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Garga Samhita
File:Garga Sanhita.jpg
Front cover of Garga Sanhita published by Gita Press, Gorakhpur
Information
ReligionHinduism
AuthorGarga
LanguageSanskrit
Chapters267
Verses12,000

Garga-samhita (Sanskrit: गर्ग संहिता, IAST: Garga-saṃhitā) is an ancient Sanskrit-language Vaishnavite scripture based on Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. Its authorship is attributed to the sage Garga, the head priest of Krishna's clan Yadava.[1][2] It is the earliest text that associates Radha Krishna and gopis with the Holi festival.[3]

Chapters

Garga-Sanmita[lower-alpha 1] contains 11 khandas or parts:[4][1]

Garga-samhita contents
# Khanda (Book) Number of chapters Content
1 Goloka-khanda 20 Pastimes of Radha Krishna in Goloka, Structure of Goloka.
2 Vrindavana-khanda 26 Krishna's pastimes with Radha, Gopis and Gopas (cowherds); identifies various places (including Vrindavan) in the Mathura mandala (region) as the sites of these events.
3 Giriraja-khanda 11 Divinity of Govardhan Hill and its festivals
4 Madhurya-khanda 24 Love life of Radha Krishna in Vrindavan, including descriptions of Radha Krishna, Gopis, and Yamuna
5 Mathura-khanda 25 Krishna's return to Mathura, and his killing of Kamsa; conversation between Uddhava and Gopis
6 Dvaraka-khanda 22 Foundation of the Dvārakā city, its description, and Krishna's pastimes there
7 Vishvajit-khanda 50 Krishna's exploits and divinity, including his role in the Mahabharata War
8 Balabhadra-khanda 13 Balarama's exploits and divinity
9 Vijnana-khanda 10 Devotional instructions for deity worship; it is a concluding chapter, suggesting that the original text comprised only nine books
10 Ashvamedha-khanda 62 Ugrasena's ashvamedha; Radha-Krishna's reunion in Vrindavan and departure to Goloka; believed to be a later addition to the text
11 Garga-samhita Mahatmaya 4 Significance of Garga-samhita

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A sanmita is the collection of verses, hymns, prayers and mantras.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.
  2. ↑ Danavir Goswami; Kusakratha Dasa, eds. (2006). Kr̥ṣṇa Comes to Earth (Śrī Garga-saṃhitā: Ist canto, pt. 2. ch. 7-13). Rupanuga Vedic College. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  3. ↑ Varadpande, M. L. (2007). Love in Ancient India. Wisdom Tree. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-81-8328-217-8.
  4. ↑ Gita Press Gorakhpur. Garga Samhita Gita Press Gorakhpur.

Further reading