Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/259

 24(3 TEE ESDI AN ANTIQUARY. [Acorn. 167& d(*ie<:AafurtAa eea) to thorn enanmratod already by myaalf< /Hi/. g , biforo Christ, tuid lie udducuv them an teatiraonieK not only to ahow "that the jttoHtw atnout Kr i > h ii ti iif»l Iuh wtWfhJj) a* u jjod ore sot so recent aa European scholar* would make who lind lu OlirUt o prototype uf Krishna, and in the Bible tho original or tho Rhatjaemigm" hue also agaitut those " who hullo vo nur P literatim- to l»o merely a lator growth." uud a* direct proolk "that acme *unh work* n rKo Hiiriaa&to and the P.jriimM must have existed then." Ben I have to remark that even without I Bolton to the unautdDiBU of the ground on which wo vLand hero, and wen n-hilu fully taking theae word hUqu* as fating y from the very time of l'ataEjidi, tliuy do not yield anyhow tho coucUuiuaa at which Ululrutarjtur urnvL-a with regard to thnm. They are quite cancl naive and very Wokome indued ai Hutimrr nfee for that worship of K r i a h n a, as a omI or demigod, which forma an inter tmdiute staga be- tween lu« position in tho upic aa a warrior uiul hero of the Vfuhrii race and tion to tho dignity of Vishnu, of the an., Beta® (1W. Stud, kill, |,m they do not interfere at nil with the nptaj on of t"> .11111111, oq quite muHuiiahle ground*, that thi* loiter dorolopmmit of the wnr- ihip of Krish rut , nii'.l the legendary and i rituaUtttio portion of it, hna boos irjilueneed tone _ i lv uu acquaintance wiih the doctrine*, legends, and aymbola of tho early Cfl ri«- tlan agn«i or trv'tin with tin? opinion of thoso irho J |o find in the BhagaBedgtt I traces of the Bible i for, though I for my part am mi yea itiviuood at till in Lhia respect, the Ogt yf the ■adyttxii* Rtlli #i> uncertain that these »,pc* "Ui are at least notahacklod by any ehron&> logical obstanlee. I bog to remark bore, prataiujuna, that tho origin or the won hip of Krishna at a god i- i b aa yet in complete obscurity. Kaiian mama to have been ;« B*ttD09 aawetl m Bali, and vary proltahly K f i ■ h u a too,— though tho epic aa a warn m ^ Chkdndagya ItysHtithudaa ' thirt. ty' for holy infornia- in to bo traced bank to a mythological bane, a* hi* intimate conn-x ion with Arjuna, hini- aclf » name and form of In dm (aooordW to tht< 8>it>tt>nth* h iaid tothologHnda in tho E$UMhit--ihi Upani/had), pointn to a common origin of them both j bnt at present wr look atill in min for a key to solve thia myatary, vrhtoh is the mora myatorioujai tin* iiNjHinn Ulack and tho White) appear* d priori mora appropriate for deadly AntAgourta» i.hun fur intimate friend*. It ia curious enough that the dMOO of a |»lcrnnl unelo of Krhdina, Akrftrn, who ii mentioned already by Yitakn (II. '2 ; Itoth ukea the paasago "i-| ol lU ioo), •-•' < eb la .i['i" ir me In the Atfjla, though indend latin i A kh rflm (with long d ui tliQ begiuniufij, aan of Hnj> romnk i S u* reran). Boa to return td ntiau- dArkar. That tlvsro cxistwl a Puranie huT^turv at tho time of the BkrLhya ia rery not need thewj quotationa to Icel almost uure of that, for we know that Whifmr mnil pnnffian cxutofl oren a* early a& the time of the Bnlhwantir. hut tlmt " "ur Purimc literature," that M torn* astea work oa the Jlntwnnia and the Panbin*. mutt have existed at the time ofPaiaKj»Ii," in more titan I on gather from thuee highly interesting naie- ments abooL bbe popoloiity of drumulic rvpre- ciater'n flon Kriah i«, nod the Mubjugatioo or Bali, rem thoae metrical paasages rehtUng to Nn ifa k ii r * ha nn f Kcuara, Janardana, Vanudera, Krixhna, whirh rimy aa well hare been token from aoma aort of Makdb,; azuting at "the time. About die eahitenee of n uue, uud cvim of a cumpoaitkm by buka VuiylUaki, at Ii, -reran be no roasonuhle doubt, though we mtiac bowMOPo of go- ing bayood khftt mid iduutifyiiiK with iL directly our present text j for tho reaJagaofniH xt.-i iugteitoau safely bo judged only by the internal uvidcucca afforded by iw own o»ntcnta P though cr»n those must bo handled with great ear*, for the more we learn about th. Injury of n Hindn literary oom- poeitEou, ih« cl oarer ire aee that tin tv are many waya to account for HlaU-inouta conta.i Tltua much ia certain, tdinl Ibfl h%h atato of cub turn wbioh ia apparent from what we lean: the Bh'Ub'm about social, mm I. end religion* imtftera, aa wnll mh about tbfl highly flouriahingcoiidii ion of uacrcd. learned, and y«vnihtr UU*, would iiwol 7-1 al>o the ex- latonoo of a aaae! , uud it it dMvefani (rnJta in accordance with tho ploattre to be drawn from thoM other atatomenta what wo find ttjenti In II in ttiio n.upcct. Bat htgl. indications and the very >f notation* fnm are, vtom wthih mr fommfo*, Th« B gap I ■ .e two, which cannot be DIM up. or even fairly bridged orer, fey «uch weak link*, though they may aarvo indeed to cunueet then looaoly together, 'I*he Indian clim.il..- (aa r^cinraa on tht Itittory vj Jmiion Ubratmr*, pp. 171 II) ii> not favourable to the pm< i written lit. mture. Cmtinwd era/ tradition, on I be othur hand, ia hot the reward and reaul!
 * Oo tft tiom of Kanjii'a death at the hnnda of hi?