-
1
Decode Hindu Mythology
Krishna - The Historical Perspective Trees blossom with crimson
flowers, Tender sprouts bursting from barks, Nature begins to shed
its qualms, To welcome Spring with open arms, This day, Narsimha
defeated the demon, To uphold virtuous Prahlad's dominion, Holika
burns amidst the commotion, Evil defeated by Love and Devotion,
Wind blows pretty rainbows around, Black nor White, just colors
abound, Festival of Spring, is the festival of Mirth, Of Radha and
Krishna's Eternal Love! As the first buds of spring appear on trees
and a riot of colors magically appears in the markets, the time
seems perfect for a post about Krishna, the role-model for a motley
of Bollywood numbers on Holi :o)
Krishna and Radha playing Holi
http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.com/http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-meJgeIdMonk/T0sR_OnOsRI/AAAAAAAACjQ/PPWgoNdcsaM/s1600/krishna-holi1.jpg
-
2
Krishna, the all-attractive-one; Megh-varna, the one with the
color-of-clouds; Go-pal,
the protector of cows; Murli-manohar, who steals hearts by the
melody of his flute; and
Madan-Mohan who can mesmerize Cupid himself with His
beauty..
Murli-Manohar Krishna
However, this post is not about Krishna, the God.. Enough has
been said and written in almost
all languages of the world about Krishna's super-human
personality. I kinda wanted to explore
the historical origin of His enigmatic life and hence will try
to steer clear of 'FAITH' and focus
more on the 'FACTS'.
From Krishna the God TO Krishna the Man
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GbF-hoXfmiI/T2rqMpgcq6I/AAAAAAAACv4/EEhsM51WeZg/s1600/293205_10150750321410375_215886190374_19991265_4213027_n.jpg
-
3
Image courtesy Grant Morrison's 18 Days {Art by Mukesh Singh} I
am definitely not the first or the last person to make this effort.
More than a hundred years
ago, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee had written a remarkable book
known as Sri Krishna
Charitra, devoted to a scientific study of the life of Krishna.
Over this century, however, there have been many more developments
which have shattered the earlier theories (such as the Aryan
Invasion Theory) and have pushed back the dates of Vedic literature
to much before what was believed by the early historians. Let us
examine all such evidence available to us today and try to unravel
the Historical perspective of Krishna. Historical period of
Krishna
Shrimad Bhagvatam declares that Krishna arrives on Earth towards
the end of the Dwapar
Yug of the 7th Manvantar of the 1st Kalpa of the 51st year of
the current Brahma.. rather
precise timing there!!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kq6l557nvJo/T1BhYsa2q0I/AAAAAAAACqA/xSO_lThBzis/s1600/18DAYS-page9_02..jpg
-
4
Advent of Krishna
For those who do not understand these terms let me enlighten you
a little: Each Brahma lives a lifetime of 100 years; each year with
360 days called Kalpas; each day divided into 14 Manvantars; and
each Manvantar divided into 71 Maha-Yugas with 4 Yugas each. {For
details on the Hindu calculation of time, check this link -
Kaalchakra, the Hindu Timeline}. Currently, we are in the last of
the four Yugas called the Kaliyuga which, according to astronomical
calculations, began on the 20th of February 3102 BCE. Now, this
would place Krishna roughly around 3300-3200 BCE as the Bhagvatam
states that Kaliyuga
couldn't begin till Krishna was on the planet!
http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.in/p/mythology.htmlhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D46FEmVZaaQ/T0W_DFfo1EI/AAAAAAAACgI/hOwufxJGWwo/s1600/PTA41.jpg
-
5
Annointing the Annointed One - Krishna's Birth Ceremony
Fortunately, there is a large body of literary and
archaeological evidence that can guide us
towards an approximate time-period for His presence. The
earliest text to explicitly provide
detailed descriptions of Krishna is of course the epic
Mahabharat. Mahabharat Manuscript
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Mah%C4%81bh%C4%81ratafile:///D:/mi
documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu
Mythology Krishna - The Historical
Perspective_files/Krishna's+Birth.jpgfile:///D:/mi documentos/mis
documentos/N/DECODE HINDY MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu Mythology Krishna
- The Historical Perspective_files/kuruk..jpg
-
6
Since it is primarily the history of the Kurus (Pandavs and
Kauravs), Mahabharat contains only that part of Krishna's life that
had a bearing on the fate of Kurus. However, its crown jewel is the
Bhagvad Geeta which transforms Krishna from a much adored and
cherished Princely diplomat to the Supreme God Himself. Mahabharat
gives Krishna prime importance
As Grant Morrison, the visionary director of world-class
Mahabharat-based animation
succinctly puts -
The Gita, with its direct, no-nonsense guide to living in the
odd universe we all share, is at the
very heart of the story; everything else revolves around the
moment when Krishna lays it on the
line for Arjuna. The conflict is the war between desire and
duty, the material and the spiritual,
the war that is fought every day by every human being. Krishna
reveals the Geeta to a bewildered Arjuna
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vx_-UVR9uTQ/Tzt60-ia7GI/AAAAAAAACcQ/J6jmSxf656s/s1600/Bhagvad+Geeta.jpg
-
7
It is generally understood that Mahabharat, was not written at
one go, but was compiled over some years. The first section of the
epic states that Rishi Ved-Vyas dictated the events of that age to
Ganesha over a considerable period of time. This unfortunately,
makes it difficult to put an exact date to the story and the
time-period of
Krishna. HOWEVER, the recent discovery of the dry river-bed of
Saraswati , can help us put some
conclusive dates to the epic. Mahabharat describes Saraswati as
a disappearing river, but also
mentions Lord Balrama traveling on Saraswati from Dwarka to
Mathura, to immerse the ashes
of Yadav martyrs after the battle. This implies that the river
was navigable at the time of the Mahabharat War and the Epic
was
written BEFORE it had dried up, which as French scientists have
discovered, was at least
before 3000 BCE {Read the post Finding River Saraswati for more
clarity}. Another literary work known as the Harivamsha helps to
fill the gaps in the account of
Krishna's life that are missing from the Mahabharat. The
Vishnu-puran and Bhagvat-Puran
contain still more details about the life of Krishna with the
latter AGAIN declaring Him -
SWAYAM BHAGWAN, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharatahttp://decodehindumythology.blogspot.in/2011/10/finding-saraswati.html
-
8
Bhagvatam Manuscript from 1500 CE
Confoundingly though, there haven't been any authentic dates
assigned to these literary works
till now. In ancient India, knowledge was transferred ORALLY
from the Guru to the Shishya, hence it is difficult to date the
texts in a definite manner. Hence, for the purpose of our quest, we
would need to take help of scriptures which are more or less
conclusively dated (on the basis of their language, grammar,
historical references etc.) so that we can arrive at a somewhat
clearer picture. Conclusive Literary Evidence for Krishna
References to Krishna can be found in almost all major
scriptures, and there are profuse references to the famous
personalities of that age in Vedic, Jain and Buddhist
literature.
The earliest authentically dateable reference to Krishna is from
the Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.6). Composed around 900 BCE, it
mentions Vasudeva-Krishna as the
son of Vasudev and Devaki and the disciple of Ghora
Angirasa.
Krishna and Balarama with their Guru
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Chandogya_Upanishadhttp://www.blogger.com/wiki/Chandogya_Upanishadfile:///D:/mi
documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu
Mythology Krishna - The Historical
Perspective_files/devanagari_manuscript.jpg
-
9
Jain and Buddhist literature also contains profuse references to
Shri Krishna and Balaram! Since dating these literatures has been
more or less accomplished accurately, they can be a valuable source
of information for us..
Jain Tradition from around 700 BCE, talks about a Vasudev and
his elder brother Baladev in each cycle time. They take birth to
rid the world of eveil and kill the Prati-vasudev or Anti-Krishna
(the Anti-Christ??).
Shri Krishna and Balrama are NINTH in this Vasudeva-Baladeva
series and according to Jain predictions, Krishna is stated to
become the 12th Tirthankar in the NEXT time-cycle. This shows that
Krishna was quite popular in Non-Vedic traditions as well.
Additionally, Krishna is also described as the cousin of the
22nd Tirthankar Neminath whose historicity is believed by most
Jains today.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AcToauvhhPg/T0Ms_YzSHcI/AAAAAAAACdA/_bbrRhN9tFg/s1600/141-Sandipani.jpg
-
10
The 24th Tirthankar Lord Mahavir was born in 599 BCE, and since
there is a considerable time gap between subsequent Tirthankars
(ranging from centuries to millenia), we can safely assume Neminath
and his contemporary Lord Krishna to be born much before this
time.
The cousins Neminath and Krishna from a Jain painting
Yska's Nirukta, (600 BCE), one of the greatest etymological
Sanskrit dictionaries, contains a reference to the Syamantaka
jewel, from the well known Puranic story about Krishna.
Pini, the ancient grammarian and author of Asthadhyayi (6th
century BCE)
mentions Vsudev, Kauravs and Pandavs and testifies to them being
contemporaries of each other.
As a linguist unconcerned with religion, Panini's references are
especially valuable as they have no sectarian purpose. He mentions
Vasudev Krishna and Arjun together as Vasudevarjunabhyam vun in
Sutra 4.3.98.
The characters from Mahabharat were Historical figures
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Y%C4%81skahttp://www.blogger.com/wiki/Niruktahttp://www.blogger.com/wiki/P%C4%81%E1%B9%87ini
-
11
Image courtesy Grant Morrison's 18 Days {Art by Mukesh Singh}
Similar to the Jain sources, Buddhist literature also contains
numerous references to historical figures from the Mahabharata
including, of course, Shri Krishna.
Buddhist literature records Krishna earliest in the Ghata-Jataka
(300 BCE) as an
ancient ruler of India and gives an account of His exploits that
corresponds quite well
with the Hindu tradition. There's a good record of the presence
of Vasudev, Baladev, killing of Kamsa and their cousins the
Kurus.
Mahaummagga Jataka (around 3rd century BCE), states that
Jambavati was one of
the consorts of Vasudeva Kanha which matches with the
description from the Bhagavatam.
Around 150 BCE, Patanjali in his Mahabhashya praises Krishna and
Samkarshan
(Balrama) and describes dramatic performances representing the
killing of Kamsa by
Vasudev (Krishna-Kamsopacharam).
Krishna liberates Kamsa
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Patanjalihttp://www.blogger.com/wiki/Mahabhashyafile:///D:/mi
documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu
Mythology Krishna - The Historical
Perspective_files/grant-morrison-18-days-Pandavas..jpg
-
12
Surprisingly, we even have evidence provided by foreign
travelers, such as the Greek scholars, who came to India during and
after Alexander's campaign!!
Megasthenes (350BCE), the Greek Ambassador to Chandragupta
Maurya, the first
unifier of Medieval India, identifies Krishna with the Greek
Herakles or Hercules in his famous work Indica.
He describes an Indian tribe called Sourasenoi, who worshiped
Herakles in their land which
had two cities, Methora and Kleisobora, and a navigable river,
the Jobares. Inscription from the Indica
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Megastheneshttp://www.blogger.com/wiki/Indica_%28Megasthenes%29http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCO-t5C6RrU/T0c2PlBTOeI/AAAAAAAACiA/EgYMT1lteUE/s1600/Indika+fragments.jpg
-
13
The reasons for this mistaken identification are quite
understandable: FIRST, the Greek historians tried to make sense of
other religions' gods by equating them with their own divinities
and SECONDLY, the 12 Labors of Hercules have a lot of similarities
with the acts Krishna performed as a kid! For example, Krishna
subdues the monstrous serpent Kaliya whose very breath could kill
someone with its poison; while Hercules kills the equally monstrous
Hydra and also beheads the snake-headed Medusa whose single look
could turn anyone into stone! Krishna subduing the monstrous
serpent Kaliya
Hercules defeating the serpentine Hydra
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NcU7mrm1x0s/Tzuj7dIXJTI/AAAAAAAACcw/s8rBq0KNCz8/s1600/krishnakaliyadance.jpg
-
14
From descriptions given in the Indica, there's little doubt that
the Sourasenoi refers
to Krishna's dynasty, the Shurasena Yadavs; Methora to Mathura;
Kleisobora to Krishnapura,
and Jobares to Yamuna, the river from Krishna's life-story.
Quintus Curtius also mentions that when Alexander confronted
Porus/Puru on the
banks of the Indus, Porus's soldiers were carrying an image of
Herakles in their vanguard.
The court scholar of Mauryas, states that the city Polibrotha
(Pataliputra or Patna) was
founded by Herakles, 138 generations before the reign of King
Sandrocottas, the Greek name for Chandragupta Maurya.
Here is one DIRECT piece of information, which can
retrospectively help us calculate the
tentative time period of Krishna! Most scholars have assumed the
ruling span of each King in those times to be somewhere
around 20-25 years based on life expectancy and frequency of
coups and family-feuds. The 138
generations would then give us almost 3000 years between
Hercules and Chandragupta
Maurya giving the time of Krishna somewhere close to 3300
BCE.
Krishna, the King, ruled at least 3000 years before Chandragupta
Maurya
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Quintus_Curtiushttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MCpAL1fgYsA/T0tWz7OdsAI/AAAAAAAACjY/cVqDZJC4fdY/s1600/hercules_hydra1.jpg
-
15
This date, fortunately, tallies splendidly with our EARLIER
Hypothesis and STRANGELY
enough, also coincides with the Early phase of Indus-Saraswati
Civilization!! Let us explore this connection a little before
moving on to the Archaeological evidence in favor of Krishna.
Indus-Saraswati Evidence for Krishna
The Indus-Saraswati artifacts, present an enchanting picture
when we co-relate them
with events or personalities mentioned in the Vedic scriptures.
As discussed in previous posts, there are seals which have been
identified with the Yogi Shiva,
Mother Goddess, the Holy Bull, (maybe) Emperor Bharat,
Rishabh-dev etc.. Let's see if
there exist any relics that can point to a knowledge of Krishna
as well! A steatite tablet which was unearthed from Mohanjodaro in
1931, depicts a young boy uprooting two trees from which are
emerging two human figures. It has been considered an interesting
archaeological finding for fixing the date of Krishna.
file:///D:/mi documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY
MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu Mythology Krishna - The Historical
Perspective_files/Krishna,+the+King+with+Balrama.jpg
-
16
Dr. E.J.H. Mackay, who did the excavation at Mohanjodaro
compares this image with the Yamalarjuna episode and Prof. V.S.
Agrawal has also accepted this identification. In this image, the
young boy depicted could very well be Krishna and two beings
emerging out of the trees, the two cursed Gandharvs Nalkubera &
Manigriva, who had turned into Arjuna trees due to a curse and were
liberated by Krishna.
The Yamalarjuna episode
This shows that the Indus-Saraswati people probably knew about
Krishnas exploits and stories related to Krishna. This lone finding
may not substantiate to the date of Krishna but at the same time it
cannot be ignored especially when another indirect evidence can be
found in a related find. The Indus-Valley seals show an abundance
of animal forms ranging from Unicorns to Bulls to Horses to Fish;
but what is missing is the depiction of Fauna or Trees! However,
interestingly,
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nMl6oYmdOK4/T0N4H4zRP1I/AAAAAAAACeI/52fZoAUiqlU/s1600/man+btw+two+trees.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-guSXRbGlm60/T0N6SdemA_I/AAAAAAAACeQ/ZPHrJU1oyuo/s1600/krishna-arjunas-pulled.jpg
-
17
there is one particular type of tree and its leaves invariably
found in all Indus sites - the Peepal
leaves. Peepal Leaves on Indus-Saraswati seals
Now, in the 10th chapter of Srimad Bhagawad-Gita, Krishna says
that amongst the trees he
represents the Aswatha or Pipal. I believe, that the ONLY leaf
to be represented on ANY Indus
Seal - the Pipal leaf, could be the representation of Krishna in
His Non-anthropomorphic form! In the legend of Rishi Markandeya,
there is even a mention of Krishna appearing in front of the rishi
as a baby lying on a peepal leaf floating in the cosmic waters of
dissolution of the World. Baby Krishna on Pipal leaf from the
Markandeya story
It would of course need a complete deciphering of the
heiroglyphs on the numerous seals before we can conclusively prove
any hypothesis but till now, there is at least nothing to disprove
that they at least KNEW about Krishna. We now need to analyze other
data avaialable to conclusively prove or disprove our estimate.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4HhfKLueWto/T0N8K-ICprI/AAAAAAAACeg/FDIQ57Qjdks/s1600/cvb%20004.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pOia6-wHQAI/T2r6xY4-CWI/AAAAAAAACxg/7Tjp5c20NgA/s1600/baby-krishna-on-peepal-leaf..jpg
-
18
Evidence from Marine Archaeology
Recent marine archaeological discoveries in the Gulf of Cambay,
off the coast of Gujarat have
revealed an entire submerged civilization which has been
carbon-dated to somewhere
around 7500 BCE! {Check this link for more details - Lost City
could rewrite History! - BBC
South-Asia report}
Gulf of Cambay
The likelihood of this civilization being OLDER to the
Indus-Saraswati Civilization is huge
and a possible link with the fabled kingdoms of yore, mentioned
in Hindu scriptures, can not be
denied. But let's not jump the gun and wait for more results
before we link it to Krishna or any
other ancient King. What CAN be reasonably linked to Krishna is
the discovery of another submerged city close to the present city
of Dwarka which is believed to be the ORIGINAL city of Krishna
because of a plethora of archaeological findings matching the
scriptural descriptions!! Graham Hancock's documentary on the
discovery of Dwarka
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1768109.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1768109.stmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarka
-
19
According to the Mahabharat, this city was built by the
Architect-god Vishwakarma for Lord Krishna by reclaiming 12 Yojans
of land from sea, on the westernmost shore of Saurashtra. The city
had six well-organized sectors, residential and commercial zones,
wide roads, plazas, palaces and many public utilities alongwith a
magnificent sea harbour. Dwaraka, the Magnificent City of
Krishna
The general layout of the city discovered below the Sea agrees
REMARKABLY with the descriptions from the texts!! The immense
foundations of the walls also support the belief that land was
reclaimed from the Sea. Interestingly, scriptures talk about a kind
of a PASSPORT system in Dwarka. Its citizens were issued a clay
seal with a mythical three-headed-animal (the Greek Cerberus?!?)
which had to be presented when they entered or left the massive
gates. Interestingly, this seal of Dwarka has been found in the
underwater ruins of the city!! The seal of Dwarika
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Saurashtra_%28region%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberushttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_2CcKWPpPrw/T0YJcUGxYNI/AAAAAAAACg4/yWW6r_GT9vg/s1600/narada+in+dwarka.jpg
-
20
The details of these discoveries would require a separate
article altogether but what is important from our current
perspective is the DATING of this find. This particular seal has
been carbon-dated to around 1528 BCE bringing it at par with the
Late Harappan period. Other artifacts such as Brick walls,
citadels, fortifications, Stone anchors for ships, Roman amphoras
etc. have been dated from 2500 BCE to the 4th century CE have been
found proving that Dwarka was probably the busiest port in the
western coast of India for a long, long time!
Other Archaeological Evidence
There are numerous other direct and indirect evidences
supporting the knowledge and worship
of Krishna around the 1st millennium BCE.
A 800 BE cave painting in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, shows a
horse-charioteer about
to hurl a wheel on another figure. This episode can potentially
be identified as Krishna
getting ready to hurl the chariot-wheel on Bhishma-Pitamah from
the Mahabharat War!!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJsz8xbRJMo/T2gxZyeWB6I/AAAAAAAACtw/x_1YfTpQB14/s1600/i_three_head_animal_seal.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MrnaepVLg9M/T1cgjpdSFiI/AAAAAAAACsg/sOkZi5sbZXg/s1600/BDK-seal..jpg
-
21
Krishna ready to hurl a chariot-wheel on Bhishma Pitamah
Worship of Krishna, in the form of Vasudev can also be traced to
as early as 4th century BCE
surprisingly, with another Greek connection! The Greek emperor
ALEXANDERs career more or less came to a halt after his brief
encounter with the king of the Indus region, PORUS/Parvateshwar.
The Greeks however, had
some success ruling as kings in north-western cities such as the
one in Taxila/Takshila. They exchanged ambassadors with Indian
kings and one such ambassador was Heliodorus who was sent from
Taxila to the court of King Bhagabhadra at Videsha (Besnagar,
central India). Greek Embassies in Ancient India
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Krishna_Vasudevahttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m7Hoa3GLOMk/T0OEJ5--HbI/AAAAAAAACew/JyJXSVkEtVc/s1600/krishna17.jpg
-
22
Interestingly, this guy, has left the FIRST historical record of
a Greek becoming the
devotee of an Indian God, Shri Krishna!
On his visit to Vidisha, Heliodorus erected a Garud-pillar in
the honor of his 'God of Gods' Krishna which is one of the earliest
direct archaeological evidence of Krishna-consciousness in this
part of the world!
The Heliodorus Pillar and Inscription
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eXfvlfplBXg/T0c6j5S4eyI/AAAAAAAACiQ/SmHiwnlOMd4/s1600/IndogreekKingdomMap.jpg
-
23
This Garuda-column of Vasudev (Krishna), The God of gods, Was
erected here by Heliodorus, A worshipper of Vishnu, The son of
Dion, and Inhabitant of Taxila, Who came as the Greek ambassador,
From the Great King Antialkidas, To King Kashiputra Bhagabhadra,
the Savior, Then reigning prosperously in the fourteenth year of
his kingship. Vasudev Krishna, the God of Gods for Heliodorous
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8LxKbDaKnWo/T1SKqTh7I6I/AAAAAAAACr4/65kcurDMDVk/s1600/heliodorous+pillar+-+vidisha.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1YoV5n0ukHA/T3LtWUJy_vI/AAAAAAAAC4o/A9O9kj9lz8I/s1600/Krishna-Brahma.jpg
-
24
Historians and scholars have recognized Heliodorus as the first
western convert to the
principles of Vaishnavism!!
Similarly, the Ghosundi and Hathibara inscriptions of 2nd
century BCE record the
consruction of an enclosure around Narayana Vatika where lay a
fossilised stone called
the Shaligram for the divinities of Samkarshana & Vasudeva
in the east of village Nagari in Udaipur district of Rajasthan.
Another discovery of the Indo-Greek period, are the gold coins
of Agathocles (200 BCE) bearing the images of Balaram holding his
plow on one side and Vasudev Krishna holding the discus (Sudarshan
Chakra) on the other!!
Agathocles Coinsshowing Balarama and Krishna
This coin was minted in the year 172 BCE and recovered from the
Oxus valley at Ai-Khanum
in Afghanistan. It happens to be a very important discovery
showing the Sudarshan disc-bearer
Vasudev and the plough-bearer Samkarshan (Balarama) on the two
sides of the coin.
Krishna and Balarama together
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_RevGr4V7YU/T0YRSREx4vI/AAAAAAAAChQ/rHlNhE6_dFU/s1600/Bactrian+coins.jpgfile:///D:/mi
documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu
Mythology Krishna - The Historical Perspective_files/dauji.jpg
-
25
The evidence for Krishna-Balaram worship can also be seen from
the stone graffiti of
Chilas cave in Western Pakistan, paleographically datable to the
2nd
century BCE again. Here, Krishna & Balaram are engraved on
the rocks and the names engraved beneath the images are Vasudev and
Samkarshan respectively.
Both the coin and the graffiti throw light on the hero worship
in the northwestern region of the
sub-continent. In the 1st century BCE, there is also evidence of
worship of FIVE Vrishni heroes
- Krishna, Balaram, Pradyumna (Krishna's son), Samba (Krishna's
second son) and Aniruddh
(Krishna's grandson).
An inscription from a Mora well, 11 kms west of Mathura records
the construction of a
stone temple by a royal woman, named Tosho, in the honour of
Bhagavatam Panchaviranam or Five heroes of the Vrishini clan.
Maues an Indo-Scythian king (85 BCE) was a worshipper of
Balarama along with the Greek gods Zeus and Nike. Few of his coins
depict a King in a cross-legged seated position and one of his
coins minted in 1st centurey BCE depicts Balarama.
Coin of Maues depicting Balarama
The last great Kushan king of North India and Bactria, took the
title of Vasudeva I (c. 200CE) and minted coins in honor of
Krishna.
Coin of Indo-Bactrian king Vasudev I
http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Maueshttp://www.blogger.com/wiki/Kushanhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q4Uq0ybXxko/T45Ow6h3swI/AAAAAAAADG0/1KRb3YEE2_E/s1600/BalaramaMauesCoin1stCenturyBCE..jpg
-
26
Last but certainly not the least, the Aihole Inscription of King
Pulakesin II dated
634 CE states the Mahabharat War was fought 3735 years before
the engraving of the inscription which gives the date of
3735-634=3101 BCE.
You may wonder what all this archaeological data means. The
purpose here is to show that Krishna and Balarama were recognized
and worshipped as divinities since very early times and all the
evidence gathered till now, seems to converge at the same time
period we started with, i.e. the 3rd Millenium BCE. There is now
just one body of evidence remaining for us to analyze -
Astrological Evidence from the scriptures. Astrological Evidence
for dating Krishna
Based on the astrological details given in various scriptures,
many scholars have tried to
identify the birth year of Krishna. Dr Narhari Achar, professor
of physics at the University of Memphis, Tennessee, has dated
the Mahabharat war using astronomy and calls it the most
authentic historical document in
human civilizational history. There are more than 140
astronomical references in the Mahabharat which have been used
by
Dr. Achar to feed reference points into the path-breaking
Planetarium software (used by
NASA to launch satellites for probe missions). Through the help
of this software, he has placed
the titanic clash between Pandavs and Kauravs in the year 3067
BCE.
Dr. Narahari Achar's presentation in Florida
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-47IrAAg1DaA/T0d7ylKoDAI/AAAAAAAACjA/9ZsbMAWRkaM/s1600/250px-VasudevaCoin.jpg
-
27
Using the same software, Dr Achar places the year of Krishnas
birth at 3112 BCE. The astrological references point to a situation
so unique (such as three eclipses repeating after 36
years) that they have only occurred once in last 10,000 years!!
Inspired by Dr. Achar's research, Dr. Manish Pandit, a Nuclear
Medicine Physician based in
the UK proffers astronomical, archaeological, linguistic and
oral evidence to support the
case. He has even prepared a documentary that showcases all this
evidence in a ready to grasp
manner.
Dr. Manish Pandit's Documentary
Another professor, Dr. P.V. Vartak, has however come up with the
possible date of
-
28
5561 BCE based on his interpretation of astronomical Tithis and
positions described for the Nakshatras. The difference in their
approach seems to be the reason for this differing time period e.g.
While Dr. Vartak considers certain celestial bodies mentioned to be
the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto; Dr. Achar considers them to
be visiting comets. Also, there is the consideration of the
Precession of Equinoxes we have already seen in the second post
{Black Holes and Bhagavatam}. Sanjay describes 3 eclipses to
Dhritrashtra in Mahabharat
Since, the dates by Dr. Achar MATCH the dates we have obtained
from the analysis of the Literary and Archaeological data, I am
inclined to go with the same until some further evidence comes to
light that can change this view of our History. Historical veracity
of Krishna
The Ancient Literature, Archaeological specimens (terrestrial as
well as marine), and Astrological references all point towards a
particular time period for the presence of Krishna. We may not have
the exact date for Krishna's appearance on Earth, but these
evidences narrow it down to at least a tangible time-frame in our
history. Through the analysis of all the above data shared with
you, the most probable period of Krishna's stay on Earth would be
3300-3100 BCE.
http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.in/2011/07/hola-amigos-was-too-caught-up-with-sri.htmlfile:///D:/mi
documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu
Mythology Krishna - The Historical
Perspective_files/168133_10150355735325375_215886190374_16504087_1966632_n.jpg
-
29
Krishna, the Historical Enigma
It gives me goose-bumps to think that the MOST popular figure of
Indian Culture, Art, Philosophy, Music, Dance, Drama and Religion
walked the Earth just about 5 millenia ago! And it is a credit to
the remarkable resilience of the Oral and Cultural traditions of
our country that even after 5000 years, the memory of Krishna is
still alive and throbbing in the Hearts and Minds of a Billion
people. Let us celebrate the same tradition this HOLI, remembering
another Avatar of Vishnu, Lord Narsimha's slaying of Hiranyakshipu
and the end of his evil sister Holika. I dedicate the following
compilation to Krishna, the Delight of Yashoda; the Pride of Gokul;
Bliss of the Gopis; Savior of the Downtrodden; Friend of the
Righteous; and perhaps most humanly, the Statesman par Excellence.
Happy Holi :o)
file:///D:/mi documentos/mis documentos/N/DECODE HINDY
MYTHOLOGY/Decode Hindu Mythology Krishna - The Historical
Perspective_files/KRISHNA_DWARAKA_by_VISHNU108.gif
-
30
Let us embrace the vibrant colors of Spring and immerse
ourselves in the Divine Love of Shri Radha and Krishna
Happy Holi to all of You :o) . Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti: .
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7s8vRvKE2qg/T0zDhABDg0I/AAAAAAAAClI/Cm62oqQpqgU/s1600/krishna_15_full.jpg
-
31