Classic to Modern English Literature

The Beginning and Timeline of Lord Krishna:  1. The cycle of folklore and popular belief which centers round Krishna, one of the most important elements in the neo-Brahmanical creed of modern India, forms an interesting chapter in the development of Hindu religious myth and culture. It is a faith without a definite creed, with no church, no pope, no convocation, catering to the needs of jungle-folk on the borderland of savagery and for the keen-witted religious disputants, the Vedantists of Mathura. 2. When we find that five and a half million people in the Punjab and North-Western Provinces profess devotion to Krishna, we may assume that a much larger number revere him as a member of the class of deities known generally as Vaishnava, or grouped around the personality of Vishnu. 3. We first hear of Krishna, son of Devaki, in the Chhandogya Upanishad, one of the supplements to the Sama Veda, which are clearly later than the Sanhitas or Brahmanas. In their present recension, they embody