Krishna: Myths, Rites, and Attitudes

xvii, 277 pp. Westerners have long been interested in the legends of Krishna, a field almost as vast as India itself. Historically there are three Krishnas, or three aspects of one Krishna: the tribal chief; the god incarnate; and Krishna of Gokula--the divine herdsman, the mischievous child, the endearing lover, the eternal paradox of flesh and spirit. It is the third Krishna that is the subject of this book. Six American and three Indian scholars have joined to examine the steady stream of poetry, legend, myth, and rite which since about A.D. 200 have dramatized the deeds and described the world of Krishna of Gokula--a land where every object if rightly seen is a key to truth and eternity.