Krishna, the Divine Lover: Myth and Legend

Paper Summary:

The paper begins by analyzing the meaning of gods and sacredness in the Hindu tradition, then it introduces the character of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. It discusses his use of flute music to seduce gopis (lit., "herds-women"), and analyzes the character of gopis (Krishna's female devotees) for what they say about women's sexuality in the Hindu tradition. The paper presents various stories from Hindu literature many focusing on Krishna and his favorite gopi Radha, and analyzes the different states of emotion and sensuality described in that literature, defining and explaining Hindi terms. The paper briefly reviews modern Krishna worship, too. In conclusion, the paper finds that this loving side of Krishna was merely one more extension of his warlike nature - a means to destroy the wicked.

From the Paper:

"Over the past twenty years, Hindu Gods have become something of a cottage industry in the West. Ranging from detailed anthropological treatments of regional traditions, to critical translations of fundamental sources on the Goddess, to text-based overviews of the history of Goddess cults, these studies have done much to compensate for a prior penury of scholarship concerning the distaff side of the Hindu pantheon.
"Maria Powers (1980) has argued, the contemporary analysis of the rites, rituals, and beliefs of a non-Western society often has a Western cultural bias. However, an explanation based on Western presuppositions does not provide us with a correct analysis. The conceptual framework, social constructs, necessitating interpersonal relations, and roads for spiritual fulfillment of a non-Western society differ strikingly from those of a Western society."

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• Book Review # 105357 : "H.E. Huntley's "The Divine Proportion"

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