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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
Some authors hold that the historical Krishna was a teacher, similar to Zarathustra, and that though of the military class he was chiefly occupied in founding or supporting what was afterwards known as the religion of the Bhâgavatas, a theistic system inculcating the worship of one God, called Bhâgavat, and perhaps identical with the Sun.
It is probable that Krishna the hero was connected with the worship of a special deity, but I see no evidence that he was primarily a teacher. In the earlier legends he is a man of arms: in the later he is not one who devotes his life to teaching but a forceful personage who explains the nature of God and the universe at the most unexpected moments. Now the founders of religions such as Maha Vîra and Buddha preserve their character as teachers even in legend and do not accumulate miscellaneous heroic exploits. Similarly modern founders of sects, like Caitanya, though revered as incarnations, still retain their historical attributes. But on the other hand many men of action have been deified not because they taught anything but because they seemed to be more than human forces. Râma is a classical example of such deification and many local deities can be shown to be warriors, bandits and hunters whose powers inspired respect. It is said that there is a disposition in the Bombay Presidency to deify the Maratha leader Sivaji.
In his second aspect, Krishna is a pastoral deity, sporting among nymphs and cattle. It is possible that this Krishna is in his origin distinct from the violent and tragic hero of Dvaraka.
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