Upanishads

Krishna Upanishad

Atharvaveda
group of Upanishads – Vaishnava

Om! May our ears hear what is auspicious, O gods
May our eyes see what is auspicious, O worshipable ones!
May we enjoy the life span allotted by the gods,
Praising them unwaveringly with our bodies and limbs!
May the glorious Indra bless us!
May the omniscient Sun bless us!
May Garuda, the thunderstorm of the evil and wicked, bless us!
May Brihaspati grant us prosperity and good fortune! Om!
May peace be in me!
May peace be in my surroundings!
May peace be in the forces that act on me!

When the sages living in the forest visited Sri Ramachandra, who was an incarnation of the ever-joyful Lord and who was supremely beautiful, they were astonished and, at a loss, said, "We want to embrace You, O Lord." The Lord told them, "When I reincarnate as Lord Krishna, you will be born as gopis (cowherdmaids), and then you will be able to embrace Me." (Their desire was fulfilled during the Krishna avatara.)

During the Lord's incarnation as Krishna, Gokula became the forest heaven. Those who had previously performed austerities became the trees of that forest. Personages who were characterized by miserliness and anger became asuras. The advancing period of Kali-yuga was postponed until the period of reincarnation was over. That Hari, who was ravishingly beautiful, reincarnated as a gopala (cowherd girl). His playful nature (playing with the world) was an unknown secret. Because of this, the world was enchanted. The Upanishads and parts of the Vedas took the form of 16,108 virgins. "Compassion" took birth as mother Rohini, and "Mother Earth" took birth as Satyabhama. "Humility" took birth as Sudhama, Krishna's friend. "Control over the senses" took birth as the sage Uddhava, and "Truth" took birth as the sage Akrura. The broken pots of curd became an ocean of milk for Krishna to play with. This reincarnation was meant for the destruction of His enemies and the protection of the virtuous people. The sword in Krishna's hand was the Lord of destruction, Maheshvara himself. The sage Kasyapa took birth as a mortar in the house of Yashoda, and the mother goddess Aditi became the rope by which Krishna was tied to the mortar. Kali, who destroys all enemies, was the mace. The bow saranga (also sometimes "sharanga") was an illusion of the Lord. The harvest season of sharad (sharad) became food in his house. The lotus which he held playfully was the seed of the world. Although the world was not different from all this, it appeared different. Similarly, God himself also had no differences. And the Vaikuntha of those living in heaven was brought down to this world. Those who realize this correctly will obtain the fruits of their good deeds. They will be freed from the bondage of the body and attain salvation.

Om! May our ears hear what is auspicious, O gods
May our eyes see what is auspicious, O worshipable ones!
May we enjoy the life span allotted by the gods,
Praising them unwaveringly with our bodies and limbs!
May the glorious Indra bless us!
May the omniscient Sun bless us!
May Garuda, the thunderstorm of the evil and wicked, bless us!
May Brihaspati grant us prosperity and good fortune! Om!
May peace be in me!
May peace be in my surroundings!
May peace be in the forces that act on me!

Thus ends the Krishna Upanishad of the Atharva Veda.

The Krishna Upanishad was written during the Puranic period, that is, in our era, when many classical texts of Hinduism were edited and rewritten, and many later Puranas were written, for example, the controversial Padma Purana (which has come down to us in very different versions) and the Bhagavata Purana. See also Kalisantarana Upanishad.