only serious rival being another and earlier incarnation of Vishnu, the
princely Rama. The latter can usually be distinguished from Krishna by the
fact that he carries a bow (never a cowherd's stick) and is often
accompanied by Hanuman, the monkey leader.


Note 3, p. 17.

For a comparison of Ghora Angirasa's teaching in the _Chandogya Upanishad_
with Krishna's precepts in the _Gita_, see Mazumdar, _The Age of Imperial
Unity_ (432-4) and Basham, _The Wonder that was India_ (242-7, 304-5)


Note 4, p. 17.

Although the actual date of the _Mahabharata_ war has been variously
assessed--'between 1400 and 1000 B.C.' (M.A. Mehendale in _The Age of
Imperial Unity_, 251) 'the beginning of the ninth century B.C. (Basham,
op. cit., 39)--the epic itself is generally recognized as being a product
of many centuries of compilation. The portions relating to Krishna the
hero may well date from the third century B.C. The _Gita_, on the other
hand, was possibly composed in the second century B.C. 'but assumed the
form in which it appears in the _Mahabharata_ today in the early centuries
A.D.' (Mehendale, op. cit., 249).


Note 5, p. 24.

The implication is that the Pandavas have not been granted ultimate
salvation i.e. final release from living but have reached the important