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Krishna in Buddhism

Krishna appears as a very minor figure in Buddhism. He appears in the Ghata Jataka as a prince who along with his other brothers captures Dwaraka. Many of the important names found in Hindu versions of the tale are found in conflated forms or with slight variations. The incidents are told more like folk-tales than epic or mythical stories.

Krishna in the Bah·'Ì Faith

Bah·'Ìs believe that Krishna was a "Manifestation of God," or one in a line of prophets who have revealed the Word of God progressively for a gradually maturing humanity. In this way, Krishna shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, the B·b, and the founder of the Bah·'Ì Faith, Bah·'u'll·h.

Krishna in the performing arts

The earliest mention of any performance based on the Krishna story is mentioned in Patanjali's Mahabhashya. But it is not clear what kind of dance or drama it was, nor what occasion it was performed on.

The fact that all the incidents related to the Krishna story are presented as a playful activities in which he is fully aware of his divine nature made him a difficult subject for the classical Sanskrit playwrights. These play usually had scenes where the hero is deep in sorrow before the customary happy ending. While Vishnu's other major incarnation Rama could be made into the protagonist of the plays, it was virtually impossible to make such plays about Krishna. Perhaps Bhasa's Balacharita and Dutavakya are the only plays by a major classical dramatist. The former dwells only on his childhood exploits and the latter is a one-act play based on a single episode from the Mahabharata when Krishna tries to make peace between the warring cousins.

The problem faced by classical play did not crop up in other arts like music, dance and narrative enactments of the Krishna legend. From the 10th century BCE, with the growing Bhakti movement, Krishna became a favourite. The songs of Gita Govinda became favoured across India and had many imitations. The songs composed by the Bhakti poets added to the repository of both folk and classical singing.

The classical dances of India, especially Odissi and Manipuri, draw heavily on them. The 'Ras-Lila' dances performed in Vrindavana shares elements with Kathak, and the Krisnattam performed now exclusively at the Guruvayoor temple was the precursor of Kathakali.

Medieval Maharashtra gave birth to Hari-Katha that told Vaishnava tales through music, dance and narrative sequences and Krishna’s story became a rich source. This tradition then spread to Tamil Nadu and other southern states.

Narayana Thirtha (17the century CE)'s Krishna-Lila-Tharangini provided material for the musical plays of the Bhagavata-Mela by telling the tale of Krishna until his marriage to Rukmini. Thyagaraja(18the century CE) wrote a similar piece called Nauka-Charitam.

Innumerable movies in all Indian languages have been made based on these tales. These are of varying quality and usually take many liberties with the story to add songs, melodrama and special effects.

Due to the influence of a punk rocker named Larry Puglisi, Krishna Conciousness found its way into the New York Hardcore scene in the mid 1980s. Puglisi established a house in nearby northern New Jersey for fellow devotees to live in, and sponsored food and clothing drives as well as concerts for the punks and skinheads hanging out in what was then a very rough and tough Lower East Side. Early devotees included John Joseph and Harley Flanagan of the band Cro-Mags, Ray Cappo of Youth Of Today, and Vic DiCara, former guitarist for Los Angeles band Inside Out, who established quite possibly the most famous of all of the newly dubbed "Krishnacore" bands, 108. Krishnacore bands sang about Krishna and Krishna Conciousness the same way that a Christian band would sing about Jesus.

Chronology

A paper presented recently at a convention in Prabhas Patan near Somnath, speculates that Krishna "died" at the age of 125 on February 18, 3102 BC at 14:27:30 hours on the banks of river Hiran in Prabhas Patan. As the report goes, he was 125 years, 7 months and 6 days old when he left the earth for his divine abode Goloka.

The finding was based on clues in the Vedic literatures. Certain dates were fed into special software which was used to prepare a kundli (astrological horoscope charts). The Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita say that Krishna "left" Dwarka 36 years after the Battle of the Mahabharata. The Matsya Purana says that Krishna was 89 years old when the battle was fought. There after Pandavas ruled for a period of 36 years, their rule was in the beginning of Kali yuga. It further says that the Kali Yuga began on the day Duryodhana was felled to ground by Bhima. Some Hindus believe that the year 2005 is the year 5106 of the Kali Yuga (which began with a year 0).

References

• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli,published between 1883 and 1896

• The Vishnu-Purana, translated by H. H. Wilson, 1840

• The Srimad Bhagavatam, translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 1988 copyright Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

• The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births, edited by E. B. Cowell, 1895

• Garuda Pillar of Besnagar, Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908-1909). Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1912, 129.

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