transitional level of 'the heaven of the doers of good deeds.' They have
also been granted the limited status of petty gods.


Note 6, p. 25.

_Harivansa_, 'the Genealogy of Krishna' but more literally, 'the Genealogy
of Hari,' a synonym for Vishnu. For the sake of clearness and to avoid
burdening the text with too much periphrasis, I have throughout referred
to Krishna as such. In the texts themselves, however, he is constantly
invoked under other names--Hari (or Vishnu), Govinda (the cowherd),
Keshava (the hairy or radiant one), Janarddana (the most worshipful),
Damodara ('bound with a rope,' referring to the incident (p. 32) when
having been tied by Yasoda to a mortar, Krishna uproots the two trees),
Murari ('foe of Mura, the arch demon' p. 58) or in phrases such as
'queller of Kaliya the snake,' 'destroyer of Kesi, the demon horse,'
'slayer of Madhu--the demon who sprang from the ear of Vishnu and was
killed by him.' A similar use of periphrasis occurs in Anglo-Saxon
kennings ('world-candle' for sun, 'battle-adders' for arrows). In the same
way, Abul Fazl's chronicle, the _Akbarnama_, never names the emperor Akbar
but refers to him in terms such as 'His Majesty,' 'the holy soul,' 'lord
of the age,' 'fountain of generosity,' 'the sacred heart,' 'the
world-adorning mind,' 'the decorated mansion of sports.'


Note 7, p. 26, 34, 46, 68, 69.

In Chapters 3 and 4 I have, in the main, strictly followed the _Bhagavata
Purana,_ incorporating, however, a few important details and passages
either not given in this text but included in the _Vishnu Purana_ or if