A Few Questions on Krishna. debosmita.wordpress/2010/07/12/a-few-questions-on-krishna/ I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the refuge, the guardian, the well-wisher, the creation, the dissolution, the preservation, the reservoir and the imperishable cause – Bhagavad Gita 9.18. Since time immemorial, Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, a true friend, romantic lover, an ideal son, the learned philosopher, a shrewd politician and a diplomat, has remained one of the foremost holy being amongst all the Indian Gods and Goddesses. He is the supreme cultural icon of India who has spurned beautiful devotional songs by Meera and Surdas in the north, saint poets of the Varkari Sect in the west and Purandara Dasa and Kanakadasa in the south; landmark Sanskrit literature like Geeta Govinda by Jayadeva and Krishna-karnamritam by Bilvamangala; and different theological Schools founded by Nimbarka, Vallabhacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu among others. The Krishna Bhakti movement has also travelled beyond national barriers and spread far and wide in the form of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). However, in the epic of Mahabharata, his character comes across as any other fallible human being. A deeper probe into his actions would show that all was not what usually met the eye and what prevailed in the name of popular perceptions. Despite being an ardent admirer of all the cultural and theological ethos that Krishna stands for, I hereby raise a few questions about the role that he played in the epic of Mahabharata. He was one of the chief architects of the great Kurukshetra war. When he took it upon himself to make a diplomatic visit to Hastinapur to attempt reconciliation between the two warring branches of the Kuru family, he employed all his persuasive skills to avoid the war. He displayed traits of a fine negotiator to avoid a feud which would have resulted in the annihilation of either side, to both of whom Krishna was related. But what happened when he supposedly failed? What did he say when Duryodhana refused to give away even an inch of the kingdom without war? He told the ever hot-headed Duryodhana how the Pandavas were illustrious and superior in all skill sets both on and off the war field. In a way, he instigated and motivated Duryodhana more to take up arms and fight the war by manipulating his diplomatic and conciliatory words with jargons and comparisons. Add to this, the instance of instigating Arjuna against his own family on the eve of the Kurukshetra war. Arjuna, the brave warrior yet an emotional human, refused to take up arms against the Kauravas. Krishna’s philosophical sermons to Arjuna in this context became the great text of Bhagavad Gita.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 10:57:18 +0000
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