Materials for the Study of the Early History of the Vaishnava Sect c8.233

c8.233

The theory of those who assert that Krishna was a vegetation deity rests upon no better foundation. Krishna's connection with cattle is no proof that he was a vegetation deity. The connection of Moses with "the flock of Jethrow his father-in-law" is well known to students of the Bible.² The Yamunā region, the scene of Krishna's childhood, was renowned for its cattle even in the early Vedic period.³ "May thes even times seven all-potent Maruts, (aggregated as) a single troop bestow upon me hundreds (of cattle) : may I possess wealth of cows, renowned upon the (banks of) the Yamunā—Yamunāyāmadhi śrutamad rādho gavyam."⁴ A Gobala Vārshna is mentioned as a teacher in the Taittirīya Saṃhitā⁵ and the Jaiminīya Upanishad Brāhmaṇa.⁶ Krishna's connection with cattle may, therefore, be an historical trait. There is yet another possibility. Krishna's names Govinda, Gopāla, Gopendra, etc., may really be connected with the epithet *Gopā* applied in the *Ṛig Veda* to Vishṇu, the Brāhmaṇic god with whom Kṛishṇa came to be identified:—