṣṇa’s childhood, others from his adult life. These stories are then compared to key episodes from the Mbh in which the relationships between the brothers are featured. On the basis of this investigation, I have come to the following conclusions:

1. Saṁkarṣaṇa cannot be dissociated from his younger brother Kr̥ṣṇa. Not only are they often said to be one and the same, as complementary as the Moon and the Sun, but Saṁkarṣaṇa himself says he cannot look at the world without Kr̥ṣṇa (Mbh 5.154.31).

2.  Neither can Saṁkarṣaṇa be dissociated from the very specific cosmological context in which he is regularly compared to Snake Śeṣa, the rest of the world on which God Nārāyaṇa sleeps during the cosmic night. Moreover, this elder brother is linked to Kr̥ṣṇa, who is himself said to be a manifestation of Nārāyaṇa.

3.  When dissociated from Kr̥ṣṇa, Saṁkarṣaṇa’s action involves some sort of cosmic violence. Whenever these brothers are separated from each other, whether in their early life or during adulthood, a moment of destruction, comparable to the cosmic dissolution (pralaya), occurs.

4. Saṁkarṣaṇa is often associated with both the creation and destruction of dharma, i.e. socio-religious order. The ploughshare, used to tear apart the soil and plant the seed, is Saṁkarṣaṇa’s weapon. Far from being an indication of primitivism, this association is better understood as the emblem of work and a reference to the possible violence entailed in work. Saṁkarṣaṇa is at once the manifestation of Śeṣa, the cobra whose dharma is to support the weight of the Earth, and of the snake who consumes the earth and its inhabitants at the time of cosmic dissolution.

Clearly, this chapter takes issue with the position held by most interpreters regarding the role and function of Saṁkarṣaṇa in the Epic and Purāṇic episodes. The methodological approach presented in the first pages of this paper is not based on an explanation of polytheism as the result of casual encounters and amalgams (syncretism) but rather on an anthropology which uncovers a hierarchically organized structure within the pantheon, which is the reflection of a specific society. Since Saṁkarṣaṇa only exists in and through the network of relationships in which he is embedded, this chapter sets out to explore that network.

Never before published, the second chapter, Observations Concerning the Notion of Bhakti in the Mahābhārata, consists of a detailed survey of the main uses of the word bhakti (or its derivatives) in the Mbh and the HV. The word always seems to be used in situations connecting two persons or groups of persons (subjects and their king, protégés and their protectors, servants and their masters, the youngest and the eldest in families, sons and fathers, pupils and gurus, laymen and ascetics, animals and humans, wives and husbands, human beings and divinities). It may prove misleading to look to the etymology of the root bhaj to determine the meaning of bhakti in the various contexts in which it is found. The root generally means to participate or to share in. However, in context, it is used first and foremost to express a relationship between a devotee and the object of his/her devotion — where the parties may be either persons or entities who stand in fundamentally unequal relationships. In such contexts, dependence becomes interdependence, and duties are imposed on both the inferior devotees and the superior object of their devotion.

The HV concludes its description of the royal dynasties with a strange and complicated story about the quest for the jewel called syamantaka. Chapter three, The Syamantaka Affair: A Key Episode for the Interpretation of the Harivaṁśa, examines that story. According to some versions, this jewel came from the sea, while others believe it to have come from the Sun. Since the episode is depicted as having taken place after the creation of the city of Dvārakā, scholars believe that its present location in chaps. 28-29 of the Critical Edition may be explained as the result of careless transmission, or perhaps as the result of syncretism. Through a careful study of the narrative structure and themes involved in the episode, I determined that each element of this story (the double origin of the jewel, its transfer from a lion to a bear, the reactions of Kr̥ṣṇa and his elder brother, the way in which the jewel changes hands, the stratagems used by the sacrificer Akrūra to keep the jewel for his own enjoyment and so on) are all part of a global narrative strategy used to convince readers of Kr̥ṣṇa’s sovereignty. He is the supreme Puruṣa who encompasses both Agni and Soma, the principles underlying the sacrificial activities, as well as the leading cosmic actors, the Sun and the Moon — the latter pair being traditionally considered to be founders of the royal lineages.

Chapter 4 deals with the episode of Kr̥ṣṇa’s victory over the Vedic fires, a triumph which cannot be properly explained without a detailed examination of its narrative and ritual backdrop. Moreover, this episode takes for granted that Kr̥ṣṇa and the yajña-puruṣa Viṣṇu are one and the same, that is, an immense and brilliant mass of fire (tejas) and the ultimate source of all ritual fire and of the terrible weapons Kr̥ṣṇa and his elder brother wield in combat. The Mbh and the HV witness that, like fire itself, Kr̥ṣṇa is at the same time a single and multifaceted entity. In the same way that he manifests himself (his prādurbhāvas) on the earth every time dharma collapses, Viṣṇu is said to divide himself into four distinct forms or bodies, that is, four distinct ways in which he relates to the world. The same Viṣṇu can be said to possess three forms (trimūrti), just as the single fire of the Vedic sacrifices is divided into the three gārhapatya, āhavanīya and dakṣiṇā fires for ritual purposes. These speculations only make sense when considered in connection to an ultimate deity, thought of as a gigantic Fire which radiates and reabsorbs all reality.

I conclude the second volume with a paper entitled From Viṣṇu’s Deeds to Viṣṇu’s Plays, or Observations on the Word Avatāra as a Designation for the Manifestations of Viṣṇu. This research constitutes yet another example of the importance of carefully examining vocabulary as a path to grasping notions as ubiquitous and fundamental as that of avatāra. Based on a careful survey of the several occurrences of the verb avat╝ (and of its derivations in words such as avataraṇa or avatāra) in the Mbh and the HV, this paper uncovers the descent of the gods upon the earth as a kind of performance on a stage (raṅgāvataraṇa). When Viṣṇu is born upon earth to carry out a mission (karman), the earth serves as the stage (raṅga) upon which he performs as the greatest of all actors. More than all other Viṣṇu manifestations (prādurbhāva), Kr̥ṣṇa’s appearance in Mathurā is rightly called an avatāra, since Kr̥ṣṇa deprives King Kaṁsa’s life in an arena (raṅga). According to the vulgate of the HV, both brothers are said to enter the stage or descend upon the stage, as if they were the Aśvins descending from heaven (HV 74.38, 833*). It is not surprising that one of the important names of Kr̥ṣṇa in south India is precisely Raṅganātha, stage master. In the Parimala­raṅganātha Temple (Mayilāṭuturai, Tamil Nadu), this stage master" is represented as Nārāyaṇa sleeping on the Lord of Snakes (ādiśeṣa) on the cosmic ocean.

The research for six of the articles in this collection, which were published between 2001 and 2009, was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Among the scholars who discussed many of the ideas defended here, several deserve special mention: Christopher Austin, Madeleine Biardeau, Gérard Colas, Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat, Phyllis Granoff, Alf Hiltebeitel, James Fitzgerald, Marcelle Saindon and Charlotte Schmid. I would like to thank these and the many others who, through their own research, challenged my positions and helped, directly or indirectly, to consolidate the views expressed in this book. Given that English is not my mother tongue, these texts needed to be revised linguistically. I would like to thank Robert Hurley, Christopher Austin and Élyssa Marcoux-Bissoondath for their generous assistance in this regard.

March 2017

André Couture

Part 4

Kr̥ṣṇa and the Construction of Dvārakā

4.1

Kr̥ṣṇa’s Initiation

at Sāndīpani’s Hermitage

¹

M

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Indologists have formulated different theories intended to explain both Kr̥ṣṇa’s involvement in the Mahābhārata War, and his appearance as a great god accompanied by his elder brother, Saṁkarṣaṇa, a few centuries before Christ (Hiltebeitel 1979). During the period when naturalistic explanations were dominant in Western anthropology, Kr̥ṣṇa and Viṣṇu were thought to be either ancient solar deities or vegetation spirits (Couture 1999: 174-76; here, vol. 1: 263-65). J. Kennedy (1907) relied on A.F. Weber’s thesis (1867), which understood Kr̥ṣṇa to be an Indian form of Christ, but focused on the influence played by nomadic tribes such as the Gujjars (Gurjaras) which, supposedly, brought Christian legends to India with them some time between the second and the sixth century

ce

. Scholars such as A.B. Keith or W. Ruben, on the other hand, saw in Viṣṇu (and therefore in Kr̥ṣṇa) either a great pre-Aryan god or a divinity of the Dravidian-speaking people who had at one time occupied a large part of the Indian peninsula. Bhandarkar (1913), in his analysis of the birth of the Vaiṣṇava tradition, considered its conception of God to be the product of at least four earlier trends. Traditions dealing with Viṣṇu (a Vedic god), Nārāyaṇa (a cosmic, more philosophical deity), Vāsudeva (a real historical figure) and Kr̥ṣṇa Gopāla (a pastoral deity) were combined to give the Vaiṣṇava notion of God. J. Gonda, along with other Indologists, continued working along these lines, attempting to identify specific sources for each aspect of the patchwork tradition, determining various forms of borrowing, syncretism and so on.

Whereas Bhandarkar used the term hero as a designation for Vāsudeva, other scholars insisted that Kr̥ṣṇa Vāsudeva was in fact a heroic figure who had been deified over time. This interpretation, in combination with Bhandarkar’s hypothesis, lies at the root of the explanations offered by W. Ruben or B. Preciado-Solis. Drawing on methods of analysis used by modern folklorists (Otto Rank, Ken Gardiner, etc.), Preciado-Solis discovered the same narrative patterns in the Kr̥ṣṇa saga as those found in Celtic and Greek hero stories: a king is presented as a tyrant and usurper, a princess bears a child who kills the king, a hero is born supernaturally and reared by cowherds, a hero takes the place of the king he has slain or places another king on the throne, a hero founds a new city, wins a princess, defeats other kings or dies under strange circumstances. No doubt this type of analysis (oversimplified here) has its own value at the level of the narrative. Nevertheless, as my examination of the episode under study here will serve to demonstrate, it appears equally evident that one cannot account for major elements in Kr̥ṣṇa’s life if Kr̥ṣṇa’s role is reduced to that of the traditional hero.

Kr̥ṣṇa spends a marvellous childhood tending Kaṁsa’s cows as a herder in the forests surrounding the city of Mathurā. His initiation, which takes place immediately following the account of his childhood and just before the Yādavas (Kr̥ṣṇa’s clan) migrate from Mathurā to Dvārakā (or Dvāravatī), a new city built by Kr̥ṣṇa himself, is presented as a sort of bridge between the two halves of his life. To date, this strange episode, narrated in the oldest texts dealing with Kr̥ṣṇa’s biography (HV 79; ViP 5.21; BrP 1.86; BhP 10.45), has not been studied in its own right. Occasionally mentioned in scholarly works, no attempt has been made to understand the importance or significance of this event within the Kr̥ṣṇa tradition. This episode is important because it shows clearly that Kr̥ṣṇa’s life, before being characterized as heroic, corresponds in fact to typical Indian ritual standards. Attested to in the HV, Kr̥ṣṇa’s oldest biography directs the reader not so much towards a general notion of the hero as towards a Vedic notion of sacrifice, towards the importance in Indian culture of begetting a son who will perform his father’s funeral rites. All of this also implies a very specific conception of the deity. I will begin with a summary of HV 79, before moving on to examine the character of Sāndīpani, his connection with Gārgya, the initiation process and the underlying father–son relationships, as well as variations on these themes. Other matters, such as the initiation in the form of a journey to heaven and the acquisition of Pāñcajanya conch, although important for an understanding of the story’s impact, must be left to later research.

A Summary of Harivaṁśa 79 (vulg. 2.33)

Kr̥ṣṇa is in the pink of his youth. He is shining and his presence adorns the city of Mathurā like a mine brimming with gems. After some time, he accompanies his brother Rāma (i.e. Saṁkarṣaṇa) to Sāndīpani Kāśya’s hermitage in the city of Avantī where they are to be instructed in the Dhanurveda (i.e. the knowledge of the weapons). On their arrival, the brothers recount their lineage (gotra) to Sāndīpani and inform him of their decision to begin studies. Janārdana (i.e. Kr̥ṣṇa) and Rāma adopt the proper behaviour, sacrifice their egos (nirahaṁkāra) and submit to the will of their guru. Sāndīpani accepts them as students and instructs them in the various skills (vidyā). After a period of sixty-four days and nights, they achieve a full command of all the weapons. Seeing that the wisdom (medhā) of these boys goes beyond the possibilities of the merely human, Sāndīpani believes that boys are actually the Sun and the Moon. At festival times (parvasu), he sees them worshipping the great Tryakṣa (i.e. Śiva) who manifested himself in person before them. Having fulfilled all his obligations, Kr̥ṣṇa asks Sāndīpani what they might give him in exchange for his acting as their preceptor (the guru’s fee or gurvartha). The guru who knows the power of these boys says that he wants them to restore the life of his son who has been carried to the bottom of the ocean by a big fish (timi) during a pilgrimage to Prabhāsa (near Dvārakā). With Rāma’s approval Kr̥ṣṇa agrees, approaches the ocean and dives into the water. Ocean himself stands before him and gives him his regards. In reply to Kr̥ṣṇa’s question, Ocean replies that the great daitya Pañcajana took the appearance of a great fish and swallowed the child. Kr̥ṣṇa, who is said to be the Puruṣottama (v. 17), attacks Pañcajana and kills him, but this first attempt does not restore the child. Out of the dead body of Pañcajana, Janārdana shapes his famous conch, known to all as Pāñcajanya. He defeats Vaivasvata (i.e. Yama) the god of death and restores life and a new body to the guru’s son who had disappeared many years earlier. All are astonished at this marvel. Kr̥ṣṇa returns the guru’s son to him along with a quantity of priceless pearls, keeping the Pāñcajanya conch for himself. With this, both heroes take their leave of Sāndīpani and make their way back to Mathurā. All the Yadus (or Yādavas), beginning with King Ugrasena, stand to greet the brothers. At the arrival of Govinda (i.e. Kr̥ṣṇa), the women begin to rejoice as if it were the festival of Indra (Indramaha).² All are happy and many signs appear in the cosmos, as if a new Kr̥tayuga were thriving. At this very auspicious moment, Govinda enters the city in a chariot drawn by horses. Both brothers enter Vasudeva’s house where they lay down their arms. They submit to King Ugrasena’s authority and return to their games for some time thereafter.

The Brāhmaṇas Gārgya and Sāndīpani

This episode takes place in the period between Kr̥ṣṇa’s childhood (HV 49-78) and the moment when the Yādavas, scared off by kings Jarāsandha and Kālayavana (HV 80-84), decide to move to Dvārakā. Once Kr̥ṣṇa kills Kaṁsa with his bare hands in the arena of Mathurā (HV 76) and Ugrasena is recognized as the true king of the city (HV 78), the narrative explains how both brothers learned to master the techniques of archery and the use of other weapons at Sāndīpani’s hermitage. Beneath a simple exterior, the story is replete with innuendoes which one notices only when this version is compared to other versions of the narrative. The first question which springs to mind relates to Sāndīpani’s identity. How is it that Sāndīpani is fit to teach Kr̥ṣṇa and Saṁkarṣaṇa the science of archery? Sāndīpani lives in the city of Avantī (or Ujjayinī), famous for its temple honouring Mahākāla (i.e. Rudra). He is also called kāśya (born in Kāśī) according to Nīlakaṇṭha’s commentary. Kāśī (or Vārāṇasī) is a city where Śiva reigns. Moreover, the name Sāndīpani³ itself is related to the verb sam-dīp, meaning to blaze up, flame, burn, glow, often qualifying the fires in Epic and Purāṇic language (vg. HV 53.27). All these features coincide with the fact that, during this period, both brothers worship Tryakṣa (the three-eyed god), i.e. Rudra, the all-consuming god at the end of the kalpa.

Looking carefully at the whole HV, one concludes that Sāndīpani Kāśya’s appearance in HV 79 is no mere coincidence. This Brāhmaṇa reappears later in the text (86.76) as a priest (purohita) in the new city of Dvārakā. On entering the city, Kr̥ṣṇa catches sight of his old father Ānakadundubhi (i.e. Vasudeva), King Ugrasena, his brother Baladeva (i.e. Saṁkarṣaṇa), Sāndīpani Kāśya and Brahmagārgya, and showers them all with all kinds of jewels (95.4-6). Janārdana, who always observes the protocols of hierarchy, first pays his respects to the purohita Sāndīpani before honouring Āhuka (i.e. Ugrasena), the king of the Vr̥ṣṇis (95.9).

Brahmagārgya is mentioned along with Sāndīpani in the city of Dvārakā. Another brāhmaṇa, Brahmagārgya, also called Gārgya or Garga, is said to be the guru of the Vr̥ṣṇis and the Andhakas (85.7). He has been sent by Vasudeva to the cow settlement (vraja) to perform the childhood saṁskāras for Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa (49.30, 628*; 50.1, 629*; 96.44-45). ViP (5.6.8-9) and BrP (1.76.1-2) note that, at Vasudeva’s request, Garga carries out the saṁskāras for the cowherds secretly. BhP (10.5.1-2) is even more explicit: brāhmaṇas were invited to recite the svastyayana (prescribed benedictory Vedic hymns) and perform the birth ceremonies (jātakarman) for Kr̥ṣṇa. They also come to the cow settlement for the festive ablutions which are performed to celebrate Kr̥ṣṇa’s turning in the bed (autthanika­kautukāplava, BhP 10.7.4). The BhP further stipulates that it is at Vasudeva’s request that Garga performs the purificatory rites of the two boys in the forest, where Nandagopa wholeheartedly welcomes him.

You have directly compiled a treatise on the science of astrology which is beyond the range of the senses. It is by that that a man knows his past and future. You are foremost among the knowers of the Vedas.

— BhP 10.8.5-6, Tagore’s tr.

Garga replies:

I am the family priest of the Yadus and I am known over the world as such. If I were to purify your son with religious rites, people will regard him as the son of Devakī.

— BhP 10.8.7, Tagore’s tr., slightly modified

Garga performs the naming ceremony secretly and predicts the great prowess of both children (BhP 10.8.12-19). This declaration made by Garga appears so important as to be taken up again by Nanda in BhP 10.26.15-24.⁴ As in the HV, ViP and BrP, the BhP is aware that Garga is the family purohita of the Yādavas, but adds a clear statement to the effect that this Garga is identical with the author of a well-known old book on astrology.⁵ Garga knows the stars perfectly and the proper time to accomplish the prescribed rites, and is invited as such to perform these rites for Vasudeva’s sons hidden in Nandagopa’s cow settlement.⁶

Chapter 79 of the HV, which does not explicitly mention the upanayana ceremony,⁷ depicts Sāndīpani as being responsible for Rāma (i.e. Saṁkarṣaṇa) and Kr̥ṣṇa’s initiation to the Dhanurveda. Garga’s presence must be emphasized in this context because BhP 10.45 distinguishes two different steps in this initiation, thus helping to clarify the relationship between the two gurus. According to this passage, Vasudeva asks Garga and other brāhmaṇas to perform the dvijasaṁskr̥ti (or upanayana) for both his sons. Having gone through this saṁskāra and attained the status of a twice-born (dvijatvaṁ prāpya), the brothers immediately take the vow of celibacy required of those who wish to learn about the Gāyatrī mantra (gāyatraṁ vratam) from Garga, the family priest of the Yadus (gargād yadukulācāryād). The upanayana ritual marks the passage from childhood to full membership in the community. First of all, Kr̥ṣṇa and Saṁkarṣaṇa are transformed into twice-born kṣatriyas, reborn out of the Vedas because they have heard the Gāyatrī or Sāvitrī mantra, and therefore entitled to perform sacrifices.⁸ Then, wishing to reside in a preceptor’s house (gurukule vāsam) to complete their education, they approach Sāndīpani Kāśya. Only after they have been confirmed as twice-born they do pass through a specialized training in a gurukula. The goal of this stay in Sāndīpani’s hermitage is to qualify them, among others things, to handle the most terrible weapons. Being the purohita of the Yādavas, Garga had to perform the different saṁskāras (particularly nāmakaraṇa and upanayana) in order to complete Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa’s social identities as kṣatriyas of the Yādava clan. Sāndīpani leads the brothers a step further in their initiation by giving them the ability to destroy the whole world.

From a mythological point of view, Garga appears to be continuing the work of Brahmā the creator when he imparts to Kr̥ṣṇa and Saṁkarṣaṇa attributes related to the completion of their own beings. On the other hand, in Sāndīpani’s hermitage, both boys complete their studies and master the secrets of weaponry. Having acquired new divine bodies adorned with every type of weapon, they possess the power, as Rudra himself does, to reduce their worst enemies to ashes. Not only are both brothers able, through Gārgya’s ritual activity, to carry out their responsibilities in the Vr̥ṣṇi community (esp. the protection of the brāhmaṇas), but they also gain the power to destroy all existing realities making way for the creation of a new world. Actually, this double initiation qualifies Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa, who have already been presented as Śeṣa and Viṣṇu’s manifestations, to perform the loftiest duties. Being born in Vasudeva’s family as Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa, the serpent Śeṣa and the God Viṣṇu are henceforth acting as full-fledged Yādavas able to use both Brahmā’s creative power and Rudra’s destructive weapons.

Saṁkarṣaṇa’s and Kr̥ṣṇa’s

Initiation Understood as Sacrifice

After the usual birth ceremonies (jātakarman) and name-giving (nāmakaraṇa) take place, one of two scenarios may follow: either the initiation to the Dhanurveda at Sāndīpani’s hermitage takes place alone, or, according to the BhP, both the upanayana celebrated by Garga and the initiation at Sāndīpani’s hermitage are performed. Even if one hesitates to link the purohita Garga/Gārgya to Brahmā and the guru Sāndīpani to Rudra, it appears that glimpses of these deities may be caught in the shadow of these brāhmaṇas. The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from the preceding discussion is that in texts dealing with Kr̥ṣṇa’s life, both his and Saṁkarṣaṇa’s human development is treated in the most orthodox manner.

At any rate, from a ritual point of view, the important thing to remember in this context is that the initiation constitutes the first and central part of a sacrifice (yajña).⁹ More precisely, it is the part of a sacrifice in which the one who sacrifices (yajamāna) offers his own body as a victim to the gods before offering food or another oblation as a substitute for himself. Moving on to more general conclusions, since Saṁkarṣaṇa and Kr̥ṣṇa have passed through such initiations, one can infer that their adult lives may also be understood as real sacrifices. The fact that Kr̥ṣṇa himself is often identified with the Yajñapuruṣa (i.e. the sacrifice personified as a man) or with the Puruṣottama (i.e. the Supreme Person) and that in the BhG, he affirms that the only action worth performing is one done for sacrifice (3.9) corroborates this assertion. As it now appears useful to resituate the initiation of both brothers in the context of sacrifice, it is also worth noting that a dīkṣā requires three things: a person to perform the sacrifice, an oblation and a deity. Charles Malamoud underlines the complexity of the relationships between guru and student, seen from the sacrificial point of view, in the following manner:

There are two real persons, the preceptor and the student; but as their relationship is assimilated to a sacrifice, there are three acting characters: the one who sacrifices, the deity and the officiant; the one who sacrifices is always the student, but the preceptor alternates between the role of deity and officiant (when he acts as the officiant, the Veda is the deity).¹⁰

If HV 79 is viewed from this perspective, Sāndīpani may be considered either as a deity (devatā) or as an officiating priest (r̥tvij). In the first case, as they are students, Kr̥ṣṇa and Saṁkarṣaṇa are identified as those performing the sacrifices (yajamāna), offering themselves to their guru Sāndīpani as a deity. Since he is the guru, Sāndīpani is also considered to be identical to Rudra himself and, as such, receives the offering that the boys make of their own egos and also of the bodies that they must cast aside before donning new ones. They surrender themselves completely to Sāndīpani, give him everything they are and join him in a relation of profound devotion. At festival times (parvasu), the text explicitly says, both brothers honour Tryakṣa (i.e. Rudra). On the other hand, Sāndīpani might also be understood to be playing the role of the officiating priest of the sacrifice which Kr̥ṣṇa and Saṁkarṣaṇa offer after they have learned the Dhanurveda. In fact, the study of the Dhanurveda seems to imply a sacrifice to the deities who possess each of these weapons, even though no mention of such a procedure is made here. Nevertheless, just as when a priest is invited to officiate at a sacrifice, the work that Sāndīpani carries out when assisting both brothers in their studies is rewarded with appropriate fees. Kr̥ṣṇa brings Sāndīpani’s son back to life and this deed is considered to be a fitting recompense for his work as a guru. This double sacrificial reading of what occurs between a guru and his students shows that it is logically possible to account for both the presence of Tryakṣa as a deity whom Kr̥ṣṇa and Saṁkarṣaṇa regularly worship, and the readiness of the boys to pay their guru a formal fee (gurvartha). A comparison with Arjuna’s dīkṣā in Mbh 3.38-45; 163-169 will prove useful for establishing the plausibility of such an analysis of the HV 79 episode.¹¹

During the twelve-year exile which the Pāṇḍavas spent in the forest, Yudhiṣṭhira receives secret knowledge (upaniṣad/brahman) from Kr̥ṣṇa Dvaipāyana or Vyāsa. To achieve it and become invincible, Arjuna has to visit both Indra and Rudra. First, Arjuna submits to an initiation, practises a strict control in word, body and thought and receives the instruction which Yudhiṣṭhira received from Vyāsa. In this connection, he leaves the forest for a journey to the north, passes over the Himalayas, and finally meets Indra who is disguised as an ascetic on a mountain called Indrakīla. Indra asks Arjuna to stop since he has reached the ultimate goal. Impressed by Arjuna’s firm decision to continue his journey, Indra grants him a favour. Arjuna asks for the weapons he will need to avenge his brothers hidden in the wilderness. When you have seen the Lord of Beings, three-eyed, trident-bearing Śiva, then I shall give you all the weapons of the Gods, son, answers Indra. Arjuna stands on the peak of Himalaya and engages in ascetic practices which scare all the great seers. Forced, as it were, to rush up to Arjuna, Śiva approaches him disguised as a Kirāta, a hunter from the mountains, and strikes a dānava named Mūka, who comes to threaten Arjuna’s life. For a long time, Arjuna wrestles with this strange enemy who is literally able to devour all his arrows. He finally falls unconscious, having been reduced by the god to a ball of flesh (piṇḍa). When he wakes up, Arjuna recognizes Rudra, begs his mercy and receives the pāśupata, a weapon also called the brahmaśiras. After receiving other weapons from Yama, Varuṇa and Kubera, Arjuna goes to the city of Indra where he obtains and masters the use of all the much coveted arms. The gandharva Citrasena also teaches him how to sing and dance. He stays in this city for five years. As a fee for his guru, Arjuna fights and defeats Indra’s personal enemies, the thirty million Nivātakavacas living in an inaccessible city in the ocean.

This episode is clearly divided into two parts involving both Rudra and Indra. Arjuna goes to Indra’s celestial city, passes a test prepared for him by Indra who was disguised as an ascetic, before running to Rudra’s dwelling where he gains the favour of the god. It would seem that, in order to receive the weapons from Indra, Arjuna must not only pay Rudra the appropriate fee but must also submit completely to him. Clearly, Arjuna’s initiation implies a double operation: the acquisition of arms from the gods and the submission to God Rudra are two