A.W. Entwistle Braj Centre of Krishna Pilgrimage Egbert Forsten
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A.W. Entwistle Braj Centre of Krishna Pilgrimage Egbert Forsten. Groningen. 1987. file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00002.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:08] This book has been written and published with financial support from the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.) Cover illustration & frontispiece: The temple of Shrinathji on the Govard- han hill as seen from Anyor Cover design: Jurjen Pinkster Distributor for India and the Indian Subcontinent: Motilal Banarsidass, Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Dehli 110 007 (India). CIP-GEGEVENS KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG Entwistle, Alan W. Braj, Centre of Krishna Pilgrimage / Alen W. Entwistle. Groningen : Forsten. Ill., krt. (Groningen Oriental Studies ; vol. 3) Met 3 kaarten. Met lit. opg., reg. isbn 90-6980-016-0 geb. siso 214.4 UDC 294-5 (54) (091) Trefw. : Braj (India); cultuurgeschiedenis / Krishna-cultus ; bedevaart; India. Copyright 1987, Egbert Forsten, Groningen, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00003.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:08] Contents Abbreviations vii Preface ix 1 Introduction 1 The landscape 1 2 The local inhabitants 4 3 The devotional sects 8 4 Varieties of pilgrimage 12 5 Rules and regulations 19 2 The myth 1 The scriptural sources 22 2 The setting 27 3 The birth of Krishna 30 4 Krishna overturns a cart (sakatarohana) 32 5 Putana (putanavadha) 32 6 The whirlwind demon (trnavartavadha) 32 7 Garga's visit 32 8 Krishna eats dirt 33 9 Krishna is tied to a mortar (ulukhalabandhana) 33 10 The encampment is moved to Vrindaban and other demons attack Krishna 34 11 Brahma spirits away the calves and cowherd boys 34 12 The defeat of Kaliya (kaliyadamana) 34 13 Dhenuka (dhenukasuravadha) 35 14 Two forest fires (davanalajdavagni) 35 15 Pralamba (pralambasuravadha) 35 VII file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00004.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:08] 16 Krishna steals the Gopis' clothes (vastra-/ciraharana) 35 17 The brahmins' wives (yajnapatni-) 36 18 Krishna lifts up Govardhan (govardhcmadharanci) 36 19 Nanda is abducted 37 20 Krishna dances with the Gopi 37 21 The pilgrimage to Ambikavana 38 22 Shankhachuda 38 23 Arishta 38 24 Keshi 39 25 Vyoma 39 26 Akrura fetches Krishna and Balarama 39 27 The return to Mathura 39 28 Kansa is slain 40 29 Uddhava's message 40 30 Krishna and Balarama move to Dwarka 41 31 Balarama visits the Gopis 42 32 Later sources and developments 42 33 Radha 47 34 The entourage of Krishna and Radha 49 35 Krishna extorts curd from the Gopis 53 36 Lila of the eight watches of the day 55 37 The marriage of Krishna and Radha 57 38 Narada and Shiva change sex 58 39 How Govardhan came to Braj 59 40 The reclamation of Braj 60 3 Devotion in theory and practice i Emotion and aesthetics 62 2 Tantric influence 65 3 The nature of Krishna's love 67 4 Love in separation (viraha) 69 5 Eschatology 70 6 The ontology of the sacred places 71 7 Manifestations of devotion 76 8 Idols and epithets 78 9 Looking at idols (darsan) 82 10 Offering food 83 11 Music, chanting, drama, and preaching 85 12 Individual and solitary practices 88 13 Cows, milk, and ras 89 14 Femininity 91 15 Fantasies 96 16 Motivations for pilgrimage 103 VIII file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00005.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:09] 4 Ancient and early medieval Braj 1 The devotee's view of history 109 2 Dynasties of ancient Mathura 110 3 Buddhism 112 4 Jainism 113 5 Non-Vaishnava Hindu cults 114 6 The cult of Vasudeva/Krishna 116 7 Balarama 120 8 The end of Hindu power in Braj 122 9 The location of ancient Mathura 124 10 Mounds outside the modern circumambulation of Mathura 124 11 TheKatra 125 12 Finds at other places along the circumambulation of Mathura 126 13 Sites in the vicinity of Maholi 128 14 Sites west and north-west of Maholi 128 15 Finds in and around Vrindaban 129 16 Finds in the vicinity of Govardhan 130 17 Finds in the north-western part of Mathura District 130 18 Finds at Kaman 131 19 Finds east of the Yamuna 132 5 Braj since the thirteenth century 1 Braj under the Delhi Sultanate (1194-1526) 134 2 The arrival of a new kind of Krishna worship 136 3 Chaturanaga (Nagaji) 140 4 Vallabha 141 5 Chaitanya 143 6 Political developments from 1516 to 1556 144 7 The Six Goswamis and other contemporary Gaudiya devotees 145 8 Vitthalnath's succession to leadership of the Pushtimarg 151 9 Hit Harivansh 155 10 Swami Haridas 156 11 Shribhatt 157 12 Akbar and his Hindu associates 157 13 Vitthalnath's expansion of the Pushtimarg 160 14 The Ashtachhap poets 165 15 Some Gaudiya devotees of the late sixteenth century 166 16 The Radhavallabh Sampraday 168 17 Followers of Swami Haridas 170 18 Harivyasdev and other devotees of the Nimbark Sampraday 171 IX file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00006.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:09] 19 The Sampradays of Ramanuja and Ramanand 172 20 The reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan (1605-58) 173 21 Bir Singh Deo of Orchha 175 22 The Pushtimarg in the first half of the seventeenth century 177 23 Some devotees in Vrindaban during the first half of the seventeenth century 179 24 Aurangzeb (1658-1707) 180 25 The exodus of deities from Braj 183 26 Rajaram and Churaman 187 27 Sawai Jai Singh 188 28 Religious activity in the time of Sawai Jai Singh 191 29 Badan Singh 194 30 Suraj Mai 196 31 Suraj Mai's successors 200 32 The period of Maratha supremacy 204 33 Devotional activity in the latter part of the eighteenth century 207 34 Pax Britannica 213 35 Patronage in the nineteenth century 215 36 The Gaudiya Sampraday in modern times 218 37 The Nimbark Sampraday in modern times 219 38 The Pushtimarg in modern times 221 39 New arrivals 224 Texts dealing with places of pilgrimage in Braj 1 Earliest references 226 2 Lakshmidhara (KK) and the original Varahapurana 228 3 Jinaprabha Suri (VTK) 231 4 The Mathuramahatmya of the extant Varahapurana (VP) 232 5 The Mathuramahatmya attributed to Rup Goswami (R) 235 6 Mitra Mishra's Mathuramahatmya (VM) 238 7 Anantadev's Mathurasetu (MS) 239 8 Skandapurana (SP) 240 9 Interrelationship of texts so far discussed 242 10 Naradapurana (NP) 243 11 Adipurana (AP) 244 12 Bhusundiramayana (BRam) 245 13 The yogapTtha theme (PP, GLA, VRC, AY etc.) 246 14 Narayan Bhatt (VBV, VOC) 252 15 Vrajavilasastava (VVS) and shorter eulogies 255 16 Chaitanya's visit to Braj (KCC, CM, CC) 256 17 Narahari Chakravarti (BRat) and Sundarlal 258 18 Gargasamhita (GS) 259 19 Shorter texts dealing with Govardhan 261 20 Govardhan in the varta literature 261 file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00007.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:09] 21 Caurasi baithak caritra (CBC) 263 22 Jagatanand (GVY, VGV, VVV) 264 23 PTtambardas ki varta (PV) 265 24 Ban yatra parikrama (BYP) 266 25 Brajmandal kamalakar bhavna (BKB) 267 26 Brajnath(BP) 268 27 Other Pushtimarg texts 269 28 Braj poets 270 29 The account of a pilgrim from Bikaner (BYV) 270 30 Nagaridas (TA) 270 31 Somnath and Sudan (SC) 271 32 Chandralal, Abhayram, and Gopal Kavi (VDA) 271 33 Nawal Singh Pradhan (BBP) and Lakshminarayan Singh 273 34 Modern published sources 273 7 Some varieties of sacred place in Braj 1 The origins of pilgrimage in Braj 275 2 The primordiality of Govardhan 278 3 The original deity of Govardhan 280 4 Govardhan and serpent worship 286 5 The worship of Govardhan stones 288 6 Stone worship in general 289 7 The Yamuna 290 8 Bathing places 292 9 Groups of five bathing places (pahctTrth) 294 10 Wells 295 11 Trees 296 12 Forests, groves, and arbours 299 13 Goddesses 302 14 Shiva 303 15 The samadhi, baithak, and bhajan kutl 304 16 Parallels, imitation, and influence 306 8 The pilgrimage itinerary 309 Plates 429 Appendices 1 An obsolete itinerary for the circumambulation of Mathura 460 2 The forests and banyans listed by Narayan Bhatt 467 XI file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00008.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:09] 3 Places listed by Jagatanand and in Ban yatra parikrama 472 4 Some pilgrimage schedules 478 5 Fairs and festivals of Braj 482 Bibliography 492 Index 521 Key to maps 553 Maps 1 The pilgrimage circuit of Braj 2 Mathura 3 Vrindaban file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00009.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:10] Abbreviations AA AN AP ASI ASIAR AV AY BBP BC BhP BKB BP BRam BRat BYP BYV CBC CC CM EI GLA GM GVY GS HBV HV KCC KK MBh MM MS NBC Abu'l Fazl, Acin-i-Akbari Abu'l Fazl, Akbarnama Adipurana ( Vrndavanamcihatmya) Archaeological Survey of India Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report Astachap ki varta, attrib. Gokulnath Vrindabanchandradas, Astayam Nawal Singh Pradhan, Braj bhumi prakas Bhasa, Balacarita Bhagavatapurana Vallabhji, Brajmandal kamalakar bhavna Brajnath, Braj parikrama Bhusundiramayana (purvakhanda ) Narahari Chakravarti, Bhakti ratnakar Ban yatra parikrama, attrib. Gokulnath Maheshwari, BJkaneri yatra vivaran CaurasT baithak caritra, attrib. Gokulnath Krishnadas Kaviraj, Caitanya caritamrt Lochandas, Caitanya mahgal Epigraphia Indica Krishnadas Kaviraj, GovindalTlamrta Banmalilal Sharma, Gokul mahatmya Jagatanand, SrTgusSijT ki vanyatra Gargasamhita file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00010.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:10] Gopal Bhatt, Haribhaktivilasa Harivamsa Murari Gupta, Krsnacaitanyacaritamrta Lakshmidhara, Krtyakalpataru ( Mathuramahatmya ) Mahabharata Mathura Museum Anantadev, Mathurasetu Janakiprasad Bhatt, Narayanabhattacaritamrta XIII file:///W|/Resources/AA/00/00/03/01/00001/00010.txt[21/11/2016 07:19:10] NP Naradapurana PP Padmapurana (Venkateshwar Press edition) PV Pitambardas kT varta, attrib.