Abstract:

This paper examines the Harivaṃśa’s presentation of the story of the Syamantaka jewel, which marks what appears to be an abrupt and awkward transition between the poem’s genealogical (vaṃśa) and biographical (carita) genres. I argue in this paper that the Syamantaka episode should be understood within its genealogical context, and that the story’s apparent displacement from Kṛṣṇa’s actual biography, far from representing an instance of poor editing, tells us a great deal about the importance of genealogy in early Indian thought.

Author: Christopher Austin