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33. Allusions to Vasudeva Krishna Devakiputra in the 
Vedic Literature, 
By H. C. Ray. 
lt is not generally known that the name of Vasudeva 
Krishna Devakiputra is mentioned, not only in the Epics 
id the Puranas, but also in at least two works of the 
Vedic Literature. The tenth eee of the Taittiriya 
Aranyaka contains the followi ing passage 
Ndrdyandya vidmahe, Vasudevdya diiuade tanno Vishnu 
Teta hes Here Vasudeva (Krishna) is not only mentioned 
yn but is already identified with Naraya na- Vishnu. 
Sevural: ister: however, regard the 10th prapathaka of the 
Taittiriya Aranyaka as a late addition. But there is at 
least one reference to Krishna in a Vedic work about the 
antiquity of which there cannot be any question. In the 
Chhandogya Upanisad (II 17.4) we come across a Rishi named 
Ghora Angirasa and his pupil Krishna Devakiputra. Grierson, 
Garbe, von Schroeder, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and 
many other scholars rightly recognise in the latter the 
great warrior-teacher of the Mahabharata. In a recent 
issue of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Soo however, 
Mr. Pargiter rejects the identification as unsou e says: 
“Krishna was a very common name, and De teks (and so 
9s feminine Devaki) an ordinary name, and to identify the 
two persons because of the similarity of names, in spite of 
the patent differences, is as unsound as, for instance, to 
identify James I and James the Old Pretender, because 
their mothers were named Mary, or to make George I, 
George II and George 1V one person hoows they all had 
mothers named Sophia.”” Now, nobody denies that Krishna 
was a very common name. But to say that a second one 
i re 
very cogent proofs to substantiate it. Mr. Pargiter cites 
Some instances from British History of different persons having 
same names and metronymies. But those instances are 
not altogether appropriate because, in the West, Princes 
be aS nein Tee one and me same family often have similar 
