The Krsna Cycle in the Puranas

Krsna is one of the best loved figures in Indian religion and literature. The stories of his life and deeds occupy a central place in Indian literary traditions down to our day. The present work deals with the main themes and motifs found in the Krsna legend up to the 10th century. In the first chapter the Vedic antecedents to the Krsna figure are examined, as well as some of the views that claim that Krsna is found in the Vedic hymns. The second chapter deals with the first historical evidence on Krsna up to the beginning of the Christian Era, and an exhaustive survey is made of all the archaeological and literary evidences together with their interpretations and discussions by modern scholars. The third and fourth chapters analyse the themes and motifs in the Krsna saga, presenting them in a folk-comparative method, paying particular attention to the resemblances to the legends of Hercules. The last chapter presents a general survey of the Krsna stories as presented in the iconography up to the 10th century. This is complemented by a collection of photographs of most of the iconographical evidence discussed, many of them here published for the first time.