Krishna worship and Ratha Yatra Festival in Ancient Egypt?

Note: This article has been published on the Iskcon News site, the Graham Hancock website, eSamskriti, Satyameva Jayate and the Viewzone Magazine.

Amun and Krishna

An interesting piece of information caught my attention during my journey across the sacred sites of Egypt in early 2010. During the light and sound show in the magnificent temple complex of Karnak, I heard a voice booming over the loudspeakers: “I am Amon-Ra...The waters of the Nile sprout from my sandals.” As soon as I heard this, I was reminded of the Creator God Vishnu in Hinduism. In the typical depiction of Vishnu in Hindu iconography, the sacred river Ganges is shown emerging from the toe of Vishnu, while in Egypt the waters of the Nile sprout from the sandals of Amun.

I knew that Amun was the presiding deity of Karnak, and he was worshiped there as the Creator God, along with his wife Mut, and his son Khonsu. The next day, while discussing about the light and sound show with my tour guide, he gave me another piece of information that I was not aware of, and that took me by surprise: “Amun was depicted in funerary art and temple inscriptions with a blue skin colour, with feathers in his headdress.”

Now, if anyone travels to India, and he talks to the people there about a god having a blue skin colour, with feathers in his headdress, and from whose sandals or toes a sacred river emerges, he will get a single answer: Vishnu, or more likely Krishna, for it is Krishna who was always depicted with peacock feathers in his headdress.

Fig1: The blue-complexioned Amun. Source: edupics.com

Fig 2: Krishna with Radha, 18th century Rajasthani painting.

This realization has significant implications. Krishna is an Indian deity, whose demise in 3102 BC signified the start of the present Kali Yuga in the Vedic Yuga system. Amun on the other hand, was not worshiped in Egypt prior to the beginning of the New Kingdom in c.1550 BC. He is mentioned in the creation myth of Hermopolis as one of the four pairs of divinities who were present in the Primeval Waters of Nun. As Amun-Amaunet, he represented the “hidden” properties of the Primordial Ocean. An early Twelfth-Dynasty inscription in the jubilee chapel of King Senusret I (c.1965 – 1920 BC) at Karnak describes Amun as the “king of the gods”. While he was known to the Egyptians, he was not a part of the Egyptian Ennead - the Divine Company of Gods - who were the primary deities of worship. 

But suddenly at Karnak, at the beginning of the New Kingdom in c.1550 BC, Amun usurped the position of Atum, as the head of the state pantheon. He became the self-engendered Creator God. Evidence indicates that the construction of the temple complex at Luxor and Karnak may have started as early as the Middle Kingdom (c.2055 – c.1650 BC), although the buildings visible today date from the reign of Amenhotep III (c.1390 – c.1352 BC), the great temple builder of the 18th Dynasty. 

Fig 3: Statues of different Pharaohs at the Karnak Temple, Egypt. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra

Fig 4: The obelisk of Hatshepsut at the Karnak Temple, Egypt. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra

What could have triggered Amun's precipitous rise to the head of the Egyptian pantheon from relative obscurity as a deity of the Primeval Ocean? How did a whole new pantheon of deities, along with associated symbolism, rites, and rituals spring up in Egypt during the New Kingdom? 

The Opet Festival

I was also highly intrigued by the descriptions of the annual Opet festival that used to be celebrated in Karnak, during the season of the flooding of the Nile. In this grand festival, the idols of the Theban triad of divinities - Amun, Mut and Khonsu - were placed on sacred barques (boats), which were carried in a splendid, joyous procession down the Avenue of the Sphinxes, along the 2 mile road that connects the temples of Karnak and Luxor. 

Fig 5: The Avenue of the Sphinxes which connects the temples of Karnak and Luxor. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra

The celebrations have been depicted in detail on the walls of the Great Colonnade at Luxor. At Karnak, the idols of the Thebian triad were first ceremoniously washed and magnificently dressed with colorful linen and precious jewellery and placed on sacred barques. The pharaoh then offered his obeisance to each of the barques. The barques were then carried by the priests on their shoulders, accompanied by musicians, and soldiers carrying standards decorated with brilliant plumes and streamers. Elegantly decorated horse drawn chariots would also accompany the procession. Huge crowds of people gathered along the road, blowing trumpets, dancing and singing, clapping, offering prayers, burning incense sticks and generally raising a tremendous din. Nubian musicians and female acrobats entertained the crowd. The barques rested along the way at six way-stations that were built by Queen Hatshepsut.

Once the idols reached Luxor Temple, the coronation rites of the king were repeated in a sacred ritual, which effectively transferred the power of divine rulership from Amun to the pharaoh. The idols rested in Luxor for a period of time and subsequently came back to Karnak, in another procession along the river Nile. Although the Opet festival was initially celebrated over only 11 days, later it was extended to nearly 24 to 27 days. The festival not only symbolized a restoration of the divine right of the king to rule, but also signified a rejuvenation of the creative forces of the cosmos, through the sacred rituals and boisterous celebrations. 

Fig 6: The Opet Festival. Source: i-cias.com

Jagannath Ratha Yatra

Amazingly enough, an exactly similar festival is still celebrated every year in the coastal town of Puri, in the state of Orissa in eastern India, after the onset of monsoon in the month of July. Here, in the yearly Ratha Yatra festival, the idols of Krishna (or Jagannath), his brother Balaram and his sister Subhadra are carried in three magnificent chariots pulled by thousands of devotees along the 2 km (1.5 mile) road that connects the Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple.

I had the good fortune of being able to witness this grand spectacle in the year 2010. An immense collection of humanity had descended on Puri on this day from all over India. The actual festival, of course, had started nearly two weeks earlier when the idols of Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra were given a ritual bath and redecorated. On the day of the Ratha Yatra, the idols were installed on the three massive chariots, nearly 45 feet high, which had been constructed for the three deities. The chariots were kept outside the Jagannath Temple walls, and the endless stream of devotees blew conch-shells and played trumpets as soon as the idols were brought out of the temple on decorated palanquins and placed on their respective chariots.

Then the King of Puri paid his obeisance to each of the chariots. He sprinkled sacred water on the chariots, and swept the chariots clean with his golden broom. The chariots then started making their way along the Grand Avenue one by one, pulled by ropes by the thousands of devotees. 

Needless to say, a considerable din ensured. There was loud chanting and singing, beating of drums and blaring of trumpets, as the procession slowly made its way to the Gundicha Temple. The chariots stopped at many points along the way, in order to provide an opportunity to the devotees to catch a glimpse of the idols inside the chariot and offer their prayers. It is said that one who observes the face of Jagannath during the Ratha Yatra festival gets absolved of all past sins. I did not accompany the procession the entire way to the Gundicha Temple. But what happens is that, after the procession reaches the Gundicha Temple, the idols rest there for a period of 7 days. After this they return back to the Temple of Jagannath, in another joyous, noisy procession known as the Ulta-Rath. The entire celebration, starting from day of Jagannath’s bathing ceremony, till his return from the Gundicha Temple, lasts for 25-26 days, nearly the same as the Opet festival of Karnak and Luxor.

The similarities between these two ancient festivals are obvious and striking. There can be no doubt that the Opet festival of Karnak is identical in form and spirit to the Ratha Yatra festival of Puri.

Fig 7: The chariot of Subhadra being pulled along the Grand Road by the devotees at the Rathayatra Festival, Puri. Image Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra

Although in the Jagannath Ratha Yatra, the idols are carried in large chariots, as opposed to the barques used in the Opet Festival, we should remember that the idols are brought out of the temple on decorated palanquins carried on the shoulders of the temple priests, before they are mounted on their respective chariots. It is possible, therefore, that in the olden days the idols were carried on palanquins all the way to the Gundicha Temple, and the chariots were a more recent addition.

In fact, during the annual Dol Yatra festival (Holi) the utsav murti of Jagannath is carried around the city on a decorated palanquin accompanied by musical troupes. All over India, during specific festivals, there is a continuing tradition of placing the utsav murti (i.e. the idols used during festivals) of the presiding deity of the temple on a decorated palanquin, and carrying it around the town in a joyous procession.

Fig 8: The flower decorated palanquin (poo-pallakku) of goddess Meenakshi taken out in a procession in the evening of 10th day of the Chithirai festival – when Goddess Meenakshi weds Lord Sundareswarar. Source: http://www.thehindu.com

The worship of the Theban triad of divinities – Amun, Mut and Khonsu – was established at Thebes only at the beginning of the New Kingdom in c.1550 BC.  On the other hand, the festival of Ratha Yatra has been celebrated in India for thousands of years, although the current Temple of Jagannath dates from the 12th century AD. The festival has been mentioned in multiple Puranas, which are historical documents of unknown antiquity. The Skanda Purana states that the first Jagannath Temple was established in the Satya Yuga i.e. Golden Age (which could have begun at around 12,600 BC). Since Jagannath refers to Vishnu - the Lord of the Universe - he was worshipped in different forms in the different yugas. In the Kali Yuga he is worshipped in the form of Krishna. In many other Sanskrit texts such as the Narada Purana, Padma Purana and the Ramayana, the virtues of worshipping Jagannath have been extolled.

That implies that this ancient festival, along with the triad of divinities - Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra – must have been transferred from India to Egypt, sometime prior to 1550 BC.

Fig 9: Amun, Khonsu and Mut (left to right) Source: kenseamedia.com

Fig 10: Krishna, Subhadra and Balarama (right to left). Source: Wikipedia

Migration from India?

I wondered what historical factors could have led to the transfer of an entire patheon of deities, along with associated ceremonies and rituals, from India to Egypt. Since Amun was the head of the state pantheon at Egypt, it occured to me that this pantheon transfer would have been possible only through express royal patronage. When and why did this happen? Who all were involved?

Historians have pointed out that Indian traders had trade relations with the first Pharaohs of dynastic Egypt in 3000 BC, and sold them cotton, muslin, spices, myrrh, incense, gold and ivory. The ancient maritime trade routes, popularly known as the Silk Route, led from Egypt in a south-east direction, to the flourishing ports on the western and eastern coasts of India. Along these ancient routes, Egyptian and Indian ships plied back and forth since unknown antiquity, carrying precious objects of trade.

Fig 8: The Silk Route. Source: Wikipedia

Could traders have played a part in the transfer of this religious tradition? According to historian Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren, this is the most likely scenario. In his book Historical Researches, Volume 4, 1847 he has observed that: 

 “It is perfectly agreeable to Hindu manners that colonies from India, i.e., Banian families should have passed over Africa, and carried with them their industry, and perhaps also their religious worship. Whatever weight may be attached to Indian tradition and the express testimony of Eusebius confirming the report of migrations from the banks of the Indus into Egypt, there is certainly nothing improbable in the event itself, as a desire of gain would have formed a sufficient inducement.”

In addition to trading groups, there is the very interesting issue of migrations from the banks of the Indus to Ethiopia. It was widely in the ancient times accepted that Indians had colonized Ethiopia. The earliest Ethiopian tradition says that they came from a land situated near the mouth of the Indus, and this has been confirmed by the testimony of Eusebius and Philostratus. In the seventh century, St. Isidore made a summary in his Encyclopedia of knowledge derived from ancient Greek and Latin authors, many of whose works have now disappeared. Regarding the Ethiopians, he says in his Etymologiarium (IX.2.128): “They came in ancient times from the River Indus, established themselves in Egypt between the Nile and the sea, towards the south, in the equatorial regions.”  

In fact the Egyptians also claimed that their ancient homeland was in a far-off place called Punt. Col. Henry Steel Olcott, a former president of the Theosophical Society, identified Punt with India and wrote in The Theosophist (March 1881) that, 

“by the pictorial hieroglyphic inscription found on the walls of the temple of the Queen Haslitop (Hatshepsut) at Der-el-babri, we see that this Punt can be no other than India. For many ages the Egyptians traded with their old homes, and the reference here made by them to the names of the Princes of Punt (King Parahu and Queen Ati) and its fauna and flora, especially the nomenclature of various precious woods to be found but in India, leave us scarcely room for the smallest doubt that the old civilization of Egypt is the direct outcome of that the older India.”

Many questions are raised here. If Punt is India, then when did the ancient Egyptians migrate to the shores of the Nile from Punt? What event could have led the Indus inhabitants to journey so far away from their homeland? How did the worship of Krishna-Balaram-Subhadra along with the festival of Ratha Yatra become established in Thebes at the beginning of the New Kingdom in c.1550 BC?

Clearly, there is much we do not know regarding the origins of the Egyptian civilization and the role that trade and migrations have played over thousands of year in taking culture and traditions to distant parts of the globe. Something very interesting, and hitherto unexplored, appears to have taken place in Egypt at the beginning of the New Kingdom in c.1550 BC, as a result of which the worship of Amun-Mut-Khonsu became the state religion, and Amun was elevated to the head of the Egyptian pantheon. This is a subject that needs to be researched in more detail.

PS: In a subsequent article, I have explored the historical events that led to the transfer of the worship of Jagannath-Balaram-Subhadra from India to Egypt: The journey of Jagannath from India to Egypt: The Untold Saga of the Kushites