Archeological Evidence of Historical Krishna pt2

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Not written by Vrin Parker pt1 also not written by Vrin

Vedic Archeology

Part 2: Further Antiquities

 

Palm Leaf Scroll

http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/vedic-upanisads/vedic-

archeology-2.html

Presently, Heliodorus is the earliest Westerner on record who

actually converted to Vaisnavism. Moreover, many reputable scholars,

like Dr. A. L Basham and Dr. Thomas Hopkins, declare that Heliodorus

was not the only Greek to convert. Dr. Hopkins, Chairman of the

Department of Religious Studies at Franklin and Marshall college,

says, "Heliodorus was presumably not the only foreigner who was

converted to Vaisnava devotional practices (although he might have

been the only one to erect a column, at least one that is still

extant). Certainly there must have been many other." The Vedic

religion saw itself as universal and welcomed all peoples into its

embrace. As Raychaudhari writes:

 

The Beshnagar record testifies to the proselytizing zeal of the

Bhagavatas in the pre-Christian centuries, and shows that their

religion was excellent enough to capture the hearts of cultured

Greeks, and catholic enough to admit them into its fold.

 

The Mora Well and Ghosundi Inscriptions tell us that the rich and

complex Vaisnava conception of the Godhead and full expansions of

the Godhead into the material universes were already well

established in the first two centuries before Christ. The Srimad

Bhagavatam says, that when the original Godhead, or Krishna, appears

on the earthly plane, the Godhead always is accompanied by various

complete expansions of the Godhead, who both possess the full

potency of the Godhead and are worshipable. The Srimad Bhagavatam

states, "Lord Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, along with

Balarama, played like a human being, and so masked, he performed

many superhuman acts." His divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada explains the system of divine expansion:

 

… Balarama and Krsna are original forms of the Lord… Krsna… is the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Balarama is the first plenary

manifestation of the Lord. From Balarama the first phalanx of the

plenary expansions, Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna,

expands. Lord Sri Krsna is Vasudeva, and Balarama is Sankarsana.

 

Seven miles west of Mathura in the small and unimposing village of

Mora, General Cunningham made another vital find regarding the

historicity of Vaisnavism. In 1882, on the terrace of an ancient

well, he discovered a large stone slab filled with inscriptions.

Although more than half of the writing had already peeled away on

the right side, the remainder was legible. It was transcribed, and a

facsimile of the inscription was published in the Archaeological

Survey of India's Annual Report. The message was clear. Not only was

Krishna worshiped in the centuries before Christ, but also His

expansions or associates, especially "the five heroes of the Vrishni

Clan." Scholarly research makes evident that these five are Krishna

(Vasudeva), Balarama (Sankarshana), Pradyumna, Samba, and Aniruddha.

 

In 1908, a Dr. Vogel had the Mora Well slab removed to the Mathura

Museum and tried to tamper with the translations of the inscriptions

in order to throw the Vedic religion into a bad light. However,

because the contents of the inscriptions had already been published

authoritatively and were well known in academic circles, Dr. Vogel's

efforts at creating disinformation failed. The complex theology,

metaphysics, and cosmology of Sanatana Dharma and Vaisnavism

definitely existed in an advanced state centuries before Christ. The

Mora Well inscription is an important archeological proof of this

historical fact.

 

In the village of Ghosundi in the Chitor district of Rajasthan is

found the Ghosundi Inscription, which largely duplicates the message

of the Mora Well Inscription. Kaviraja Shyamala Dasa first brought

this evidence to light in The Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society.

Today, the inscription can be inspected in the Victoria Hall Museum

in Udaipur.

 

The surviving part of this inscription relevant to this chapter

reads as follows:

 

[this] railing of stone for the purposes of worship is [caused to be

made] in the Narayana-compound, [dedicated] to the Blessed Ones

[bhagavabhyam] Samkarshana and Vasudeva, the gods…

 

The inscription is in a form of Sanskrit script called Northern

Brahmi script, which dates the inscription as being from the second

century BC in either the late Maurya or early Sunga periods. An

almost identical inscription also was uncovered nearby and is called

the Hathi-vada Inscription. These inscriptions also dispel the myth

that Krishna was only revered by the ksatriya, or administrative-

warrior, class of India, the class Krishna had appeared in.

According to K. P. Jayaswal of the Archaeological Survey of India,

these inscriptions demonstrate that brahmins, the priestly and

intellectual class, also worshiped Krishna as the "Lord of all," and

thus Vaisnavism was entrenched in the entire Indian society.

 

The same point is made in the famous Nanaghat Cave Inscription in

the moder state of Maharashtra, where Vasudeva and Sankarshana (or

Krishna and Balarama) are included in an invocation of a brahmin.

Additionally, Raychaudhuri reports:

 

The Nanaghat Inscription shows further that the Bhagavata [Vaisnava]

religion was no longer confined to Northern India, but had spread to

the south and had captured the hearts of the sturdy people of

Maharashtra. From Maharashtra it was destined to spread to the Tamil

country and then flow back with renewed vigour to the remotest

corners of the Hindu world.

 

On epigraphical grounds, this inscription is dated conclusively as

coming from the second half of the first century BC.

 

Krsna, Agathocles coin,

Ai Khanoum, Afghanistan, 2nd century B.C.

 

 

A lot of numismatic evidence also corroborates the antiquity of

Krishna. For instance, excavations at Ai-Khanum, along the border of

Afghanistan and the Soviet Union, conducted by P. Bernard and a

French archeological expedition, unearthed six rectangular bronze

coins issued by the Indo-Greek ruler Agathocles (180?-?165 BC). The

coins had script written in both Greek and Brahmi and, most

interestingly, show an image of Vishnu, or Vasudeva, carrying a

Chakra and a pear-shaped vase, or conchshell, which are two of the

four main sacred symbols of God in Vaisnavism. Many other finds of

ancient coins also prove the antiquity of Krishna worship in India.

 

Balarama, Agathocles coin,

Ai Khanoum, Afghanistan, 2nd century B.C.

 

 

To summarize, today the weight of empirical evidence proves that

Krishna and Vaisnavisam predate Christianity. Numerous literary,

archeological, and numismatic sources build an unassailable case.

Nevertheless, Vaisnavism and Christianity still show amazing

similarities. In the chauvinistic and sectarian atmosphere of the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, these similarities led most

Western scholars to adopt the now discredited "borrowing theory."

But these attitudes did more that distort the truth. In the

twentieth century they directly led to two world wars of

unprecedented ferocity and destruction. Therefore, sensitive and

caring people perceive these attitudes as being obsolete, and,

instead of clinging to them, more intelligent people now seek the

path of unity. Even in religion, one of the key contemporary

attitudes is the ecumenical spirit, the desire to emphasize more our

similarities with other peoples, nations, and religions rather than

our differences.

 

If Westerners can drop their defenses and look at Vaisnavism with

ecumenical eyes, they will see a religion and a philosophy which

undoubtedly through the Greeks helped to shape the soul of Western

civilization itself and its largest religion, Christianity. Rather

than being shocked by the similarities, we ought to rejoice in them.

>From at least our vantage point and in light of all the material

presented in this book and from other sources, it is obvious to us

that Christians and Vaisnavas are worshiping the same original

Godhead and are seeking salvation and solace from that Godhead

through the same transcendental, personal loving relationship.

 

The early Western researchers into Vaisnavism were correct in at

least this sense: there are too many similarities between Vaisnavism

and Christianity for it to be mere coincidence. And since

the "borrowing theory" cannot explain it, we suggest that both

religions emanate form the same divine revelatory source-God. The

message of Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita and the message of Jesus

Christ in the New Testament are identical in essence: recognize the

loving existence of your Divine Father and enter into a personal

loving relationship with God. Each religion has developed this

philosophy with different areas of strength. Vaisnavism presents a

far more systematic and scientific explanation of divinity and

metaphysics, while christianity in the West is proving more adept at

putting the philosophy of God's love into practical action in areas

like economic advancement, human rights, and political

participation. If the ecumenical spirit grows and predominates in

both East and West, then these two great religions can share their

strengths openly with each other to create a civilization that would

be far more evolved and cultured than anything that exists today. In

the end the issue really isn't who borrowed what from whom. For a

true Vaisnava or Christian this issue is resolved simply—everything

we have is borrowed ultimately from God. God is the original source,

and God is one.