![Parashurama leads Krishna and Balarama toward Mount Gomanta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Parashurama_leads_Krishna_and_Balarama_toward_Mount_Gomanta.jpg)
The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of
Hari
Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress ...
") is an important work of
Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374
shlokas
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
, mostly in the ''
anustubh''
metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to be a ''khila'' (appendix or supplement) to the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
[The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book I: Chapter 2]
in sacred-texts.com website and is traditionally ascribed to
Vyasa
Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
. The most celebrated commentary of the ''Mahabharata'' by
Neelakantha Chaturdhara, the ''Bharata Bhava Deepa'' also covers the ''Harivamsa''. According to a traditional version of the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
, the ''Harivamsa'' is divided into two ''parvas'' (books) and 12,000 verses. These are included with the eighteen ''parvas'' of the ''Mahabharata''.
[ The Critical Edition has three ''parvas'' and 5,965 verses.
The Adi Parva of describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary history of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of ]Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the ''Mahabharata''.[Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 426-431] Bhavishya Parva, the third book, includes two alternate creation theories, hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of the Kali Yuga. While the ''Harivamsa'' has been regarded as an important source of information on the origin of Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
's incarnation Krishna, there has been speculation as to whether this text was derived from an earlier text and what its relationship is to the Brahma Purana
The ''Brahma Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्मपुराण or ; ) is one of the eighteen major Puranas collections of Hindu texts in Sanskrit Language. It is listed as the first Maha-Purana in all the anthologies, and therefore also called A ...
, another text that deals with the origins of Krishna.
Chronology
The bulk of the text is derived from two traditions, the tradition, that is, the five marks of the Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
corpus one of which is the ' genealogy, and stories about the life of Krishna as a herdsman.
The text is complex, containing layers that go back to the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE. The origin of this appendix is not precisely known but it is apparent that it was a part of the ''Mahabharata'' by the 1st century CE because "the poet Ashvaghosha quotes a couple of verses, attributing them to the ''Mahabharata'', which are now only found in the ''Harivamsa''" (Datta 1858).
Edward Washburn Hopkins
Edward Washburn Hopkins, Ph.D., LL.D. (September 8, 1857 July 16, 1932), an American Sanskrit scholar, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts.
He graduated at Columbia College in 1878, studied at Leipzig, where he received the degree of Ph.D. i ...
considers the ''Harivamsa'' the latest parva of the ''Mahabharata''. Hazra has dated the Purana to the 4th century CE on the basis of the description of the rasa lila
The rasalila (), also rendered the raslila or the ras dance, is part of the traditional story of Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where he dances with Radha and the gopi ...
in it. According to him, the ''Visnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana (IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus.
The manuscri ...
'' and the ''Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...
'' belong to the 5th century CE and 6th century CE respectively. According to Dikshit, the date of the ''Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
'' is 3rd century CE. When we compare the biography of Krishna, the account of Raji, and some other episodes as depicted in the , it appears to be anterior to the former. Therefore, the and the can be dated to at least the 3rd century CE.
By its style and contents, the appears to be anterior to the and . The verses quoted by Asvaghosa belong to this parva. On this basis, we can safely assume the (except for the later interpolations) to be at least as old as the 1st century CE.
Editions
The is available in three editions. The vulgate text of the has total 271 s (chapters), divided into three ''parvas'', (55 chapters), (81 chapters) and (135 chapters). The traditional edition contains 12000 shlokas (verses) 2 sub-parvas, the Harivamsa Parva (187 chapters) and the Bhavishya Parva (48 chapters) with a total of 235 chapters. The Critical Edition or CE (1969–71, Ed. P.L.Vaidya) is around a third (118 chapters in 6073 slokas) of this vulgate edition. Like the vulgate, the chapters in the CE are divided into three parvas, (chapters 1-45), (chapters 46-113) and (chapters 114 -118). Vaidya suggests that even the CE represents an expanded text and proposes that the oldest form of probably began with chapter 20 (which is where ''Agni Purana
The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also co ...
'' 12 places its start) and must have ended with chapter 98 of his text.
Translations
The ''Harivamsa'' has been translated in many Indian vernacular languages; The vulgate version containing 3 books and 271 chapters has not been translated into English yet. The only English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
translation of the traditional version (2 sub-parvas (Harivamsa parva - 187 chapters and Bhavishya parva - 48 chapters, a total of 235 chapters) is by Manmatha Nath Dutt in 1897 and it is in the public domain. The critical edition has been translated into English twice so far. once in 2016 by Bibek Debroy
Bibek Debroy is an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty ...
and by Simon Brodbeck in 2019); French (M. A. Langlois, 1834–35); and other languages. Translations of the Harivamsa
/ref>
See also
* First book of Mahabharata: Adi Parva
* Previous book of Mahabharata: Svargarohana Parva
Notes
References
* Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 410
* Winternitz, Maurice (1981) History of Indian Literature Vol. I. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
* Ruben, Walter (1941) "The Krsnacarita in the Harivamsa and Certain Puranas.” ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. Vol. 61, No.3. pp. 115–127.
* Lorenz, Ekkehard (2007) ''The Harivamsa: The Dynasty of Krishna'', in Edwin F. Bryant (ed.), Krishna, A Source Book, Oxford University Press.
* Shastri, Rajendra Muni, ''Jaina Sahitya mein Sri Krishna Charita'', Jaipur, Prakrit Bharati Akademi, 1991.
External links
Original Sanskrit text online with English translation
*Manmatha Nath Dutt
Vishnu Purana
English Translation of Book 2 of Harivamsa (1896)
*Alexandre Langlois
Harivansa: ou histoire de la famille de Hari
French Translation of Harivamsa (1834)
Discourse on Harvamsha
by Dr Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya
{{Jainism Topics
Hindu texts
Krishna
Mahabharata
Sanskrit texts