Krishna

The Mahabharata, an Indian epic poem, describes a legendary war between two sides of a royal family. The epic's plot involves numerous moral dilemmas that have intrigued and perplexed scholars of Indian literature. Many of these dilemmas revolve around a character named Krsna. Krsna is a divine incarnation and a self-proclaimed upholder of dharma, a system of social and religious duties central to Hindu ethics. Yet, during the war, Krsna repeatedly encourages his allies to use tactics that violate dharma. In this paper, I try to make sense of Krsna's actions by analyzing them in terms of categories from Western moral philosophy. I show that Krsna seems to embrace an ethical approach called consequentialism, but that his version of consequentialism differs from Western theories of consequentialism by seeing adherence to dharma as an intrinsic good.

“Some 3500 years ago, Krśńa was born. His ávirbháva (advent) was just at a crucial time – humanity was suffering then. He removed the suffering of humanity by creating Mahábhárata. He gave an assurance to the entire world that there would not be degradation of dharma, that He would come and save it,” explains Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar. “A yuga parivarttana [change in age] is taking place. All of you plunge wholeheartedly into making sadvipra samája [spiritual society]. Do not be indecisive, do not hesitate, and do not under any circumstances feel fear. Your victory is a certainty.” P. R. Sarkar, (1921-1990), was a spiritual guru in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna. He introduced the empowered universal spiritual mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”, composed a collection of 5018 spiritual songs called Prabháta Saḿgiita, and founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”).  –  Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, June 8, 2021.

For the suffering man, tired with the constant striving for sensual gratification, pricked by the arrows of desire, the only source of peace is to immerse himself in the ocean of stories narrating the spiritual adventures of Lord Krishna. Indeed the Shrimad Bhagavatam says: ‘True speech is only the one that sings the glory of Krishna. Only those hands can be called hands that arise in the service of God. Only that mind is worthy of its name which contemplates on Him who abides in the hearts of all creatures. Only those ears are ears that listen to the sacred stories of Krishna. The head justifies its name only when it bows before both the moving and the unmoving forms of the Lord. Only those can be truly called eyes that see God everywhere.

Krishna is nationally accepted Hindu God whose myth have been added embroidered and chiselled that now we cannot figure the true history of this character. Additionally the politics of the historians also affect the historical study that each time there is a historical narrative we find a totally new Krishna. This paper goes through the historical studies of three different historians who wrote about Krishna in three different time periods- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, D. D. Kosambi and Edwin F. Bryant.

The Vaishnavite shrine of SHRINATHJI in Udaipur, India has a 550 years old rich cultural heritage of an elaborate system of deity worship. Daily rituals are woven around 8 darshanas signifying the 8 important sections of the day from morning to evening with special emphasis of Raag, Bhog and Shringar. This paper elaborates upon extensive system of the deity's daily shringar with influences interwoven from social & cultural ethos of 16th century. The elaborate system marvels the onlooker with its detailing and specification where no one set is repeated in 365 days of the year.

O primeiro livro do grande épico Mahabharata, O Livro do Início (revisado em 2016), abrange resumos da história em geral, a descrição do nascimento dos principais personagens, o episódio do incêndio da casa de laca, a morte de dois rakshasas e muitas outras histórias, até a queima da floresta de Khandava.

Born in the 16th-century, a time of religious orthodoxy and extensive feudalism, Mirabai was a poet who transcended the limits of gender, caste, marriage, faith, and her time to achieve a union with her God, her consort, and her lover- Krishna.

Idealized sexuality is a prominent theme in the poetry and paintings of Rasikapriyā.  It’s author Keśavadāsa uses this subject as means for illuminating his theory on the concept of love underlined with the religious philosophy of Vaiṣṇavism. Keśavadāsa emphasizes on śṛṅgāra rasa, the erotic sentiment based on the emotion of love, as the prime rasa of Rasikapriyā. Through the aid of theory of śṛṅgāra rasa he brings to forefront discussions on sexuality. He identifies Kṛṣṇa as the romantic hero, the nāyaka – the god who is also a lover. And he builds an index of three hundred and sixty nāyikās, representing female sexuality in almost all its aspects.

The concept of love in Rasikapriyā can be understood in three categories – firstly as the poetic theory of śṛṅgāra rasa, which is an aesthetic experience; secondly as kamaśāstra i.e. the knowledge of the arts of lovemaking; and thirdly as devotional bhakti philosophy, which is a spiritual experience. Keśavadāsa blends these three aspects of love into a beautiful rendition in his poetry. Through these aspects Keśavadāsa provides a symbolic expression to an idealized realm of a loving relationship between the idealized nāyaka and nāyikā. Keśavadāsa portrays them not only as youthful, handsome and renouncing, but more importantly adept in the arts of lovemaking, emphasizing their sexuality.

What Rasikapriyā represents has the vividness or convincing quality of appearing to belong to reality, though not imitatively reproducing the actual world of experience or theory. This symbolism when translated into the Rājput miniature paintings, presents a plethora of images with a vivid visual portrayal of love and sexuality. They render the poetry of Rasikapriyā into a visual medium, which transform nature into an ideal imaginary world expressing a deep-rooted philosophy of Vaiṣṇavism. Their art metaphorically renders the ideas of bhakti, which stresses upon the realization of the pure element of consciousness i.e. the self in a man. This process is about experiencing human-life in its fullest extent and engaging in a passionate and ceaseless love for the Lord, which is as pure and obsessive as natural love between two humans.

This paper summarizes central themes within the Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. Key concepts are defined such as Brahman, Atman, maya, karma, moksha, AUM, and the cycle of rebirth. The founder and reformers of Vedanta are reviewed including Shankara, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, and Aurobindo. Shankara’s system of Advaita focuses on non-duality, meditation, study of sacred texts, and communion with the Godhead. Ramakrishna modernized Vedanta into a cohesive theology. His student, Vivekananda introduced Vedanta to the West. Aurobindo stresses the importance of compassion and performance of good works. Vedic knowledge leads to an understanding of Deity, cycles, and evolution of consciousness. The primary goals for Vedantins are performance of good works, daily mediation, achieving transcendence, and experiencing self-realization.  Primary source material: "Vedanta: Heart of Hinduism" (1991) by Hans Torwesten.

Abstract 
The story of Andal represents the essence of feminine audacity in the South Indian culture in the midst of the evolution of devotional tradition (bhakti). Andal who imagined herself as the wife of Vishnu, chose the best groom for herself, and through her commitment, and expression of the longing of her soul in her poetry she inculcates strength and continues to inspire generations of young women of India. In this paper, I will examine how her story travels north to Andhra Pradesh through a masterful Telugu rendering of Andal’s story by Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara during early fourteenth century. I will also examine how women and young girls still brave the winter chill to perform early morning ablutions of cold water, or a dip in the local river to pay reverence to Andal. This paper is devoted to analyzing the symbolic ways in which the story of Andal connects and inspires women not only in contemporary India, but also women in the diaspora, in the Hindu devotional practice celebrated in her memory.

Although the Bhāgavata Purāṇa presents an innovative soteriology of emotion that explicitly identifies kāma as the gopīs' path to union with Krishna, a close reading of his commentary on the rāsalīlā (and other passages treating the gopīs) reveals how Śrīdhara introduces preman into the narrative, sharply distinguishing kāma and preman. Śrīdhara also states that Bhāgavata 10.29-33 portrays Krishna's "victory over kāma" and that devotees who hear and recite the rāsalīlā likewise attain victory over kāma as the reward for their Krishna-bhakti. This article shows that such claims disregard the Bhāgavata's unambiguous statements about the gopīs' kāma, and thus deny the Purāṇa's subversive soteriology that legitimates various emotional modes of bhakti in order to enable everyone, including women, to experience an intimate and unmediated relationship with Krishna.
Keywords: Bhāgavata Purāṇa · Śrīdhara · Krishna · gopīs · rāsalīlā · kāma · preman · bhakti · Sanskrit commentary · women · emotion · soteriology · love

Krishna represents a fascinating and complex personality that generations of scholars have struggled to understand. Some have tried to understand the reasons behind his unparalleled popularity among the
people of India and later among numerous devotees beyond these shores as well, while others attempted to unravel distinct facets of this attractive divinity. It is difficult to state whether Shiva or Krishna or even
Vishnu or the ‘devi’ is worshipped more by the Hindus, but it may not be too difficult to state that where both the visual and the performing arts are concerned, it is a close call between the first two. The submission of
this paper is that where Krishna’s present popularity at the mass level, as distinct from the scriptural and elite level, is a development that appeared in India only in the 15th century and arrived in full colour in the 16th century. In other words, it is incorrect to assume that the same Krishna was as much of a favourite from, say, the Vedic age or the Gupta period.

The discovery  of Dwaraka was made by a group of specialists led by an eminent archaeologist S. R. Rao, from the governmental agencies of Marine Archeology and Oceanography of India and so was confirmed the finding of the legendary City founded by the great Prince of the Yadu Clan  Vâsudeva- Krishna in the ending 80’s.  But after almost more than 30 years of archeological research. the work on further excavation has met a formidable roadblock in the form of Jacobin academic sophistry and secular government apathy. A proposal submitted in the first decade 2000’s  to the government by  the late Dr S.R. Rao, was collecting dust for over four years. It is clear that for almost a decade, the Central India  Government of those times, had not shown much interest in the excavations in Dwaraka. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to explorer  the main causes of this negligence, exposing and unmask the main fraudulent sociological factors, that blocking this archeological discovery. Thereafter, to do a holistic and interdisciplinary review analysis on this sea unearthing. The author is open to reviews on the findings here, when hard irrefutable scientific proofs could be discovery in the future. But till today, the evidences show here, lead to holds a conclusions series in the end. Undoubtedly, the research presented here will try to answer some of the big questions on the subject of study. However, in turn, it will give rise to a series of unknowns questions, waiting that will be stimulate the scholars to investigate more and more. ISBN E9687 422-33 39

The aim of this paper is to examine the emergence of the Viṣṇu and Vaiṣṇava imagery in north India, with special focus on the Gandhāra region. It will be shown, that earliest numismatic evidence on the Viṣṇu and Vaiṣṇava imagery goes back to the 3rd century BCE and by the 2nd century BCE a well-developed iconography was in vogue in the North-West Frontier of India. As coins are metal objects, these images have survived, but images made of perishable material like wood and clay have perished due to the rough climatic conditions. It will also be argued that most of the images depicted on the coins were most probably engraved following existing prototypes. Although not as popular as Brahmā and Indra who were directly integrated into Gandhāran Buddhist art, Viṣṇu images made of stone, mainly schist, emerged independently going through a transitional period leading to an elaborate codification. The iconography of hitherto to unpublished sculptures will be discussed in relation to the already existing numismatic and plastic imagery.

A comparison between the theologies of Divine Embodiment in Patristic Christian thought and the Vaishnavite Hindu tradition of the Bhagavad-Gita. This paper will examine how each tradition's view of Incarnation relates to their views on human salvation.

This paper was written for a course called "Christ, Krishna, and Buddha" which explored theologies of Incarnation and Divine Embodiment among these three religious traditions. I apologize if the formatting on the citations is a bit off.

Krishna is avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu and possesses all the powers as to Lord Vishnu. On reading the Mahabharata, you will come to know that his actions at various times proved that he is the incarnation of Vishnu. As a god he has taken various roopas at a different times. Firstly, it was professed that Shri Krishna manifests himself through four formssvayamrupa (in which he himself abides), avesharupa (in which his part abides), shaktisvarupa (in which his power abides), and tadekatmarupa (with whom he identifies himself). Other's say that there are 3-chaturbhuj roopa, virat roopa and vishwarupdarshan roopa (also called as vishwaroopa) mainly in addition to other roopas. Antaryamis.: The manifold idols of Shri Krishna are treated as the innumerable avatars known as antaryamis. These being single for an individual devotee also act as their full controller. Thus, it may be maintained finally that the Bhagavata doctrine of Krishna's manifold avatars, besides that of his super-avatara on the eighth of dark half of Bhaadra month in the Dvapara Age, invests him with multiple avatars of fivefold nature, which reflects devotees' deep loving faith towards him and his varied manifestations with the help of which, he blesses his devotees in times of crisis.

O Livro da Floresta descreve a vida dos Pandavas no exílio, a busca de Arjuna por armas celestes, a história de Nala e Damayanti, a viagem aos tirthas, a busca e a luta pelas flores, os ensinamentos de Markandeya, a história de 'Noé', de Rama, etc

Onranpakuti, the title of a section of the fifth-century CE Tamil Cilappatikaram, is challenging to translate as its literal meaning, 'single part', seems unrelated to the verse. This article explores paths to a better translation, examining internal evidence, title conventions, content, the Pinnai figure, and related sources. This approach leads to my proposal that Onranpakuti is a 'tamilized' reference to the guardian Vrshni goddess, Ekanamsha 'One without parts', and provides supporting evidence that (i) the cult of Ekanamsha should be recognised as part of the early history of South Indian Vaishnavism and (ii) that this section of the Cilappatikaram is actually devoted to this goddess, with the Mayavan-Krishna figure and his brother as attendant deities, who is depicted as clan protector, young kinswoman to Krishna, and his spouse.

Thomas K. Gugler:
Ozeanisches Gefühl der Unsterblichkeit.
Der Krishnamritamaharnava des Madhva. Sanskrittext mit annotierter Übersetzung nebst Einführung in Madhvas Leben, Lehre, Werke und Wirken.
Reihe: Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens
Bd. 3, 2009, 184 S., 19.90 EUR, br., ISBN 978-3-8258-1140-2


Religiöse Rituale befinden sich in permanenten Wandlungsprozessen, in ihrer Richtung meist hin zu Intensivierung individueller religiöser Erfahrung und Konsolidierung der Gemeinschaft. Der Krishnamrtamaharnava des Madhva (1238 - 1317), Begründer des Dvaita-Vedanta und Stifter des Krishna-Tempels in Udipi, Karnataka, ist dessen zentraler Text zur gefühlsgestützten Verknüpfung von Ritus und Heilsversprechen.

Thomas K. Gugler überträgt in vorliegender Studie, die auf Textanalyse und Feldforschung basiert, den Text erstmalig in eine europäische Sprache und führt allgemein in den Madhvaismus ein.

Reviewed by Roque Mesquita in ZDMG 161(2)(2011): 504-509.
And in Gour ni Times by Shivatma Dasa and Paramshreya Dasa:
http://www.gour-ni-times.de/site/buecher/madhva.htm

Os Pandavas vão para a floresta; Arjuna desiste das armas celestes;  todos morrem e Yudhishthira explica as falhas que cada um tinha, só sobram o cão e Yudhishthira, que se recusa a ir para o céu sem o animal, que era Dharma disfarçado para testá-lo.

«Simon Pietro mi ami tu? Ebbene, pasci le mie pecorelle». Altri cieli, altri pastori, altri colori nella cangiante tavolozza delle religioni… nell'arcadia di Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa, il bel pastore, non si cura di ricondurre all'ovile le pecorelle smarrite, bensí smarrisce le pastorelle, adescandole con il miele del suo flauto a lasciare il conforto dell'ovile nel cuor della notte per abbandonarsi con lui all'ebbrezza delle danze silvestri. Kṛṣṇa è anzitutto il divino Maestro e il supremo Signore che nella teofania della Bhagavad Gītā atterrisce il suo devoto con la visione cosmica del suo mysterium tremendum-ma è forse piú vicino al cuore degli hindu nel mysterium fascinans del suo alter ego adolescente, i cui freschi amori bucolici sono doviziosamente narrati nel Bhāgavata Purāṇa e poi celebrati nell'immortale Gītagovinda di Jayadeva.

In the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna makes a promise to Arjuna...It is this Maya, which, during creation, takes on the form of the world...The Bhagavad Gita uses the word Maya four times, and its synonym Prakriti more than 20 times...... Inspired by these emotions, we perform more and more karma to bring that which we like near us and push what we dislike away from us...Maya thus presents the cause as an effect having a nature different from the cause...Even if we have pondered on this question, have we still not failed to overcome our intense physical desires?.... In India women are named after Maya, considering it to be sacred.

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Baseado em uma palestra proferida pelo autor para alunos seniores de MBA na XLRI [Xavier School of Management], Jamshedpur. O artigo analisa o ditado "Não deixe que o seu senso de moral o impeça de fazer o que é certo" à luz do ethos de liderança de Kṛṣṇa no Mahābhārata, e também Kṛṣṇa como um líder transformacional à luz dessa afirmação. Ele faz isso comparando e contrastando Kṛṣṇa e Bhīṣma como líderes.