The Story of Samkarsana’s and Krishna’s Births and the Myths of the Sun’s and Moon’s Births
The Story of Samkarsana’s and Krishna’s Births and the Myths of the Sun’s and Moon’s Births
A good test for the relevance of the analysis proposed here would be to assess its contribution, if any, to enabling a lucid interpretation of a difficult text such as the Harivamśa. Since establishing continuity between the sections of the text dealing with the solar and lunar lineages, on the one hand, and Kr․․sn․a’s biography, on the other, constitutes one of the main difficulties encountered by the interpreters of this text, I would now like to suggest that the close reading we propose uncovers a link between Sam․kars․an․a’s and Kr․․sn․a’s birth and two of the most important birth stories related in the earlier section, thus confirming the unity of a large part of the book.
In fact, aft er a survey of the creation by Brahmā, the Harivam․śa describes the solar lineage in which the story of Vivasvant’s (i.e., the sun’s) birth occurs (Harivam․śa 8) and the lunar lineage beginning with the story of Soma’s (the
26. vis․n. uśarīrajām․ nirdeśakārin. īm, Harivam․śa 48.10 (my translation).
moon’s) birth (Harivam․śa 20). Th e great progenitor Kaśyapa generated Vivasvant, who at his birth was dark (śyāmavarn․a 8.8). Actually, his own heat had completely burned his limbs off (8.3). Ignoring what had happened and wondering whether his son was not dead in the shell, his father called him Mārtan․d․a. He finally married him to Sam․jñā, Tvas․․t․r’s daughter, who could not stand an energy whose blaze was enough to consume the three worlds. She emitted a shadow of herself called Suvarn․ā and ran to her father’s house. Th is situation provoked a series of curses. In the end, Tvas․․t․r, resorting to a skillful means ( yoga, 8.32), placed Vivasvant on a potter’s wheel (bhramin) and cut off his over-blazing, so that he became pleasing to look at. Mārtan․d․a’s birth deals with the powerful yoga discovered by Tvas․․t․r to hide Vivasvant’s excessive heat and makes it more friendly, exactly like several of the stories studied earlier. Th e second story relates the birth of the moon and implies that a miscarriage took place.
As such, it seems first attested to in the Harivamśa. The rishi Atri generated a wonderful being who, as soon as he was born, reached the sky, illuminating the quadrants in ten different ways. Together, these ten goddesses carried the embryo for a time, but, unable to bear it, they miscarried (or “the embryo fell on the ground”). Brahmā placed him on his car and drove around the world. When praised by all the ․r․sis, Soma’s energy increased and caused the growth of the three worlds. Flowing down on the earth, this energy became the plants.
Soma was called the one who nourishes the world ( pos․․tā jagatah․, 20.16), and was made the king of seeds, plants, Brahmins, and waters (20.21; cf. 4.2, which adds constellations and planets, sacrifices and ascetic practices). Soma’s birth is just the opposite of Vivasvant’s birth. Whereas the latter implies a reduction of power, the former requires more power in order to fully exist. Soma’s embryo miscarried, was taken into Brahmā’s chariot, and developed under the praises of the sages. He was finally anointed king of all those temporal realities that wax and wane with the flux of time.
Tradition regularly speaks of Sam․kars․an․a as being as white as the rays of the moon and of Kr․․sn․a’s complexion as being as black as the monsoon clouds. It is interesting to note that the black color in question here is also the color of the blazing sun. Th e child Krsna can be terrible. When he was seven, packs of black wolves ran out from the hair of his body and destroyed the cows and their herders.
The comparison of both Sam․kars․an․a and Kr․․sn․a with the sun and moon is not just one detail among others. It is embedded in the text itself and may well be of greater significance than is generally realized. Hidden in the forest, dwelling in a cow-settlement (vraja), the close relationship between the brothers is compared to that of the sun and the moon. “These two children were always one with the other. Since their childhood they were one and the same. They had the same form [according to the vulgate of the text].
They were beautiful and had the brilliance of the young moon and sun [bālacandrārkavarcasau]” (51.2). Also: “They were embellishing the cow-settlement with games that joined them one to the other like the sun and moon in the sky who swallow one another’s rays [anyonyakiran․agrastau candrasūryāv ivāmbare]” (51.6). When he saw these two extraordinarily wise boys, guru Sāmdīpani imagined that the deities who had approached him were actually the moon and sun (mene tāv āgatau devāv ubhau candradivākarau, 79.7). Aft er their initiation, the children returned to their father’s house where once again they are compared to the sun and moon entering the [[[cave]] of] Mount [[[Meru]]] ( pravis․․tau . . . candrādityāv ivācalam, 79.38).
Of course, I am not suggesting here that Soma manifested himself as Sam․kar․san․a, and Sūrya as Kr․․sn․a, which is clearly not the case (cf. Harivam․śa 44.2,4). In the Mahābhārata, Karn․a is explicitly said to be the incarnation of Sūrya, and Abhimanyu the incarnation of Soma. Nevertheless, it seems that the Harivam․śa uses the motif of a meeting between the sun and the moon which occurs during the period of a new moon (amāvāsyā rātri) as an aid in understanding the strange cohabitation of Sam․kars․an․a and Kr․․sn․a in the forest surrounding Mathurā. Th e easiest way to illustrate the simultaneous manifestation of Purus․a Vis․n․u and the snake symbolizing the world of sam․sāra seems to use this astronomic code.
The name of the goddess whose presence was necessary throughout the birth story adds further credence to this assumption. In fact, the name Ekānam․śā has a strange ring to it. Th e best explanation of its meaning is still that it is the name of the new moon, a time during which both sun and moon are supposed to meet. “When looking for this goddess people ask ‘where, where is she?,’ whom they call Ekānam․śā, ‘the [only] One [night of the month] who is not provided with any portion [of the moon]’—
Kuhū, the daughter of An˙giras.”27 Since the birth of the goddess Ekānam․śā happens exactly at the same time as Kr․․sn․a’s birth, and since the association of Kr․․sn․a with Sam․kars․an․a immediately follows, one may safely conclude that these similes fit together perfectly as they evoke the union of Purus․a and Prakr․ti, the Spiritual and the Material Principle. Conclusion This chapter has tried to show that, in the story of Kr․․sn․a’s birth, no detail is arbitrary. If the presence of a seventh child named Sam․kars․an․a, the incarnation of Snake Śes․a, is taken seriously, one is led to conclude that the sequence of the eight babies of Devakī was modeled on similar stories found in older Brahmanic texts and that it reproduces exactly those events associated with cosmic dissolution. The whole world was destroyed, reduced to the state of a remnant and united to the great Vis․n․u-Nārāyan․a. The close relationship of Kr․․sn․a with Sam․kars․an․a means that Kr․․sn․a’s presence on the earth goes hand in hand with a renewed relationship between the spiritual self and the material world.
As the incarnation of Śes․a, Sam․kars․an․a symbolizes a world that has been purified by the fire of asceticism, exactly as it is explained to Arjuna by the Krsna of the Bhagavadgītā. It can be added that such a sequence of episodes is not isolated in the story of Kr․․sn․a’s childhood. In addition to the birth story that could be interpreted as a sort of dīks․ā, the whole period of childhood is explicitly said to be a mānus․ī dīks․ā, a true initiation to Kr․․sn․a’s life as a warrior (ksatriya). After a period of seven years in a first forest, the cow-settlement (vraja) where his father Vasudeva brought him, packs of wolves 27. yām․ tu dr․․s․tvā bhagavatīm․ janah․ kuhukuhāyate / ekānam․śeti yām āhuh․ kuhūm an˙girasah․ sutām / Mahābhārata 3.208.8. For this translation, see G. von Simson, “Sinīvālī und das aschgraue Mondlicht,” Acta Orientalia 63 (2002): 63.
sprang from Kr․․sn․a’s body, destroying all the cows and their herders. The herders decided to move to another marvelous forest called the Vr․ndāvana where both brothers probably spent a couple of years (although the period remains indeterminate). Things occur as if this period were, in fact, a duplication of the fetal period, both sequences preparing the renewal of the world inaugurated by the presence of Kr․․sn․a. The comparison of the years of childhood with the months of gestation would certainly contribute to a better understanding of Kr․․sn․a’s story, but that is a topic for another work.
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[[Category:]Buddhist Cosmology]
