Jesus And Krishna

Jesus and Krishna: Two Peas in a religious pod

The parallels found between the lives of Krishna, the second person of the Hindu Trinity and of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the second part of the Christian Holy Trinity have raised debate about the truth and validity of both religious characters in both Christianity and Hindu for years. Krishna was considered to be the incarnation of the God Vishnu. He is thought to have lived on earth approximately during the 2nd and 3rd century BCE. However, “Traditional belief based on scriptural details and astrological calculations gives Krishna’s birth” year as 3228 BCE. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is generally regarded as having been born in Palestine circa 4 to 7 BCE. Thus by looking at the many similarities between the two, most skeptics and religious liberals would accept that elements of Krishna’s life were incorporated into the legends associated with Jesus Christ, rather than vice-versa. As it can be imagined this is not the opinion accepted by most conservative Christians, who believe that “the similarities between the two are lies created by Satan or simply a coincidence”. Throughout both of their legends Jesus and Krishna shared similar births, lives and deaths.

Each legend begins with a miraculous birth story. That of which a virgin conceives by the holy divinity of God. The Virgin Mary is visited by an angel who tells her, “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women....Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house fo Jacob forever; and of this kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:28-33). Similarly the Virgin Devaki, the mother of Krishna, is visited by an angel who tells her, “ In thy delivery, O favored among women, all nations shall have cause to rejoice.” (BE 10:12-13). Both infants births occur while their fathers are in their native cities paying taxes, Joseph the carpenter to the Governor of Galilee and Nanda the carpenter to the King Kansa. Each birth is heralded by the east star which shawn over the cave which Krishna was born in and the manger which Jesus was born in. Both these birth places were considered to be extremely lower class and not fit for the birth of a king. Shortly after birth both infants were visited by three wise men bearing gifts fit for a king. With the prophecies of Krishna’s birth, came the fear from King Kansa that Krishna would take the thrown from him. Out of fear for his crown he ordered that all males born on the same day as Krishna be killed. In the legend of Jesus Christ, King Herod hears of the prophecy of Jesus and orders the slaughter of all infants born on the day that Jesus was born, the 25th of December, the same day which Devaki gave birth to Krishna. In order to save Krishna, Nanda is warned by an angel of King Kansa plan and is told to flee with Krishna by crossing the Jumna River to Mathura. Jesus’ life is spared a similar way when Joseph is warned in a dream to flee from King Herod into Egypt with the infant and Mary.

As their stories continue the similarities continue as well. As adults both Jesus and Krishna withdrew in the wilderness and fasted. Jesus was considered “the lion of the tribe of Judah.”.Similarly Krishna was called “ the lion of the tribe of Saki.” Both were known for their miracles, including the healing of disease. One of the first miracles performed by each of them was to make a leper whole. Both cast out indwelling demons, and raised the dead. Krishna and Jesus both had 12 disciples, who spread their teachings. It is known that they were meek and merciful and criticized for associating with sinners. The stories talk about how they both encountered a Gentile women at a well. Both men claimed to have existed before their birth on earth and claimed to be the Resurrection. It has been found in both scriptures that the purpose of both Jesus and Krishna’s coming was “to bring about a victory of good over evil. ” and “to cleanse the sins of human beings. ”

The parallels between Jesus and Krishna continue as they approached death. Both Krishna and Jesus celebrated a last supper and at it forgave their enemies. They were both crucified and on the cross were wounded by a spear/arrow. From the sixth hour to the ninth hour on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, the sun darkened and at noon on the day of Krishna’s crucifixion, the sun darkened. Finally both Jesus and Krishna descended into Hell, raised from the dead and with them brought back two boys and then were witnessed as they ascended into heaven.

After viewing all the similarities between the two men, the question arises �what does this all mean for Christianity?’ If historically Krishna came before Jesus then it can be assumed that Jesus’ story is somewhat based on the legend of Krishna. Although looking at various religions it becomes apparent that Krishna is not the only holy character that seems to follow the same story of Jesus Christ. In almost every religion you can find a character with the main traits of Jesus Christ, including Horus which

dates back to early Egyptian hieroglyphics. So what explanation do Christians give us about the almost identical lives of Jesus and Krishna or other religions characters. Many early Christian theologians noted the extreme similarity between the life of Jesus Christ and other religious figures such as Krishna. Eusebius of Caesarea (circa 281-371 CE) wrote: “The religion of Jesus Christ is neither new nor strange. ” and St. Augustine of Hippo (354-420 CE) stated: “This, in our day, is