In discussing the comparisons between Krishna and Christ, it is claimed either that there are no real parallels or that these "exact counterparts"—as the Catholic Encyclopedia calls them—rest squarely on the shoulders of the Brahman priesthood, who allegedly copied them from Christianity.
Indian and other scholars contend that the story is uninfluenced by Christianity, many averring that any borrowing must have occurred by Christianity from Hinduism. As part of this debate, a common earlier English transliteration of Krishna was "Christna," which reveals its possible relationship to '"Christ."
Krishna shares the following characteristics and motifs in common with Christ:
• Krishna is an incarnation of the sun god Vishnu, who rises or awakens on the winter solstice.
• Krishna was born in a stable of the "virgin" Devaki ("Divine One")
• He was of royal descent and was a prince.
• Krishna is the "King of the Yadus."
• Like the cave-born Christ of tradition, Krishna was born in a "cave-like dungeon."
• Upon birth, the baby Krishna, was placed in a "basket for winnowing corn; in other words, a manger."
• Great signs and wonders occurred at Krishna's birth, including the appearance of a bright star.
• His birth was attended by angels, wise men and shepherds, and he was presented with gifts, including gold and incense.
• His foster father was in the city to pay taxes when Krishna was born.
• The hero-god was persecuted by a tyrant who ordered the slaughter of infants.
• The infant Krishna was carried across a river.
• As a young boy, he worked miracles and wonders, and was hailed as a divine incarnation.
• He was worshipped by shepherds as a god.
• Krishna was "tempted" in the wilderness by "various fiends," before crushing the serpent's head.
• He raised a child from the dead and healed lepers, the deaf and the blind.
• Krishna preached faith "in God's love to man and in his mercy and forgiveness of sins arising therefrom."
• Krishna miraculously fed the multitudes.
• "He lived poor and he loved the poor," humbly washing the feet of guests.
•Like Jesus, Krishna continually manifested his divinity and then denied it.
• He was transfigured in front of his disciples.
• Krishna was anointed with oil by a woman bearing a jar of ointment.
• Krishna had a beloved disciple named Arjuna or "Ar-jouan."
• A fig or banyan tree figures prominently in Krishna's myth, as the god is depicted approaching a fig tree, where he "utters a sort of parable."
• Tradition holds that Krishna died after being shot in the foot while under a (fig) tree, leading to claims he was pinned against the tree by an arrow or "crucified."
• After his death, he ascended to heaven, where he lives on.
• Krishna descended into hell to rescue others.
• As Vishnu, he is the god "who incarnates himself when sin threatens to take the upper hand in the world, and destroys it."
• Krishna is "a personal savior, a messianic deliverer who will bring all men and women salvation if only they choose to give Him their devotion."
• Krishna is called the "Shepherd God," "Lord of the god of gods" and "Lord of lords," and was considered the "Redeemer," "Firstborn," "Sin Bearer," "Liberator," and "Universal Word."
• As Vishnu, he is the second person of the Trinity, considered the "Beginning, the Middle and the End," ("Alpha and Omega"), as well as being omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.
• His disciples shouted the words "Jai Shri Krishna," meaning "Victory to Lord Krishna."
• A future incarnation of Vishnu is the Kalki avatar, who will arrive riding a white horse and destroy the wicked.
As we can see, there are numerous detailed similarities between the stories of Krishna and Christ.
Krishna's "Virgin" Birth?
Over the centuries, it has been debated whether or not Krishna's mother, Devaki, who was said to be a "chaste maiden," could also be called a "virgin," mainly because she traditionally had given birth to seven children prior to Krishna.
However, the evidence points to Devaki—and Krishna—as a mythical character, and myths do not have human body parts and so on, so many goddesses are said to be both mother and virgin, regardless of how many children they produce.
For example, according to the myth, Devaki is an incarnation of the dawn goddess Aditi, who was the "eternal virgin" or "celestial virgin," despite the fact that she too gave birth to eight children.
In addition, Krishna’s mother earlier had given birth as an unmarried and presumably virginal teenager, after becoming pregnant from eating half a mango.
Obviously, the virgin birth visà-vis Krishna's mother represents a real Indian tradition, even if it is not strictly applicable to his specific nativity.
In other words, at one point before Krishna was born, Devaki was a virgin mother, and the assumption that she remains so throughout the myth is thus understandable.
The Names of Krishna and Christ Part of the controversy concerning commonalities has revolved around the Indian and Christian godmen's respective names.
In older English literature, for example, we often encounter the transliteration of Krishna/Krsna as "Christna," indicating a possible relationship.
In this regard, Sri Ramakrishna Mathah relates that the names "Krishna" and "Christ" became "a focal point in such debates:
'But despite decades of two-way arguments, it was eventually determined that the name Christ was taken from the Greek Christos, which is derived from the Sanskrit Krishta, or Krishna.'"
Indeed, as Dr. Richard Garbe says, "In some localities of India the word Krishna is pronounced Krishta." Adding to these facts, we learn that "Krishta" was "also the way the name 'Christ' was pronounced" in certain dialects.
Christian missionaries in India were so struck with the similarities between the names of the two gods that they explained "Krishna" as the "nomen ipsum corruptum Christi," or a "corruption of the very name of Christ."
Krishna's Solar Nature Under "Krishna" in the Sinhalese English Dictionary, Rev. Clough states that "in Hindu mythology Krishna is considered the most celebrated form of Vishnu or rather Vishnu himself; in that form he is however distinct from the ten avatars or incarnations of Vishnu, being always identified with the deity himself..."
Clough additionally relates that "Krishna" is also "one of the names of Arjuna the charioteer of the sun."
Indeed, Vishnu is a solar deity or epithet/aspect of the sun, while, as his incarnation—"being always identified with the deity himself"—Krishna likewise is solar in nature.
The fact that Krishna is not only an incarnation of the sun god but also a deity himself who possessed many solar attributes should be kept in mind when investigating the Krishna-Christ parallels.
Source: Acharya S/D.M. Murdock - The Origins of Christianity www.StellarHousePublishing.com
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