Krsna: Lord or Avatara?: The Relationship Between Krsna and Visnu

by Freda Matchett

Overview

This is a study of three Sanskrit texts, the Harivamsa, the Visnupurana, and the Bhagavatabelonging to the puranic genre, the chief source of knowledge of the origins of popular Hinduism. It treats them as integrated compositions and displays the theological motives and creative skill which have gone into the making of them. It shows how all three texts contain narratives which present Krishna as one of several subordinate manifestations (avataras) of Vishnu. All three use much the same traditional material, yet each, by arranging this material in its own way, presents a distinctive view of Krishna, and the most influential of them, the Bhagavata , builds up a world view in which Krishna, not Vishnu, is supreme.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700712816
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/08/2000
Series:	Routledge Studies in Asian Religion
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Freda Matchett

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements, 1 Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu and the avatāra myth, 2 Epic evaluations of Kṛṣṇa, 3 Kṛṣṇa in the Harivaṃśa, 4 The all-pervading Viṣṇu, 5 Kṛṣṇa in the Viṣṇupurana, 6 The Bible of Kṛṣṇaism, 7 Kṛṣṇa in the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, 8 The Lord’s cosmic play, 9 The Supreme Reality: Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu?, Notes, Bibliography, Index

Editorial Reviews

'The chapters are neatly put together so that the book makes for fluent and good reading suitable even for the general reader interested in the theme. As a scholarly work it will remain for a long time indispensable for anybody diving into the vastness and perplexity of purãnic literature, in a part of which she has left useful signposts for guidance.' - Bulletin of SOAS

'the chapters are nearly put together so that the book makes for fluent and good reading suitable even for the general reader interested in the theme. As a scholarly work it will remain for a long time indispensable for anybody diving into the vastness and perplexity of purãnic literature, in a part of which she has left useful signposts for guidance.' - Karel Werner, Bulletin of SOAS

From the Publisher