Krishna

by Ramesh Menon

This is a magical, unexpurgated life of Krishna, told in a spirit of bhakti for the modern reader. The book opens on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, on the brink of war, when the great Pandava warrior Arjuna suffers a crisis of courage and conscience. His divine cousin and charioteer, Krishna, begins to expound the eternal dharma to him. The exposition between two teeming armies is the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song of God. The story shifts back to Krishna's birth, and then again to the battlefield; and so on, from his Gita to the Avatara's life, until both narratives flow together, just before the Great War erupts. Never before have Krishna's holy Gita (from the Mahabharata) and his brilliant, unforgettable life (from the Bhagavata Purana) been juxtaposed so vividly and with such enchantment as in this book. Ramesh Menon has written several widely read books in the Great Indian Tradition. These include the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Siva Purana, the Devi Bhagavatam, and the Bhagavata Purana. He has also translated the Bhagavad Gita in verse from the Sanskrit in a separate volume.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 14, 2013

Reviews

[Tejas Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divine hymn

Beautifully woven together by the author, the parallel flow of the Srimad Bhagvad Gita and Srimad Bhagvad Puran until the merge at the end. With Wonderful description and elicit vocabulary the author make us relive the times. Thank you for this great service.

[Anand Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immortal Among Mortals: Krishna's myth
Book Review for Krishna by Ramesh Menon
This book integrates Bhagavad Gita and the story of Krishna (from Bhagavata Purana). The story goes back and forth between Purusa (Bhagavad Gita part) and Prakriti (Stories taken from Bhagavata Puruna). I also believe that some stories in Prakriti part is from Harivamsa, as no book on Krishna can be completed without inclusion from that book. I didn't find a strong reason between why the author switch between Bhagavad Gita (which is primarily philosophical and almost without a plot) to Krishna's stories.
The book narrates the stories since the birth of Krishna and ends with his death. The basic idea behind Krishana's life is the fire he carries within or at least that's the reason put forward by the author for his lust for butter, sex, and wars. Whether it satisfies one or not, the reason put forward by the author is unique. The author also goes in his psyche after his deeds and like a human, he does feel empty and depressed, despite the fact that he has everything. By the end of his life, he feels alone as Balrama has also left him and no amount of liquor or sex could bring him peace. As the author suggested, it's not easy for an immortal to live a life of mortal person, amid mortals.
There are so many new stories here which I haven't know before.
Rape of Ugrasena's wife by Dharmila, a ghandarva elf, and origin of Kamsa
Some of Krishna's childhood stories for example Sakatasura (Cart Demon), Dhenuka (Donkey Demon), Trinavarta (Storm Demon), Bakasura (Putana's brother and Golden Crane Demon)
Kubja, the hunchback woman of mathura, who is cured by Krishna and Krishna visited him several time to quench his lust
Myth of Kalayavana, the Black Greek, Myth of Dantavakra (Crooked-teeth) of Kalinga, and Myth of Dvivida, the Highway Rapist, Myth of Imposter Krishna (Paundraka), Myth of Salva, one of deadliest villain Krishna ever faced
How Krishna's marriage to Jambavati and Satyabhama was linked to famous Syamantaka Jewel story
Krishna's aerial sex with Satyabhama on the back of Garuda
Samba's joke and destruction of yadava clan
and what i have learned new with this book:
King Kamsa, maternal uncle of Krishna, was a master of potions, like a great, or let's say twisted pharmacologist. He used to make this potions which confers inhuman virility, excites lust in chaste women, inflicts pain, and bestows superhuman strength, to name a few. He also murder countless babies once he came to know "by a sound" that the one who is destined to kill him has survived. So, much he believed in destiny.
Krishna was raised by gopas, who are sudras.
Radha, the focus of his desire, had a husband named Ayyan.

Reason for King Jarasandha's enmity with Krishna: Krishna killed Kamsa, who married Jarasandha's daughters.
Overall, the author has done a great job in collectively narrating Krishna stories. Whether you like him as a mythological character, a mortal yadava, a military strategist, or a God, you are in for a different interpretation of Krishna. However, to check the veracity of his lust for sex and wars, I should read Harivamsa.

[Prishalini · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read. A great summary of Lord Krishna’s Pastimes as well as the Bhagavad Gita. However, some of the parts seems exaggerated and makes me wonder would this how an exalted personality would behave? One example would be the interaction between Radha and Krishna, it seems too explicit and confusing. The author failed to mention about Subhadra as well. The book seemed to be fast paced and sometimes missing out actual points of the story or rushing through the narration.

Overall, it did provide a fairly accurate story of the Bhagavad Gita and Krishna’s past times.

[Catherine Gatzimos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that goes back and forth between the poetry and brilliant light of the Bhagavad Gita (Arjuna’s conversation with Krishna on Kurukshetra field) and Krishna’s life. As always Ramesh Menon’s writing style is poetic and beautiful. A wonderfully entertaining read and really essential for anyone wanting to learn about the blue god, Krishna.