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THE RISE OF
REFORMATORY
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It is considered that earlier than all the other religions of that kind, arose Bhagvatism (from the word 'Bhagvat' or 'Bhagvan' -God) i.e. that creed which proposes to set apart the Vedic polytheism, pantheon and to worship the indivisible supreme God. In various areas of India Shiva and Krishna were such Gods. Krishna was pronounced as the incarnation of the God Vishnu. According to the common opinion of the scholars of Indian religions, both these Gods came in the Aryan polytheism from the pre-Aryan peoples of India.
We will dwell here on Krishnaism, as a clear example of the rise of anti-Brahmanic cult in the non-Brahmanic, and as will be shown below, clearly non-Aryan environment. Here Krishnaism merits attention as a religion, similar to Jainism, in its origin.
Krishna, son of Vasudev, from the kin of Kshatriyas viz., Satvata or Vrishni (from the city of Mathura), a branch of the Yadav tribes,20 is considered the creator of the philosophy of Bhagvatism.
The earliest reference to Krishna occurs in the ChhandogyaUpanishad (dated the second half of the first millennium B.C.), where it is said that he developed in his own teachings a number of ideas, adopted by him from his mentor, the wise Ghora Angirasa and that both of them lived up to the sixth century B.C 21
Who was he and what is known about him. besides that his name 'Krishna' means 'black' in Sanskrit?
From the legends about his birth, it follows that he was
20. To all appearances, Krishna Vasudev can be considered a historical personage, because in a number of works of ancient Indian literature, coincident or extremely close evidences are met about him.
21. The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol. IV, p. 37; D. R. Mankad, "Chronological Distance between Rama and Krishna." D. R. Mankad argues in his researches that preceptor of Krishna, Ghora Angirasa was the author of a number of hymns of Rigveda and was a contemporary of Rama, the hero of the epic poem Ramayana. Hence he concludes that Krishna lived soon after Rama. During Rama's times Brahmins and Kshatriyas led a fierce war, which is manifest from the legend of the Brahman-warrior Parshuram who exterminated Kshatriyas from the earth and Rama could succeed in propitiating him with great difficulty. (This episode is mentioned in all the expositions of Ramayana e.g. refer to Tulsidas's Ramayana.
