491:1 The whole of this book is dedicated to the biography of Krishńa. Many of the Puráńas omit this subject altogether, or only allude to it occasionally. In others it is equally prominent. The Bráhma P. gives the story exactly in the same words as our text: which has the best right to them may be questioned; but, as it is usually met with, the Bráhma P. is a very heterogeneous compilation. The Hari Vanśa has a narrative more detailed than that of the text, with additions and embellishments of its own. The Brahma Vaivartta throughout celebrates the acts of Krishńa; and one portion of it, the Krishńa Janma Khańd́a, especially describes his boyhood and youth. The incidents are the same in general as those in the text, but they are lost amidst interminable descriptions of Krishńa's sports with the Gopís and with his mistress Rádhá, a person not noticed elsewhere; the whole is in a style indicative of a modern origin. The Agni P. and Padma P. (Uttara Khańd́a) have accounts of Krishńa, but they are mere summaries, compiled evidently from other works. The principal authority for the adventures of Krishńa is the Bhágavata, the tenth book of which is exclusively devoted to him. It is this work which has, no doubt, mainly extended the worship of Krishńa, as its popularity is evinced by its having been translated into all the spoken languages of India professing to have a literature. The Prem-sagar, its Hindi version, is well known; but there are also translations in Mahratta, Telugu, Tamil, &c. It does not seem likely, however, that the Vishńu P. has copied the Bhágavata; for although. its greater conciseness may sometimes look like abridgment, yet the descriptions are generally of a more simple and antiquated character. Here, as usual, the p. 492 Mahábhárata is no doubt the earliest extant authority; but it is not the earliest, for whilst it omits to narrate most of his personal adventures unconnected with his alliance with the Páńd́avas, it often alludes to them, and names repeatedly his capital, his wives, and his progeny. It also devotes a section, the Mauśala P., to the destruction of the Yádavas. The story of Krishńa the prince and hero must have been complete when the Mahábhárata was compiled. It is doubtful, however, if Krishńa the boy, and his adventures at Vrindávan, were not subsequent inventions. There are no allusions to them in the poem, of an unsuspicious nature. The only ones that I have met with are contained in a speech by Śiśupála, Sabhá P., vol. I. p. 360, in which he reviles Krishńa; but they may easily have been interpolated. There may be others scattered through the poem, but I have not observed them.