V R N D I V A N A TN I S N A V A B R A J LIT E R A T U R E by Maura Corcoran Thesis submitted for the depree of Doc.tor of Fhilosophy chool of Oriental arid African Studies University of London 1930 /fiTfiTS (LOMU) \UNR/ ProQuest Number: 10757521 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10757521 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to collect and. examine references to Vrndavana in Sanskrit arid Braj Hindi literature. The justification for this is that Vrndavana is one of the few concepts for which there is adequate and manageable documentation in the literature. This feature recalls the fact that Vrndavana is one of the key concepts involved in tho crystallization of m o d e m Vaisnava Hinduism, namely in tho tradition both of sects that have associated themselves with the Braj geographical area and of sects that have sought their roots elsewhere. It is not, therefore, surprising that the study of this largely medieval and m odem conception can bo seen to have significant ar.d potentially far-reaching implications for the development of Vaisnavism in the prehistoric and classical periods. This investigation seeks to identify a notional sequence of ideas connected with Vrndavana: the description of a) a mythic, fictional place; b) a symbolic, i.e. totally unreal, place; c) the geographical town as a centre of pilgrimage. The introduction (Ch.l) discusses the chronology and sectarian affiliations of the Sanskrit and Braj Bhasa texts (largely medieval; more oursorily, ancient Sanskrit and m o d e m Hindi) used in this study. It also considers the treatment of Vrndavana in m o d e m secondary sources which, for the most part, concentrate on Vrndavana as a geographical place, ignoring its symbolic and mythic significance. In Ch. II, the roots of both the 'mythic' and 'symbolic1 approaches are sought in Vedic literature. An examination based on the concept of avatars seeks to define the 'mythic' approach of the Puranas, where the treatment of Vrndavana is linked with the manifest Krsna, as opposed to the unmanifest Visnu. By contrast Braj Bhasa and sectarian commentatorial literature obviates the need for incarnation as an event by ignoring (Braj texts) or rejecting (Sanskrit sources) the doctrine of avatara and the orthodox hierarchy that this entails. The concept of Ilia is in Ch. Ill made the basis of a further distinction between the Puranas and sectarian literature. The latter delimits the definition of Ilia to cover ciily Krsna1s extra-terrestrial activity, so that Vrndavana is envisaged as a purely divine realm, entirely separate from the cosmos. In the Puranas. 111a encompasses indeed all divine activity, both creation and incarnation, but it,and associated aspects of Vrndavana, remain wholly within the confines of the manifest world. In Ch.IV, these various approaches to the representation of Vrndavana are illustrated on the basis of the imagery used in the texts. Ch. V discusses the purely medieval preoccupation with the actual geographical Vrndavana and its total identification with the divine realm which it symbolizes. It is tc be hoped that this analysis can be used as a basis for essential further study of the texts and of their relative (and absolute) chronology. 5 CONTENTS pag© ABSTRACT 2 ABBREVIATIONS 7 I INTRODUCTION 9 Primary Sources 10 Secondary Sources 19 II MYTHIC VRNDAVANA AS THE SCENE OP KRSNA'S INCARNATION * *’ 25 1„ Sanskrit Sources 26 a« ICranacoVisnu motifs in Vedic literature 26 i) The term Krsna as found in the Rg Veda 31 ii) The relation between Krsna and Visnu 34 bo The Epic and Puranic approach to the relation between Krsna and Visnu 36 i) The distinctive characteristics of Krsna and Visnu in the Mahabharata 36 ii) The relation between Krsna and Visnu - amSavatara 36 ill) Krsna and Visnu in the Visnn Purana 39 iv) Krsna and Visnu in the Harivamda 40 v) Krsna and Visnu In the Bha^avata Purana 41 Co Vrndavana motifs in Vedic literature 44 « do The nature of Vrndavana - celestial and terrestrial - in the Puranas 48 i) The Harlvam6a 48 ii) The Visnu Purana 54 iii) Tiie Bhggavata Purana 56 e„ Tho GaudLiya approach to Krsna ^ Visnu 60 i) The nature of the divinity 60 ii) The nature of incarnation 64 iii) Manifest and unmanifest lila in the context of incarnation 74 2o KrsnaVisnu and the concept of avatara in Braj Bhasa literature 78 a» The non-sectarian approach - the Surasamara 78 bo The sectarian approach 85 i) Nandadasa - Vallabha 85 ii) Dhruvadasa - Radhavallablm 92 iii) Biharinadasa - HaridasI 96 iv) Harivyasadeva - Nimbarkiya 99 6 page III VRNDAVANA AND ITS ROLE IN LILS 104 1. The nature of 111a 105 a. Lila in the Puranas 106 b a Lila in the sectarian philosophical texts 111 iprhe Vallabha texts 111 ii) The Gaudlya texts 116 Co The Braj Bhasa treatment of divine sport 118 ip Texts which describe111a 118 Ao Suradasa 118 Bo Nandadasa 120 ii. Texts which describe nitya vlhara 123 A. Dhruvadasa 123 S. Biharinadasa 125 20 The role of Vrndavana in IXla - an aspect of the divine 126 a. In the Puranas 126 b® In the sectarian philosophical texts 127 i„ Vallabha 127 ii. Gaudlya 129 c, Vrndavana in the Braj Bhasa texts 130 i. Vrndavana in Ilia 131 A. Suradasa 131 Bo Nandadasa 132 ii» Vrndavana in nitya vlhara 135 A . Dhruvadasa 135 B. Biharinadasa 137 IV GEOGRAPHY AND SYMBOLISM IN THE REPRESENTATION OF VRNDAVANA 139 i„ The mythological representation 141 ii. The symbolic representation 153 iii. The geographical representation 185 V THE ROLE OP VRNDAVANA IN DEVOTIONAL PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE 195 i. The mythological tradition 197 ii. The symbolic approach 209 CONCLUSION 221 APPENDIX A 226 BIBLIOGRAPHY 2^3 7 ABBREVIATIONS 8 ABBREVIATIONS Anukr 0 Anukranmnlka BhPe Bha&avata Purana BSQAS Bulletin of the Sohool of Oriental and African Studies BrSaro, Brahma-samlilta Hariv. HarlvanifSa JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society KKS ICap i s thal a-^'^Tia-samhi £a MahIT„ Mahan irvana-1 an t.r a Mbho Mahabharata PadPa Padma Purana. Raaakadamba R a s alcad ainb ac udamani_ Rasap. Rasapanc hadhyayl RV0 Rg Voda SBr. a^apa Siddhantapa mtapanca( TantraT. Tantrara.la-tantra VIP a Visnu Purana 9 I INTRODUCTION 10 INTRODUCTION Vrndavana is a known geographical site - a major centre of Kpfna worship on the banks of the Yamuna* between Delhi fl-nrl Agra. Its historical development from the 16th century onwards can be gathered from documents such as land-grants. However, in the devotional Sanskrit and Braj Bhasa literature another dimension of Vrndavana dominates the picture, i.e. its role as an expression of divine space. In fact, it is arguable that Vrndavana is firstly a mythic and symbolic concept, and that the identification with a specific geographical spot is a later development. This thesis intends, therefore, to look at Vrndavana as it is presented in the literature, taking into consideration related religious and philosophical concepts. Primary Sources Vrndavana is inseparable from Krsna (particularly in his aspect aB child and youth); consequently any medieval text mentioning Krsna inevitably mentions Vrndavana. To discuss every allusion to Vrndavana would entail including the entire immense corpus of Krsna literature in these languages. As a result, the main issues would be clouded and considerable repetition would be unavoidable. It has been necessary, therefore, to choose representative texts of particular Interest to the relevant concepts. It will be seen how the genre to which a particular text may belong has an important bearing on its presentation of Vrndavana. These genres can be roughly divided into IT mythological, metaphysical, commentatorial and devotional, according to their emphasis. The extent to which certain concepts are inherent in the very nature of Vrndavana and its association with Krsna can be seen from the way in which motifs suggesting a Vrndavana-like place are to be found in Vedic literature associated with a Krsna-entity. The Vedic approach is primarily metaphysical, though even here in certain contexts the process of mythologisation is discernable. In order to illustrate the way in which the metaphysical contrast between the two aspects of the divine - transcendent and immanent - is transformed into mythology, the Mahabharata and its portrayal of incarnation have been discussed. This is important because of the way in which the Harlvam^a and Visnu Purana follow the same basic pattern and because of the implications this has in the portrayal of Vrndavana in these Puranas. The Harivamda (Hariv.) and Visnu Purana (ViP.) contain the earliest attested portrayal of Vrndavana in its basic form as it was to be depicted throughout the succeeding centuries. The exact date of these two texts, as of most of the texts under consideration, is impossible to determine, most 1 secondary sources suggesting 100 to 300 B.C. The relative position of the two texts is equally a matter of controversy, Hazra is of the opinion that the ViP. precedes the Hariv, His conclusion is based on the presence of the concept of amdavatnra (not found in the ViP.