Krsna and his rivals in the Hindu and Jaina traditions1

This paper compares the relationship between the vāsudeva Kr̥s˙ n˙ a and his prativāsudeva rival Jarāsandha in the Jaina tradition (primarily in Hemacandra’s Tris ˙ as ˙ t ˙ iśalākāpurus ˙ acarita) with Kr̥s˙ n˙ a Vāsudeva’s rivalries with Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla and Paun ˙ d˙ raka in the Mahābhārata and Hindu purān ˙ as. Three main points arising from this comparison are proposed. First, the Jainas conflated characteristics of the Hindu figures Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla and Paun ˙ d˙ raka in order to create a new Jarāsandha, who was now a single powerful nemesis for Kr̥s˙ n˙ a. Second, this new relationship between Kr̥s˙ n˙ a and Jarāsandha provided the template for a new class of Illustrious Beings (śalākāpurus ˙ as) in the Jaina Universal History: the recurring and paradigmatic vāsudevas and prativāsudevas. And third, this evolution of Kr̥s˙ n˙ a mythology in the Jaina tradition may have influenced the parallel development in the Hindu tradition, including the creation of the vais ˙ n ˙ ava ten avatāras doctrine, and the expansion of the purān˙ ic mythology surrounding both Jarāsandha and Śiśupāla.