Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Krishna
Krishna is born to Devaki under threat from Kans, who has heard that her eighth son will kill him. His first appearance reveals a crowned, four-armed divine form, but he then becomes an ordinary-looking child whom his parents seek to protect. As Arjuna’s teacher, Krishna joins devotion with action performed without attachment to its fruits. The collection places this teaching beside the warrior’s reluctance to fight, making the problem of duty central to the encounter.
Also known as Kṛṣṇa · Govinda
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalKrishna is born to Devaki under threat from Kans, who has heard that her eighth son will kill him. His first appearance reveals a crowned, four-armed divine form, but he then becomes an ordinary-looking child whom his parents seek to protect.
Further detail
TraditionalAs Arjuna’s teacher, Krishna joins devotion with action performed without attachment to its fruits. The collection places this teaching beside the warrior’s reluctance to fight, making the problem of duty central to the encounter.
Context & interpretation
This entry links the birth narrative and the collection’s Bhagavad Gita discussion. Both present religious tradition through an early twentieth-century retelling; the passages do not define all Krishna traditions or independently establish the miraculous events described.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
Then he became again a human childOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 268
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0268
- Original scan leaf
- 268
- Recorded leaf number
- 268
- Current Reader position
- 259
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
without attachment to the fruits of actionOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 231
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0231
- Original scan leaf
- 231
- Recorded leaf number
- 231
- Current Reader position
- 222
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Vishnu
The divine figure whose descent into human life makes the defeat of Ravana possible.
Same subject and traditionAshvins
The twin divine physicians whose gift of youth earns a place in the gods’ offerings.
Same subject and traditionBalarama
Krishna’s brother, associated in the collection with the serpent Shesha.
Same subject and traditionBrahma
The creative aspect of the divine, distinct in the collection from the absolute Brahman.