Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa's Vedāntic Debut
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Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Vedāntic Debut: Chronology & Rationalisation in the Nimbārka Sampradāya Vijay Ramnarace Submitted for the Degree of PhD by Research The University of Edinburgh 2014 I have read and understood the University of Edinburgh guidelines on plagiarism. This thesis is my own original work except where indicated otherwise by quotations and references. No part of it has been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Signed: 1 ABSTRACT In this thesis I provide an additional perspective on the development of Rādhā- Kṛṣṇa who are regarded as the central divinity in many religious traditions in South Asia, by examining the primary sources of the Nimbārka Sampradāya. This school of the Hindu religious tradition of Vaiṣṇavism is unique in its identification of the ontological category of Brahman (the supreme being) solely with Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, where both are conjointly understood to be the eternal deity, not an avatāra (incarnation) or vyūha (emanation). Previous scholarship on the early phases of this sampradāya has focussed on issues of philosophy and doctrine, with a few attempts beset by demonstrably deficient reasoning at positing a chronology. Although the later tradition has been documented in detail, owing to the absence of a settled chronology, mechanisms of Nimbārkī inter-sectarian relations at this stage of development in early modern Vraja (Braj) have not been satisfactorily established. In Part One, I provide a survey of the current theories on the development of Kṛṣṇa (who has received wide scholarly treatment) and Rādhā, re- evaluating Sanskrit and Prakrit textual and epigraphic sources with focus on the divinity of these two figures, positing that although there exist allusions to the godhood of Kṛṣṇa antecedent to the common era, the same cannot be said of Rādhā. Part Two discusses the sources available for Nimbārka and with a view to bringing to light any noteworthy findings, on the basis of comparative studies of the Brahmasūtra commentarial tradition I provide a new chronology for Nimbārka and his immediate followers. Following on from this, I discuss Nimbārka’s works in which is presented his innovation: the deification of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. I then examine the rationalisation of this doctrine by Puruṣottama (third successor to Nimbārka), whose exegetical efforts diminish the impact of this teaching in the wider Vaiṣṇava context. In Part Three, I turn to the legacy of Nimbārka and in an important revelation for Vaiṣṇava studies, I show that whilst the early tradition reserved the theological identity of Brahman for the most eligible initiates, in 15th century Vraja a renaissance of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa devotion was instigated by Keśava Kāśmīrin, Śrībhaṭṭa and Harivyāsa Deva who influenced the contemporary and later sects which, in the modern period, have transported the phenomenon of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa devotion across the globe. 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 6 PART ONE RĀDHĀ-KṚṢṆA BEFORE NIMBĀRKA Introduction 14 1. Kṛṣṇa’s Supremacy 16 1.1 Kṛṣṇa in Early Indian Sources 18 1.2 Sources referring to Kṛṣṇa after 2nd century BCE 32 1.3 Kṛṣṇa’s Deification 36 1.4 Kṛṣṇa in the Second Half of the First Millennium 38 1.5 Conclusion 43 2. Rādhā: from gopī to goddess 45 2.1 Rādhā in Pre-7th century CE Literature 46 2.1.1 The Vedas, Epics and Early Purāṇas 47 2.1.2 Pre-7th century CE Poetic Literature 51 2.2 Rādhā in other Purāṇas 55 2.3 Rādhā’s Deification 58 2.4 Conclusion 60 PART TWO NIMBĀRKA’S INNOVATION Introduction 61 3. Nimbārka 63 3.1 Nimbārka’s Chronology 65 3.1.1 The Sectarian Position 66 3.1.2 Previous Scholarship on Nimbārka’s Chronology 69 3.2 Towards a Conclusive Chronology 80 3.2.1 Schools of Vedānta before the Vedāntapārijātasaurabha 81 3.2.2 Alternative Theories on Nimbārka’s Chronology 92 3.3 The Date & Works of Nimbārka 99 3.4 Nimbārka, Śrīnivāsa, Śaṅkara and Rāmānuja on the Brahmasūtra 143 3.4.1 Brahmasūtra Chapter 1 107 3.4.2 Brahmasūtra Chapter 2 110 3.4.3 Brahmasūtra Chapter 3 144 3.4.4 Brahmasūtra Chapter 4 146 3.5 Summary of the Findings from the Comparative Study 158 3.6 Śaṅkara’s Tārkikas and Nimbārka 161 3.7 Towards Nimbārka’s Date 167 3 3.8 Conclusion: Nimbārka’s Date 177 4. Nimbārka’s Life, Teaching and Impact 181 4.1 Nimbārka’s Life: Hagiographies 181 4.2 Nimbārka’s Soteriology 187 4.2.1 The Soteriology of the Vedāntapārijātasaurabha 188 4.2.2 The Soteriology of the Daśaślokī 189 4.2.3 The Soteriology of the Prapannakalpavallī and the Mantrarahasyaṣoḍaśī 197 4.3 Rādhā in Poetic Literature after Nimbārka 200 4.4 Conclusion: Nimbārka & Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa 214 5. Puruṣottamācārya and the Vedāntaratnamañjūṣā 216 5.1 Audience, Opponents and Intent 217 5.2 The Lakṣmītantra and Logicians: the Chronology of the Vedāntaratnamañjūṣā 226 5.3 Conclusion: Puruṣottama’s Date 231 6. Puruṣottamācārya’s Rādhā 233 6.1 Puruṣottama’s view of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa: Translation of the Vedāntaratnamañjūṣā Commentary to Daśaślokī verse 5 233 6.2 Rationalising Rādhā 237 6.3 Conclusion: Puruṣottama’s Rationalisation in Context 241 PART THREE NIMBĀRKA’S LEGACY Introduction 244 7. Harivyāsa Devācārya and the Siddhāntaratnāñjali 246 7.1 The Paramparā after Harivyāsa Devācārya: Paraśurāma Devācārya 247 7.2 The Paramparā before Harivyāsa Devācārya: Keśava Kāśmīri Bhaṭṭācārya 256 7.2.1 Kings and Miracles 258 7.2.2 The Kramadīpikā and Other Works 262 7.2.3 Keśava Kāśmīri Bhaṭṭācārya’s Date 265 7.3 Śrībhaṭṭa Devācārya 269 7.3.1 Śrībhaṭṭa’s Chronology 270 7.3.2 Śrībhaṭṭa’s Life and Works 272 7.3.3 Śrībhaṭṭa’s Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa: the Yugalaśataka 276 7.3.4 Śrībhaṭṭa: the first Brajbhāṣā author on the aṣṭayāma līlā 283 7.4 Harivyāsa Devācārya 286 7.4.1 Harivyāsa Devācārya’s Chronology 287 7.5 Conclusion 291 8. Back to Basics: Harivyāsa vs. Puruṣottama on Daśaślokī verse 5 293 4 8.1 Translation of Siddhāntaratnāñjali on Daśaślokī verse 5 293 8.2 Analysis of Siddhāntaratnāñjali on Daśaślokī verse 5 296 8.2.1 The Siddhāntaratnāñjali’s sakhīs 297 8.2.2 Siddhāntaratnāñjali on svakīyā Rādhā 299 8.3 Harivyāsa’s Rādhā: Siddhāntaratnāñjali vs. Mahāvāṇī 300 8.3.1 Chronology of the Mahāvāṇī 301 8.3.2 Contents of the Mahāvāṇī 303 8.3.3 The aṣṭayāma līlā of the Mahāvāṇī 304 8.3.4 Theology of the Mahāvāṇī 310 8.4 Mahāvāṇī in Context: Harivyāsa, the Gosvāmins, Svāmī Haridāsa and Hita Harivaṁśa 314 8.5 Puruṣottama and Harivyāsa: Audiences, Environment and Revelation 317 8.6 Conclusion 321 CONCLUSION 323 Appendix I The Vedāntakāmadhenu Daśaślokī verse 5 of Nimbārka with commentary Vedāntaratnamañjūṣā of Puruṣottamācārya 327 Appendix II The Vedāntakāmadhenu Daśaślokī verse 5 of Nimbārka with commentary Siddhāntaratnāñjali of Harivyāsadevācārya 330 Appendix III Text of the Brahmasūtra Commentaries analysed in Chapter 3 332 References 346 5 INTRODUCTION If one were to venture into a Hindu or Vaiṣṇava Mandir, whether in India or anywhere else in the world, one will notice that the statue of Kṛṣṇa is invariably flanked by a statue of Rādhā. Her immediate situation on his left side places her in the same category as Pārvatī, always found to the left of Śiva; Lakṣmī, always found to the left of Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa; and Sītā, always found to the left of Rāma. In accordance with Hindu custom, the left side of a man is reserved for his wife, and as such, all of these feminine divinities are easily recognised as being the wife/consort of the male divinity. However, while detailed descriptions of these other couples exist in the earliest layers of the epics and Purāṇas, the same cannot be said of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Rādhā as a poetic heroine, the epitome of love, has featured in non-religious literature from early times, but somehow at a certain point in history she has transcended the boundary between popular poetry and theology. A few scholars have focussed on her theological development, amongst whom Miller (1975) and Hardy (1983) provide the best analyses from this perspective. Both, however, were unable to delineate the exact process of her deification, as they lacked access to the literature of one particular sect in India: the Nimbārka Sampradāya. In order for these scholars to integrate the Nimbārka Sampradāya within their treatments of Rādhā, they would have had to initiate a completely new investigation into this subject, for not only were the available primary and 6 secondary sources scant, but, in addition, testimony from other traditions has tended to lessen the importance of Nimbārkī activity. When Indologists first investigated Vaiṣṇavism, they were confronted by the dynamic and ever-present Gauḍīya tradition in Bengal and the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition of the south. This had a conditioning effect, as both these sects were characterised by expansive textual traditions, strong hierarchies, vast infrastructure and buildings, and learned practitioners and scholars. Other traditions and personages who did not fit these criteria were almost inevitably consigned to the peripheries of surveys, doxographies and catalogues, and their fringe position would have been confirmed due to the sectarian bias of the various informants of early Indologists.