11. The Vision of Lord Krishna

Bankim Chandra's novels made him famous. But he has also written excellent books which are not novels. 'Krishna Charitra', 'Dharmatattva' (Philosophy of Religion), 'Devatattva' (Principle of Divinity) and a commentary on 'Srimadbhagavadgeetha' are some of his other books. He wrote articles onHinduism both in English and in Bengali. He had deeply studied choice books in English. Besides, he had himself grown up in an orthodox Hindu family. Bankim Chandra was an original thinker, too. The 'Krishna Charitra' is a fine work. To most Hindus Krishna is the incarnation of God and so they worship him. But there are many legends and beliefs associated with Krishna which sometimes make one think. 'Does Krishna deserve to be worshipped?' One such belief, for example, is that Krishna had sixteen thousand wives. Bankim Chandra had studied the 'Mahabharatha', the'Harivamsha'and the Puranas which narrate the story of Lord Krishna's life. In his work he examines the accounts contained in each of these books, and what we may accept and what we should reject, and give reasons. According to him there is no higher religion or nobler way of life than that preached by Krishna; Krishna is holiness himself. He was full of compassion and lived only for the sake of justice. He desired nothing for himself. ' Bankim Chandra shows that Krishna is an ascetic even though he lived in the midst of people. source