Studies in the Epics and Puranas c12.43

c12.43

Now, the *Mahābhārata* principally concerns itself with the history of the Bhāratas and naturally Kṛṣṇa's doings and life subsequent to his contact with the Pāṇḍavas have been incorporated in the epic. Again, the *Harivaṃśa* which forms the supplement of the *Mahābhārata* deals exhaustively and exclusively with the life and history of Kṛṣṇa on which the *Mahābhārata* is silent; and it was on account of this that even in the subsequent redactions of the Great Epic nothing was added concerning the early life of Kṛṣṇa. The *Harivaṃśa* and the *Mahābhārata* thus together supply a complete life of Kṛṣṇa. It cannot, however, be said that the *Mahābhārata* is entirely silent as to the early life of Kṛṣṇa, as there are some references to his early life in Gokula.²³ In his tirade and calumny against Kṛṣṇa, the Cedi king Śiśupāla not only calls him a cowherd (*gopa*) and a cattle-tender (*vargapāla*), but refers derisively to his various childhood exploits (which have been mentioned in the Purāṇas) such as the killing to Pūtanā, Śakuni, Vṛṣabha etc. and the Govardhana incident.24 The celebrated prayer by Draupadī to Kṛṣṇa when Duḥśāsana was stripping off her garments (Mbh, B. II. 68.41-46) has been rightly excluded from the critical edition of the Sabhāparvan edited by F. Edgerton on strictly scientific grounds based on the conclusive evidence of MSS.25 It is interesting to note in this connection that the word *gopījanavallabha*, which shows Kṛṣṇa's association with the Gopīs, occurs in this passage which was claimed as an old part of the epic by Garbe.26 This once more proves how precarious are the conclusions based on the vulgate text of the Mahābhārata.27 The exclusion of the passage containing a reference to Kṛṣṇa as *gopījanavallabha* from the text of the Mahābhārata, however, does not affect our position, as there are various passages, already mentioned, referring to the early life of Kṛṣṇa in Gokula. One passage of the Mahābhārata clearly shows that the same Kṛṣṇa from Gokula who killed Kaṃsa was the friend and counsellor of the Pāṇḍavas and helped them to kill Jarāsandha.28 The silence of the early Purāṇas as to the part Kṛṣṇa played in the great Bhārata war is easily explained on the ground that as the Great Epic exhaustively dealt with it,