The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry by W. G. Archer
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W. G. Archer >> The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry
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A little later, Krishna is accorded special status. At the sacrifice
performed by Yudhisthira as 'ruler of the world,' gifts of honour are
distributed. Krishna is among the assembled guests and is proposed as
first recipient. Only one person objects, a certain king Sisupala, who
nurses a standing grievance against him. A quarrel ensues and during it
Krishna kills him. Krishna's priority is then acclaimed but the incident
serves also to demonstrate his ability as a fighter.
One other aspect of Krishna's character remains to be noted. Besides being
a bold warrior, he is above all an astute and able ally. During the
Pandavas' final exile in the forest, he urges them to repudiate their
banishment and make war. When the exile is over and war is near, he acts
as peace-maker, urging the Kauravas to make concessions. When he is foiled
by Duryodhana, the blind king's son, he attempts to have him kidnapped.
Finally, once the great battle is joined, he offers both sides a choice.
Each may have the help either of himself alone or of his immediate
kinsmen, the Vrishnis. The Vrishnis will fight in the battle, while
Krishna himself will merely advise from a distance. The Kauravas choose
the fighters, the Pandavas Krishna. Krishna accordingly aids the Pandavas
with counsel. He accompanies Arjuna as his charioteer and during the
battle is a constant advocate of treachery. As Kama, a leading Kaurava,
fights Arjuna, his chariot gets stuck and he dismounts to see to it. The
rules of war demand that Arjuna should now break off but Krishna urges him
to continue and Kama is killed unresisting. Similarly when Bhima, one of
the five Pandava brothers, is fighting Duryodhana with his club, Krishna
eggs him on to deal a foul blow. Bhima does so and Duryodhana dies from a
broken thigh. In all these encounters, Krishna shows himself completely
amoral, achieving his ends by the very audacity of his means.
So far, Krishna's character is merely that of a feudal magnate, and there
is nothing in his views or conduct to suggest that he is Vishnu or God.
Two incidents in the epic, however, suddenly reveal his true role. The
first is when Yudhisthira has gambled away Draupadi and the Kauravas are
intent on her dishonour. They attempt to make her naked. As one of them
tries to remove her clothes, Draupadi beseeches Krishna as Vishnu to
intervene and save her. Krishna does so and by his help she remains
clothed; however many times her dress is removed. The second occasion is
on the final battle-field of Kurukshetra. Arjuna, seeing so many brothers,
uncles and cousins ranged on either side is moved to pity at the senseless
nature of the strife and confides his anguished doubts in Krishna. Krishna
seems, at first, to be only his friend, his brother-in-law and adviser. He
points out that to a warrior nothing is nobler than a righteous war and
declares, 'Do your duty always but without attachment.' He then advocates
the two paths of _yoga_(knowledge) and _dharma_ (righteousness). 'Even if
a man falls away from the practice of _yoga_, he will still win the heaven
of the doers of good deeds and dwell there many long years. After that, he
will be reborn into the home of pure and prosperous parents. He will then
regain that spiritual discernment which he acquired in his former body;
and so he will strive harder than ever for perfection. Because of his
practices in the previous life, he will be driven on toward union with the
Spirit, even in spite of himself. For the man who has once asked the way
to the Spirit goes farther than any mere fulfiller of the Vedic rituals.
By struggling hard, that yogi will move gradually towards perfection
through many births and reach the highest goal at last[7].
But it is the path of _bhakti_ or devotion to a personal God which
commands Krishna's strongest approval and leads him to make his startling
revelation. 'Have your mind in Me, be devoted to Me. To Me shall you come.
What is true I promise. Dear are you to Me. They who make Me their supreme
object, they to Me are dear. Though I am the unborn, the changeless Self,
I condition my nature and am born by my power. To save the good and
destroy evildoers, to establish the right, I am born from age to age. He
who knows this when he comes to die is not reborn but comes to Me.' He
speaks, in fact, as Vishnu himself.
This declaration is to prove the vital clue to Krishna's character. It is
to be expanded in later texts and is to account for the fervour with which
he is soon to be adored. For the present, however, his claim is in the
nature of an aside. After the battle, he resumes his life as a prince and
it is more for his shrewdness as a councillor than his teaching as God
that he is honoured and revered. Yet special majesty surrounds him and
when, thirty-six years after the conflict, a hunter mistakes him for a
deer and kills him by shooting him in the right foot[8], the Pandavas are
inconsolable. They retreat to the Himalayas, die one by one and are
translated to Indra's heaven[9].
Such an account is obviously a great advance on the _Chandogya Upanishad_.
Yet, as we ponder its intricate drama, we are faced with several
intractable issues. It is true that a detailed character has emerged, a
figure who is identified with definite actions and certain clear-cut
principles. It is true also that his character as Vishnu has been
asserted. But it is Krishna the feudal hero who throughout the story
takes, by far, the leading part. Between this hero and Krishna the God,
there is no very clear connection. The circumstances in which Vishnu has
taken form as Krishna are nowhere made plain. Except on the two occasions
mentioned, Krishna is apparently not recognized as God by others and does
not himself claim this status. Indeed it is virtually only as an
afterthought that the epic is used to transmit his great sermon, and
almost by accident that he becomes the most significant figure in the
story. Even the sermon at first sight seems at variance with his actions
as a councillor--his repeated recourse to treachery ill consorting with
the paramountcy of duty. In point of fact, such a conflict can be easily
reconciled for if God is supreme, he is above and beyond morals. He can
act in any way he pleases and yet, as God, can expect and receive the
highest reverence. God, in fact, is superior to ethics. And this viewpoint
is, in fact, to prove a basic assumption in later versions of the story.
Here it is sufficient to note that while the _Mahabharata_ describes these
two contrasting modes of behaviour, no attempt is made to face the exact
issue. Krishna as God has been introduced rather than explained and we are
left with the feeling that much more than has been recorded remains to be
said.
This feeling may well have dogged the writers who put the _Mahabharata_
into its present shape for, a little later, possibly during the sixth
century A.D., an appendix was added. This appendix was called the
_Harivansa_ or Genealogy of Krishna[10] and in it were provided all those
details so manifestly wanting in the epic itself. The exact nature of
Krishna is explained--the circumstances of his birth, his youth and
childhood, the whole being welded into a coherent scheme. In this story
Krishna the feudal magnate takes a natural place but there is no longer
any contradiction between his character as a prince and his character as
God. He is, above all, an incarnation of Vishnu and his immediate purpose
is to vanquish a particular tyrant and hearten the righteous. This
viewpoint is maintained in the _Vishnu Purana_, another text of about the
sixth century and is developed and illustrated in the tenth and eleventh
books of the _Bhagavata Purana_. It is this latter text--a vast compendium
of perhaps the ninth or tenth century--which affords the fullest account
in literature of Krishna's story.
[Footnote 3: Note 3.]
[Footnote 4: Note 4.]
[Footnote 5: A.L. Basham, _The Wonder that was India_, 245.]
[Footnote 6: _Mahabharata, Adi Parva_, Section 224 (Roy, I, 615-16).]
[Footnote 7: C. Isherwood and S. Prabhavananda, _The Song of God,
Bhagavad-Gita_, 86-7.]
[Footnote 8: Plate 2.]
[Footnote 9: Note 5.]
[Footnote 10: Note 6.]
III
THE _BHAGAVATA PURANA_: THE COWHERD
(i) Birth and Early Adventures
The _Bhagavata Purana_ is couched in the form of a dialogue between a sage
and a king. The king is the successor of the Pandavas but is doomed to die
within a week for having by accident insulted a holy ascetic. To ensure
his salvation, he spends the week listening to the _Bhagavata Purana_ and
concentrating his mind on Krishna whom he declares to be his helper.[11]
Book Ten begins by describing the particular situation which leads to
Krishna's birth. The scene is Mathura, a town in northern India, adjoining
the kingdom of the Kauravas. The surrounding country is known as Braj and
its ruling families are the Yadavas. Just outside Mathura is the district
of Gokula which is inhabited by cowherds. These are on friendly terms with
the Yadavas, but are inferior to them in caste and status. The time is
some fifty years or more before the battle of Kurukshetra and the ruling
king is Ugrasena. Ugrasena's queen is Pavanarekha and a mishap to her sets
in train a series of momentous events.
One day she is taking the air in a park, when she misses her way and finds
herself alone. A demon, Drumalika, is passing and, entranced by her grace,
decides to ravish her. He takes the form of her husband, Ugrasena, and
despite Pavanarekha's protests proceeds to enjoy her. Afterwards he
assumes his true shape. Pavanarekha is dismayed but the demon tells her
that he has given her a son who will 'vanquish the nine divisions of the
earth, rule supreme and fight Krishna.' Pavanarekha tells her maids that a
monkey has been troubling her. Ten months later a son is born. He is named
Kansa and the court rejoices.
As Kansa grows up he reveals his demon's nature. He ignores his father's
words, murders children and defeats in battle King Jarasandha of
Magadha.[12] The latter gives him two daughters in marriage. He then
deposes his father, throws him into prison, assumes his powers and bans
the worship of Vishnu. As his crimes increase, he extends his conquests.
At last Earth can bear the burden no longer and appeals to the gods to
approach the supreme Deity, Brahma, to rid her of the load. Brahma as
Creator can hardly do this, but Vishnu as Preserver agrees to intervene
and plans are laid. Among the Yadava nobility are two upright persons. The
first is Devaka, the younger brother of King Ugrasena and thus an uncle to
the tyrant. The second is a certain Vasudeva. Devaka has six daughters,
all of whom he marries to Vasudeva. The seventh is called Devaki. Vishnu
announces that Devaki will also be married to Vasudeva, and plucking out
two of his hairs--one black and one white--he declares that these will be
the means by which he will ease Earth's burden. The white hair is part of
Sesha, the great serpent, which is itself a part of Vishnu and this will
be impersonated as Devaki's seventh child. The black hair is Vishnu's own
self which will be impersonated as Devaki's eighth child. The child from
the white hair will be known as Balarama and the child from the black hair
as Krishna. As Krishna, Vishnu will then kill Kansa. Earth is gratified
and retires and the stage is set for Krishna's coming.
Devaki, with Kansa's approval, is now married to Vasudeva. The wedding is
being celebrated in the grandest manner when a voice from heaven is heard
saying, 'Kansa, the eighth son of her whom you are now escorting will
cause your destruction. You shall die at his hand.' Kansa is greatly
alarmed and is about to slay Devaki when Vasudeva agrees to yield him all
their sons. Kansa accordingly spares her. Each of Devaki's first six sons,
however, is delivered up at birth and each is slaughtered.
As the time for fulfilling the prophecy approaches, Kansa grows fearful.
He learns that gods and goddesses are being born as cowherds and cowgirls
and, interpreting this as a sign that Krishna's birth is near, he commands
his men to slaughter every cowherd in the city. A great round-up ensues
and many cowherds are killed. The leading cowherd is a wealthy herdsman
named Nanda, who lives with his wife Yasoda in the country district of
Gokula. Although of lower caste, he is Vasudeva's chief friend and in view
of the imminent dangers confronting his family, it is to Nanda that
Vasudeva now sends one of his other wives, Rohini. Devaki has meanwhile
conceived her seventh son, the white hair of Vishnu, and soon to be
recognized as Krishna's brother. To avoid his murder by Kansa, Vishnu has
the foetus transferred from Devaki's womb to that of Rohini, and the
child, named Balarama, is born to Rohini, Kansa being informed that Devaki
has miscarried. The eighth pregnancy now occurs. Kansa increases his
precautions. Devaki and Vasudeva are handcuffed and manacled. Guards are
mounted and besides these, elephants, lions and dogs are placed outside.
The unborn child, however, tells them not to fear and Devaki and Vasudeva
compose their minds.
Krishna is now born, dark as a cloud and with eyes like lotuses. He is
clad in a yellow vest and wears a crown. He takes the form of Vishnu and
commands Vasudeva to bear him to Nanda's house in Gokula and substitute
him for the infant daughter who has just been born to Yasoda, Nanda's
wife. Devaki and Vasudeva worship him. The vision then fades and they
discover the new-born child crying at their side. They debate what to
do--Devaki urging Vasudeva to take the baby to Nanda's house where Rohini,
his other wife, is still living and where Yasoda will receive it. Vasudeva
is wondering how to escape when his handcuffs and chains fall off, the
doors open and the guards are seen to be asleep. Placing Krishna in a
basket, he puts it on his head and sets out for Gokula. As he goes, lions
roar, the rain pours down and the river Jumna faces him. There is no help
but to ford it and Vasudeva accordingly enters the stream. The water gets
higher and higher until it reaches his nose. When he can go no farther,
the infant Krishna stretches out a foot, calms the river and the water
subsides. Vasudeva now arrives at Nanda's house where he finds that Yasoda
has borne a girl and is in a trance. Vasudeva puts Krishna beside her,
takes up the baby girl, recrosses the river and joins Devaki in her
prison. The doors shut, the handcuffs and fetters close on them again and
as the baby starts to cry, the guards awake. A sentry then carries Kansa
the news. Kansa hurries to the spot, seizes the child and tries to dash it
on a stone. As he does so the child becomes the goddess Devi and
exclaiming that Kansa's enemy is born elsewhere and nothing can save him,
vanishes into heaven.[13] Kansa is greatly shaken and orders all male
children to be killed,[14] but releases Vasudeva and Devaki.
Meanwhile Nanda, the rich herdsman, is celebrating the birth. Pandits and
astrologers are sent for, the child's horoscope is cast and his destiny
foretold. He will be a second deity like Brahma himself. He will destroy
demons, relieve the land of Braj of all its cares, be called the lord of
the cowgirls and be praised the whole world over. Nanda promises to
dedicate cows, loads the Brahmans with presents, and summons all the
musicians and singers of the city. Singing, dancing and music break forth,
the courtyards throng with people, and the cowherds of Gokula come in with
their wives. On their heads are pitchers full of curd and as a magical
means of ensuring prosperity, they proceed to throw it over the
gathering. Nanda presents them with cloth and betel and they depart elated
at the news.
Some days later Nanda learns of Kansa's order to seize all male children
and, deeming it prudent to offer presents, he collects the cowherds in a
body and goes to Mathura to pay tribute. Kansa receives him and on his way
back Vasudeva meets him at the river. He dare not disclose his secret that
Krishna is not Nanda's son but his own. At the same time he cannot
suppress his anxiety as a father. He contents himself by telling Nanda
that demons and evil spirits are abroad seeking to destroy young children
and urges him to return to Gokula as quickly as possible.
The _Purana_ now concentrates on two main themes: on Krishna's infancy in
Gokula, dilating on his baby pranks, his capacity for mischief, the love
he arouses in the hearts of his foster-mother, Yasoda, and of all the
married cowgirls and, secondly, on his supernatural powers and skill in
ridding the country of troublesome demons. These are at first shown as
hostile to Krishna only, but as the story unfolds, his role gradually
widens and we see him acting as the cowherds' ally, protecting them from
harm, attacking the forces of evil and thus fulfilling the supreme purpose
for which he has been born. From time to time the cowherds realize that
Krishna is Vishnu and adore him as God. Then amnesia intervenes. They
retain no recollection of the vision and see him simply as a youthful
cowherd, charming in manner, whose skill in slaying demons arouses their
love. In this way Krishna lives among them--in fact, God, but in the eyes
of the people, a young boy.[15]
The first demon to threaten Krishna's life is a huge ogress named Putana.
Her role is that of child-killer--any child who is suckled in the night by
Putana instantly dying. Putana assumes the form of a sweet and charming
girl, dabs her breasts with poison and while Nanda is still at Mathura,
comes gaily to his house. Entranced by her appearance, Yasoda allows her
to hold the baby Krishna and then to suckle him. Krishna, however, is
impervious to the poison, and fastening his mouth to her breast, he begins
to suck her life out with the milk. Putana, feeling her life going, rushes
wildly from the village, but to no avail. Krishna continues sucking and
the ogress dies. When Yasoda and Rohini catch up with her, they find her
huge carcass lying on the ground with Krishna still sucking her breast.
'Taking him up quickly and kissing him, they pressed him to their bosoms
and hurried home.'
Nanda now arrives from Mathura and congratulates the cowherds on their
escape--so great was Putana's size that her body might have crushed and
overwhelmed the whole colony. He then arranges for her burning but as her
flesh is being consumed, a strange perfume is noticed for Krishna, when
killing her, had granted her salvation.
A second demon now intervenes. It is twenty-seven days since Krishna's
birth. Brahmans and cowherds have been summoned to a feast, the cowgirls
are singing songs and everyone is laughing and eating. Krishna for the
time being is out of their minds, having been put to sleep beneath a heavy
cart loaded with pitchers. A little later he wakes up, begins to cry for
the breast and finding no one there wriggles about and starts to suck a
toe. At this moment the demon, Saktasura, is flying through the sky. He
notices the child and alights on the cart. His weight cracks it but before
the cart can collapse, Krishna kicks out so sharply that the demon dies
and the cart falls to pieces. Hearing a great crash, the cowgirls dash to
the spot, marvelling that although the cart is in splinters and all the
pots broken, Krishna has survived.
The third attack occurs when Krishna is five months old. Yasoda is sitting
with him in her lap when she notices that he has suddenly become very
heavy. At the same time, the whirlwind demon, Trinavarta, raises a great
storm. The sky darkens, trees are uprooted and thatch dislodged. As Yasoda
sets Krishna down, Trinavarta seizes him and whirls him into the air.
Yasoda finds him suddenly gone and calls out, 'Krishna, Krishna.' The
cowgirls and cowherds join her in the search, peering for him in the gusty
gloom of the dark storm. Full of misery, they search the forest and can
find him nowhere. Krishna, riding through the air, however, can see their
distress. He twists Trinavarta round, forces him down and dashes him to
death against a stone. As he does so, the storm lightens, the wind drops
and the cowherds and cowgirls regain their homes. There they discover a
demon lying dead with Krishna playing on its chest. Filled with relief,
Yasoda picks him up and hugs him to her breast.
Vasudeva now instructs his family priest, Garga the sage, to go to Gokula,
meet Nanda and give Krishna and Balarama proper names. Rohini, he points
out, has had a son, Balarama, and Nanda has also had a son, Krishna. It is
time that each should be formally named. The sage is delighted to receive
the commission and on arriving is warmly welcomed. He declines, however,
to announce the children's names in public, fearing that his connection
with Vasudeva will cause Raja Kansa to connect Krishna with the eighth
child--his fated enemy. Nanda accordingly takes him inside his house and
there the sage names the two children. Balarama is given seven names, but
Krishna's names, he declares, are numberless. Since, however, Krishna was
once born in Vasudeva's house, he is called Vasudeva. As to their
qualities, the sage goes on, both are gods. It is impossible to understand
their state, but having killed Kansa, they will remove the burdens of the
world. He then goes silently away. This is the first time that Nanda and
Yasoda are told the true facts of Krishna's birth. They do not, however,
make any comment and for the time being it is as if they are still quite
ignorant of Krishna's destiny. They continue to treat him as their son and
no hint escapes them of his true identity.
Meanwhile Krishna, along with Rohini's son, Balarama, is growing up as a
baby. He crawls about the courtyard, lisps his words, plays with toys and
pulls the calves' tails, Yasoda and Rohini all the time showering upon him
their doting love. When he can walk, Krishna starts to go about with other
children and there then ensues a series of naughty pranks. His favourite
pastime is to raid the houses of the cowgirls, pilfer their cream and
curds, steal butter and upset milk pails. When, as sometimes happens, the
butter is hung from the roof, they pile up some of the household
furniture. One of the boys then mounts upon it, another climbs on his
shoulders, and in this way gets the butter down.[16] As the pilfering
increases, the married cowgirls learn that Krishna is the ringleader and
contrive one day to catch him in the act. 'You little thief,' they say,
'At last we've caught you. So it's you who took our butter and curds. You
won't escape us now.' And taking him by the hand they march him to Yasoda.
Krishna, however, is not to be outwitted. Employing his supernatural
powers, he substitutes the cowgirls' own sons for himself and while they
go to Yasoda, himself slips off and joins his playmates in the fields.
When the cowgirls reach Yasoda, they complain of Krishna's thefts and tell
her that at last they have caught him and here he is. Yasoda answers, 'But
this is not Krishna. These are your own sons.' The cowgirls look at the
children, discover the trick, are covered in confusion and burst out
laughing. Yasoda then sends for Krishna and forbids him to steal from
other people's houses. Krishna pretends to be highly indignant. He calls
the cowgirls liars and accuses them of always making him do their work. If
he is not having to hold a milk pail or a calf, he says, he is doing a
household chore or even keeping watch for them while they neglect their
work and gossip. The cowgirls listen in astonishment and go away.
Another day Krishna is playing in a courtyard and takes it into his head
to eat some dirt. Yasoda is told of it and in a fit of anger runs towards
him with a stick. 'Why are you eating mud?' she cries. 'What mud?' says
Krishna. 'The mud one of your friends has just told me you have eaten. If
you haven't eaten it, open your mouth.' Krishna opens it and looking
inside, Yasoda sees the three worlds. In a moment of perception, she
realizes that Krishna is God. 'What am I doing in looking upon the Lord of
the three worlds as my son?' she cries. Then the vision fades and she
picks up Krishna and kisses him.
Another day, Yasoda asks the married cowgirls to assist her in churning
milk. They clean the house, set up a large vessel, prepare the churning
staff and string, and start to churn. Krishna is awakened by the noise and
finding no one about comes crying to Yasoda. 'I am hungry, mother,' he
says. 'Why have you not given me anything to eat?' And in a fit of
petulance he starts to throw the butter about and kick over the pitchers.
Yasoda tells him not to be so naughty, sits him on her lap and gives him
some milk. While she is doing this, a cowgirl tells her that the milk has
boiled over and Yasoda jumps up leaving Krishna alone. While she is away
he breaks the pots, scatters the curds, makes a mess of all the rooms and,
taking a pot full of butter, runs away with it into the fields. There he
seats himself on an upturned mortar, assembles the other boys and vastly
pleased with himself, laughingly shares the butter out. When Yasoda
returns and sees the mess, she seizes a stick and goes to look for
Krishna. She cannot find it in her heart, however, to be angry for long
and when Krishna says, 'Mother, let me go. I did not do it,' she laughs
and throws the stick away. Then pretending to be still very angry, she
takes him home and ties him to a mortar. A little later a great crash is
heard. Two huge trees have fallen and when the cowherds hurry to the spot,
they find that Krishna has dragged the mortar between the trunks, pulled
them down and is quietly sitting between them.[17] Two youths--by name Nala
and Kuvara--have been imprisoned in the trees and Krishna's action has
released them. When she sees that Krishna is safe, Yasoda unties him from
the mortar and hugs him to her.
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