View source for Religion:Harivamsa

{{Short description|Work of Sanskrit literature}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
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{{Hindu scriptures}}
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[[File:Parashurama leads Krishna and Balarama toward Mount Gomanta.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Religion:Parashurama|Parashurama]] leads Krishna and Balarama toward Mount Gomanta. Miniature from a ''Harivamsha'' series ascribed to Purkhu of Kangra. Kangra, c. 1800-1815. Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh]]
The '''''Harivamsa''''' ({{Lang-sa|हरिवंश|lit= The genealogy of [[Hari]]}}, {{IAST3|Harivamśa}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Asian arts - Sanskrit: epic and didactic literature (400 bc–ad 1000) {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/South-Asian-arts/Sanskrit-epic-and-didactic-literature-400-bc-ad-1000 |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> is an important work of [[Religion:Sanskrit literature|Sanskrit literature]], containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the ''anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to be a ''khila'' (appendix or supplement) to the ''[[Religion:Mahabharata|Mahabharata]]''<ref name="Datta"/><ref name=mahabharata>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs01002.htm The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book I: Chapter 2] in sacred-texts.com website, (MBh.1.2.69): "hari vaṃśas tataḥ parva purāṇaṃ khila saṃjñitam bhaviṣyat parva cāpy uktaṃ khileṣv evādbhutaṃ mahat." ["Hari Vamsa Purana known as Khila (supplement) and Bhavishya Parva also spoken as Khila are wonderful and great"].</ref> and is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa. The most celebrated commentary of the ''Mahabharata'' by Neelakantha Chaturdhara, the ''Bharata Bhava Deepa'' also covers the ''Harivamsa''. According to a traditional version of the [[Religion:Mahabharata|Mahabharata]], the ''Harivamsa'' is divided into two ''parvas'' (books) and 12,000 verses.<ref name="Datta"> Datta, Manmathanatha, [Manmatha Nath Dutt], (1895). [https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoog/page/n35/mode/1up A prose English translation of the Mahabharata (tr. literally from the original Sanskrit text)], Adi Parva, Mahabharata 1.2.377-378, Printed by H.C. Dass, Calcutta, p. 21: "There are Harivansa and Vavisya in its appendix. The number of slokas composed by the great Rishi in the Harivansa, is twelve thousand. These are the contents of the chapters called Parva Sangraha in the Bharata."</ref> These are included with the eighteen ''parvas'' of the ''Mahabharata''.<ref name=mahabharata/> The Critical Edition has three ''parvas'' and 5,965 verses.<ref>Debroy, Bibeck, (2016). [https://books.google.com.bo/books?id=BRnpDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT12&hl=es&source=gbs%20toc%20r&cad=3 ''Harivamsha''], Penguin Books India, Gurgaon, "Introduction": "There are thus 5,965 shlokas in all of ''Harivamsha''. Non-Critical versions will often have doubled this number, reflective of the slashing."</ref>

The Adi Parva of Harivamsa describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary history of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]]. Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the ''Mahabharata''.<ref name=mw426>Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-0836408010}}, pages 426-431</ref> Bhavishya Parva, the third book, includes two alternate creation theories, hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of the Kali Yuga.<ref>Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-0836408010}}, pages 432-435</ref> While the ''Harivamsa'' has been regarded as an important source of information on the origin of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]]'s incarnation Krishna, there has been speculation as to whether this text was derived from an earlier text and what its relationship is to the Brahma Purana, another text that deals with the origins of Krishna.<ref>Ruben, Walter, (1941). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/594498 "The Kṛṣṇacarita in the Harivaṃśa and Certain Purāṇas"], Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 3, p.115.</ref>

==Chronology==

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[[File:Dwarka1.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Dwarka is the setting for many chapters in the ''Harivamsa''.<ref>Manmatha Nath Dutt, [https://archive.org/stream/Vishnupurana-English-MnDutt#page/n15/mode/2up Vishnu Purana], Harivamsa (1896), pages 283-286</ref> The city is described as near the sea, in modern era Gujarat; a painting of the city in the 19th century (lower).]]
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The bulk of the text is derived from two traditions, the {{IAST|pañcalakṣaṇa}} tradition, that is, the five marks of the Purana corpus one of which is the ''{{IAST|vaṃśa}}'' genealogy, and stories about the life of Krishna as a herdsman.

The text is complex, containing layers that go back to the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE.<ref>Bhattacharya, Pradip, (May 27, 2017). [https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-the-harivansha-the-significance-of-a-neglected-text/ "Review of André Couture: Krsna in the Harivamsha, Vol. 1, 2015"]: "Couture finds no cogent basis for Vaidya’s dating of the HV to 300 or 400 CE. The recent conclusions of scholars like Hiltebeitel, Bailey, Sutton, Biardeau and Fitzgerald that the MB was compiled between 200 BCE and 200 CE as a response to Buddhism, would apply equally to the HV."</ref>

Probably there was an oral previous version because later in time, the text was enlarged by additions and was matched in style to the Mahabharata.<ref>Ruben, Walter, (1941). "The Krsnacarita in the Harivamsa and Certain Puranas," Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 3, p.124.</ref> 

The origin of this appendix is not precisely known but it is apparent that it was a part of the ''Mahabharata'' by the 1st century CE because "the poet Ashvaghosha quotes a couple of verses, attributing them to the ''Mahabharata'', which are now only found in the ''Harivamsa''."<ref>Datta, Amaresh (ed.), 1988. [https://search.worldcat.org/es/title/encyclopaedia-of-indian-literature-vol-2-devraj-to-jyoti/oclc/34346334 Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, Vol. 2: Devraj to Jyoti], Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, p. 1558.</ref>

Sivaprasad Bhattacharyya, also considered that Ashvaghosha referred to the Harivamsa, and found internal and external evidence that it was an authoritative text by the first century CE and that its later redaction took place around the end of the second or beginning of the third century CE.<ref>Lorenz, Ekkehard, (2007). [https://ia600100.us.archive.org/29/items/Pushtimarg/Bryant_Edwin_F._%28editor%29_-_Krishna__A_Sourcebook.pdf "The Harivamsa: The Dynasty of Krishna"], in: Edwin F. Bryant (ed.), Krishna: A Sourcebook, Oxford University Press, p. 97.</ref>

Edward Washburn Hopkins considered the ''Mahabharata'' increased by the addition of the ''Harivamsa'' c. 200 CE,<ref>Hopkins, Washburn E., (2020) [1915]. [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111551999-001/html "Date of Epic Poetry"], in: E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic Mythology, '''p. 1''': "The Mahabharata has been increased by the late addition of the Harivamsha (perhaps 200 A. D.) [...]"</ref> but also the possible existence of Harivamsa as part of the around hundred thousand verses within the Mahabharata as it can be attested in the Southern recension of the latter.<ref>Hopkins, Washburn E., (2020) [1915]. [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111551999-002/html "Date of Epic Poetry"], in: E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic Mythology, '''p. 2''': "Northern version [of the Mahabharata] contains 84,126 verses, which, with the 16,375(526) verses of the Harivamsha, make 100,501(651) verses [...] It is therefore doubtful whether the attribution of a lakh of verses [in the Mahabharata] necessarily implies the existence, as part of the lakh, of the Harivamsha. Yet on the whole this is probable, owing to the fact that the   expansion in [the Southern recension] appears for the most part to be due rather to the inclusion of new material than to the retention of old passages."</ref>

R. C. Hazra has dated the Purana to the 4th century CE on the basis of the description of the [[Philosophy:Rasa lila|rasa lila]] in it, as according to him, the ''Visnu Purana'' and the ''[[Religion:Bhagavata Purana|Bhagavata Purana]]'' belong to the 5th century CE and 6th century CE respectively.<ref>Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, (1975)[1940]. [https://books.google.com.bo/books?id=Jar4V3piCeQC&q=Harivamsa&hl=es&source=gbs%20word%20cloud%20r&cad=4 Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs], Motilal Banarsidass, p. 55: "[V]isnu-p. is earlier than the Bhagavata [...] Harivamsa also [...] being dated about 400 A. D. [...] Thus the date of composition of the Bhagavata falls in the sixth century A. D."</ref> According to Dikshit, the date of the ''Matsya Purana'' is 3rd century CE.  When we compare the biography of Krishna, the account of Raji, and some other episodes as depicted in the {{IAST|Harivaṃśa}}, it appears to be anterior to the former. Therefore, the {{IAST|Viṣṇu parva}} and the {{IAST|Bhaviṣya parva}} can be dated to at least the 3rd century CE.

J. L. Masson and D. H. H. Ingalls regard the language of Harivamsa not later than 2nd or 3rd century CE and possibly from the 1st century CE; and André Couture that Mathura's description in Harivamsa is similar to cities of Kushana period (1st to mid-3rd century CE).<ref>Bhattacharya, Pradip, (May 27, 2017). [https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-the-harivansha-the-significance-of-a-neglected-text/ "Review of André Couture: Krsna in the Harivamsha, Vol. 1, 2015"]: "[C]outure conclude[s] that the Mathura described in the HV is evocative of cities of the Kushana era (1st to mid-3rd century CE) and not of the end of the Dvapara Yuga [...]"</ref>

By its style and contents, the {{IAST|Harivaṃśa parva}} appears to be anterior to the {{IAST|Viṣṇu parva}} and {{IAST|Bhaviṣya parva}}. The verses quoted by Asvaghosa belong to this parva. On this basis, we can safely assume the {{IAST|Harivaṃśa parva}} (except for the later interpolations) to be at least as old as the 1st century CE.

==Editions==

The {{IAST|Harivamśa}} is available in three editions. The vulgate text of the {{IAST|Harivamśa}} has total 271 {{IAST|adhyāya}}s (chapters), divided into three ''parvas'', {{IAST|Harivaṃśa parva}} (55 chapters), {{IAST|Viṣṇu parva}} (81 chapters) and {{IAST|Bhaviṣya parva}} (135 chapters). The traditional edition contains 12000 shlokas (verses) 2 sub-parvas, the Harivamsa Parva (187 chapters) and the Bhavishya Parva (48 chapters) with a total of 235 chapters. The Critical Edition or CE (1969–71,  Ed. P.L.Vaidya), estimated to be c. 300 Common Era by Vaidya,<ref>Hein, Norvin, (May, 1986). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062622 "A Revolution in Kṛṣṇaism: The Cult of Gopāla"], in: History of Religions, Vol. 25, No. 4, Religion and Change: ASSR Anniversary Volume, The University of Chicago Press, p. 296.</ref> is around a third (118 chapters in 6073 slokas)<ref>Bhattacharya, Pradip, (May 27, 2017). [https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-the-harivansha-the-significance-of-a-neglected-text/ "Review of André Couture: Krsna in the Harivamsha, Vol. 1, 2015"].</ref> of this vulgate edition. Like the vulgate, the chapters in the CE are divided into three parvas, {{IAST|Harivaṃśa parva}} (chapters 1-45), {{IAST|Viṣṇu parva}} (chapters 46-113) and {{IAST|Bhaviṣya parva}} (chapters 114 -118). Vaidya suggests that even the CE represents an expanded text and proposes that the oldest form of {{IAST|Harivamśa}} probably began with chapter 20 (which is where ''[[Religion:Agni Purana|Agni Purana]]'' 12 places its start) and must have ended with chapter 98 of his text.<ref>[{{IAST|Harivaṃśa}} 1969-71: 785, XXX and 795]</ref>

==Translations==

[[File:Dwarka.jpg|thumb|250px|City of Dwarka in Harivamsa, as painted for the Mughal emperor Akbar]]

The ''Harivamsa'' has been translated in many Indian vernacular languages; The vulgate version containing 3 books and 271 chapters has not been translated into English yet. The only [[Social:English language|English]] translation of the traditional version containing 2 sub-parvas (Harivamsa parva - 187 chapters and Bhavishya parva - 48 chapters, a total of 235 chapters) is by Manmatha Nath Dutt in 1897 and it is in the public domain. The critical edition has been translated into English twice so far, once in 2016 by Bibek Debroy and by Simon Brodbeck in 2019.

It has been translated into [[Social:French language|French]] by M. A. Langlois,1834–35. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027095422/http://geocities.com/harindranath_a/maha/transm.html  Translations of the Harivamsa]</ref>

==See also==
*First book of Mahabharata: Adi Parva
*Previous book of Mahabharata: Svargarohana Parva

==Notes==
<references/>

==References==
* Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, p.&nbsp;410
* Winternitz, Maurice (1981) History of Indian Literature Vol. I. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
* Ruben, Walter (1941) "The Krsnacarita in the Harivamsa and Certain Puranas.”  ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. Vol. 61, No.3. pp.&nbsp;115–127.
* Lorenz, Ekkehard (2007) ''The Harivamsa: The Dynasty of Krishna'', in Edwin F. Bryant (ed.), Krishna, A Source Book,  Oxford University Press.
* Shastri, Rajendra Muni, ''Jaina Sahitya mein Sri Krishna Charita'', Jaipur, Prakrit Bharati Akademi, 1991.

==External links==
*[http://www.mahabharata-resources.org/harivamsa/ Original Sanskrit text online with English translation]
*Manmatha Nath Dutt, [https://archive.org/stream/Vishnupurana-English-MnDutt#page/n15/mode/2up Vishnu Purana], English Translation of Book 2 of Harivamsa (1896)
*Alexandre Langlois, [https://archive.org/stream/harivansaouhist00langgoog#page/n6/mode/2up Harivansa: ou histoire de la famille de Hari], French Translation of Harivamsa (1834)
*[http://www.vyasamadhwa.org/upanyasa/Harivamsha/ Discourse on Harvamsha] by Dr Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya

[[Category:Hindu texts]]
[[Category:Sanskrit texts]]

{{Sourceattribution|Harivamsa}}