INDIA. PART III. Krishna and the wrestlers. HISTORY OF as it is the will of the Raja, we will do as you say; but do not exert your force and dash us down, for we seek only to gratify the Raja." Then two mighty wrestlers came out and Balarama slay confronted Krishna and Balarama; and they began to wrestle, head with head, arm with arm, eye with eye, leg with leg, pouncing, grappling, snatching, and tugging. And the people cried out :-" Shame upon the wrestlers for fighting such children." And whilst they were thus speaking Krishna and Balaráma hurled the two wrestlers backward and slew them upon the spot; and all the other wrestlers came up and were slain in like manner by Krishna and Balaráma. Joy of the people and the! gods. Kansa orders the slaughter of Then all the people were filled with joy, and the musicians played aloud, and the gods showered down flowers from heaven; but Kansa cried out in a rage:-"Why is the music sounded, and why are the people rejoicing at the victory of Krishna? Seize the two young striplings, and bind them, and take them out of the assembly; and go and bring hither my father Ugrasena, and the treacherous Vasudeva and his wife Devakí: We will slay them first and then put to death the two brethren." At these words Krishna rose up clothed in mail, and a helinet was upon his head, and he held a shield in one hand and a double-edged sword in the other. And Raja Kansa stood up in great alarm, and began to tremble violently. And Krishna and Kansa fought desperately, and at last Krishna seized the Raja by the hair, and dashed him down and leaped upon him so that his life departed from his body. And the people cried out:"Krishna has slain Kansa!" And gods, and men, and sages were filled with joy. And the gods rained down flowers and sounded the great kettledrum; and the hearts of all the men and women of Mathurá expanded on beholding the countenance of Krishna, as the lotus expands on beholding The Ránís per- the full moon. And Krishna dragged the corpse of Raja Kansa to the river Jumná, and the Ránís of Kansa arose and took courage, and went to the banks of the Jumná and performed the obsequies of their lord. Death of Rejoicings of the gods. form the funeral rites for Kansa. After this Krishna released Vasudeva and Devakí from INDIA. PART III. their bonds, and placed the old Raja Ugrasena upon the HISTORY OF throne of Mathurá; and all the cowherds returned to Vrindávana, but Krishna and Balaráma remained in the city of Mathurá. And Krishna went to the house of Kubja, and leases Vasudeva gratified all her desires. Krishna re and Devaki, and restores Ugrasena to the Jarasandha, against Mathurá, and Krishna. Now the two Ránís of Raja Kansa were the daughters of throne. Jarasandha, Raja of Magadhá; for when Kansa was very Raja of Mazadyoung he marched an army against Jarásandha and defeated ha, makes war him, and Jarásandha gave him his two daughters in marriage. is defeated by And when Kansa was dead the two Ránís returned to the house of their father, and told him how Krishna and Balaráma had put their husband to death; and Jarásandha was filled with wrath and prepared to do battle against the Yádavas. And Jarásandha made war against Ugrasena, and Krishna defeated him seventeen times. Then Yama Marches an army of barassembled an army of barbarians to aid Jarásandha, and barians against they had thick necks and arms, large teeth, brown hair, and red eyes. And Jarásandha marched with an army of thirty millions of these unclean barbarians against Mathurá; and Krishna and the Ugrasena, and Krishna, and all the inhabitants of Mathurá to the city of and Vrindavana, migrated to the city of Dwáraká, which is in the country of Guzerat nigh unto the western sea. 7. Krishna's life at Dwáraká. Mathura. Yadavas retire Dwáraká. Balarama with off Rukmini, the Raja of After this Balarama took to wife Revatí, who was the Marriage of daughter of Raja Raivata; and Krishna married Rukminí, the daughter of Bhishmaka, Raja of Vidarbha. Now Krishna carries Rukmini was betrothed to Sisupála, but on the nuptial day the daughter of she went with all her companions and maidens to worship in Vidarbha. the temple of the goddess Durgá, when Krishna saw her and took her by the hand and carried her away in his chariot. And Rukmin, who was the brother of the damsel, and Sisupála, to whom she was betrothed, followed after Krishna, but he defeated them both, and brought away Rukminí to the city of Dwáraká, and married her according to the ordinance. Satrájit inAnd Rukminí bore a son to Krishna, and his name was Pradyumna. And there was a certain Chieftain of the Yádavas named trusts a precious INDIA. PART III. HISTORY OF Satrájit, and he had a very precious gem; and one day he put the gem upon his neck and went into the assembly of the Yádavas. And the minds of all men were captivated by the sight of the gem, and Krishna asked Satrájit for it, but Satrájit went away and delivered it into the charge of his brother Prasena. And Prasena took the jewel, and went out into the forest to hunt, and a lion met him and slew him. And the lion took the gem in his mouth and departed with it, but was attacked and killed by Jámbavat, the Raja of the Bears; and Jámbavat kept possession of the gem. Krishna suspected of stealing the gem, and recovers it from Jámbavat. Meanwhile Satrájit suspected Krishna of having slain his brother Prasena for the sake of the gem; and this was told to Krishna, and he collected a number of Yádavas and went forth in search of Prasena, and followed the marks of his horse's hoofs until he came to the spot where he had been killed. And all the people saw that Prasena had been slain by a lion, and acquitted Krishna of having taken the gem. But Krishna followed the footsteps of the lion, and found that the lion had been killed by Jámbavat; and he fought against Jámbavat and subdued him, and Jámbavat Krishna marries presented him with the gem, and gave him his daughter Jámbavatí in marriage. After this Krishna returned to Jáibavati. Marries Satyabhámá, Satrájit. Dwáraká Dwaraka and gave the gem to Satrájit, who then knew that Krishna had not slain Prasena. And Satrájit gave Krishna the daughter of his daughter Satyabhámá in marriage, and presented him with the gem as dowry, but Krishna desired him to keep the jewel. Murder of Krishna revenges his death. Krishna's love Now before Satyabhámá had been given to Krishna she had been sought in marriage by many Yádavas; and they were greatly enraged with Satrájit, and one of them killed Satrájit in his sleep and obtained possession of the gem. When Krishna heard what had been done he followed the man and slew him with his chakra; but the man had made over the gem to the charge of Akrúra, and it remained ever afterwards in the possession of Akrúra. And Krishna married many wives and took many conBalarama's love cubines, and all his life he was famous for his love of women; of women, and of wine. and his elder brother Balaráma was in like manner ever HISTORY OF famous for his love of wine. INDIA. PART III. foregoing ing Krishna. the character of traditions of Krishna, and of interwoven with the story war. The foregoing legends respecting Krishna, so far Review of the as they refer to his historical character, appear to call legends respectfor no particular remark. They sufficiently illustrate both the low origin of Krishna as a cowherd, and the disorder and violence which prevailed in the Yádava tribe. In the previous traditions which con- Difference in nect Krishna with the Pándavas, and which have al- the separate ready been indicated in the Mahá Bhárata, Krishna the early life of is represented in a higher and better character. His those which are amorous temperament is but briefly noticed, and he of the great stands prominently forward as an experienced warrior, witty in his conversation, ardent in his friendships, and a comforter to those who are in affliction. But in the present series Krishna is little better than a boor, with some sense of humour and decidedly mischievous propensities, and above all with a strong amorous temperament. The deification of Question of his such a hero as an incarnation of Vishnu forms a curi- discussed hereous subject of inquiry; but the question is so closely intertwined with the history of the Hindú religion, that it must be reserved for a future volume. deification to be after. HISTORY OF traditions CHAPTER II. NALA AND DAMAYANTÍ. THE three Hindú traditions which will now be exhibited in an English dress, are not only exquisite Three Hindú pictures of ancient Hindú life, but seem to refer to three distinct epochs in the History of India. Their respective titles, and the age to which they appear to belong, may be indicated as follows:— referring to three different epochs. "Nala and Damayanti" to the Vedic period. Nala and Damayantí-the Vedic period. Devayání and Yayáti-the Brahmanic period. Chandrahasna and Bikya-the modern period. The first of these stories, namely, "Nala and to be referred Damayantí," is widely known to English readers. through the metrical translation of Dr Milman.1 The events seem to have occurred in the Vedic period, or that period which preceded Brahmanism; for although Bráhmans are introduced it is only to act as messengers, and the marriage rites of the happy pair are not performed by a Bráhman, but by the Proofs that the Raja who was the father of the bride. But it must have belonged to a late stage in the Vedic period, and at a date when the Aryans were already settled story belongs to a late stage in the Vedic period. 1 A free translation in blank verse by Mr Charles Bruce appeared in Fraser's Magazine for December, 1863, and January, 1864, and is perhaps even more popular than that of Dr Milman. |