Was Jesus Copied from Krishna? Debunking the Plagiarism Myth with Scripture

Executive Summary

While internet memes frequently claim that the life of Jesus was plagiarized from Krishna, a comparison of primary scriptures—the Srimad Bhagavatam and the New Testament—reveals that these “parallels” are historically and linguistically fabricated. This guide provides the specific scriptural citations and scholarly evidence needed to debunk the “copy-paste” myth once and for all.

Krishna and Jesus: The “Copy-Paste” Myth vs. Scriptural Reality

In the corners of the internet where conspiracy culture meets comparative religion, a persistent theory suggests that the life of Jesus Christ was merely a plagiarized version of the Hindu deity, Lord Krishna. From their birthdays to their miracles and deaths, the two are often claimed to be identical.

But do the actual scriptures support this? When we move past the memes and open the Srimad Bhagavatam, the Mahabharata, and the New Testament, the “plagiarism” theory falls apart under the weight of historical and linguistic evidence.

The Birth: Virgin vs. The Eighth Son

The “Virgin Mother” trope is a staple of these theories, but it requires ignoring the explicit narrative of Krishna’s family.

The Claim: Both were born of virgins.

The Krishna Fact: According to Srimad Bhagavatam (SB) 10.1.56, Krishna was the eighth son born to Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva. The tyrant Kansa had murdered their previous six children. While his conception was divine, it occurred within a marriage where seven previous children had been born.

“Kamsa... killed the six sons born of Devakī. Then, after the six sons were killed, the seventh child, known as Saṅkarṣaṇa... appeared... and then, the Lord Himself [Krishna] appeared as the eighth son.”— Srimad Bhagavatam 10.1.56 (Bhaktivedanta Translation)

The Timeline: The August/September Reality

The Claim: Both share a birthday on December 25th.

The Reality: Krishna’s birth, celebrated annually as the festival of Janmashtami, is a lunar holiday that consistently falls in the month of Bhadrapada (August or September).

The Proof: Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.1 records that Krishna was born during the Rohini Nakshatra, a specific lunar mansion that aligns with the late summer or monsoon season in India.

The Ministry: 12 Disciples and Miracles

Critics often claim Jesus’ miracles and followers were stolen directly from Krishna’s Lila (divine play).

The 12 Disciples: This is a modern fabrication. Krishna was a prince, a charioteer, and a teacher to many (the Pandavas and Gopis), but the number twelve has no scriptural significance in his ministry.

Water into Wine: This miracle is uniquely recorded in John 2. There is no mention of Krishna turning water into wine in any Sanskrit text.

Walking on Water: In SB 10.3.50, it is Krishna’s father, Vasudeva, who walks through the Yamuna River. The water parted to allow them to walk through the riverbed, but Krishna himself did not walk on water as a miracle during his ministry.

“There is simply no precedent in the ancient Puranic literature for Krishna performing miracles like turning water into wine or choosing a specific group of twelve apostles. These are uniquely Judeo-Christian narrative structures that reflect the context of 1st-century Palestine, not Vedic India.”— Edwin Bryant

The Name: “Christ” vs. “Krishna”

One of the most common “hooks” is the phonetic similarity of their names.

Linguistics: “Christ” comes from the Greek Christos (Anointed). “Krishna” comes from the Sanskrit Kṛṣṇa. While the primary translation is “Black” or “Dark,” within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition (as noted by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada), the name also signifies “All-Attractive,” derived from the root kṛṣ (to attract).

The Proof: As noted by the Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, the words are etymologically distinct. Christos is a translation of the Hebrew Mashiach (Messiah).

“The two names, in spite of their outward similarity, are different in their origin, different in their history, and different in their meaning.” — Max Müller, Lectures on the Science of Language (1866, p. 535)

Death and Resurrection: The Arrow vs. The Cross

The Claim: Both were crucified and rose after three days.

The Death of Krishna: The Mahabharata describes Krishna’s death when a hunter named Jara accidentally shot a poisoned arrow into the sole of his foot.

“A hunter of the name of Jara then came there, desirous of hitting a deer... Jara aimed his shaft and pierced the sole of the high-souled Krishna.” — Mahabharata 16.4

The Resurrection: Krishna abandoned his physical body to return to his spiritual abode (Mahabharata 16.5). Jesus returned in a physical body of “flesh and bones” to prove his victory over death (Luke 24:39).

FAQ: Debunking the Top Claims

Q: Where did the “Copy-Paste” theory come from?
Most of these claims originated in Kersey Graves’ 1875 book The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors. Regarding Graves, scholar Bart Ehrman writes:

“Graves’s book is for the most part a disorganized jumble of nonsense. He knows nothing about the history of the development of religions, he has no idea what it means to evaluate a primary source, and he seems to have made up most of his ‘information.’ This is not exactly what most people would call a reliable source.” — Bart D. Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? (p. 252)

Q: Is the fish symbol shared between them?
While Vishnu has a fish avatar (Matsya, SB 1.3.2), Krishna is associated with the flute and cow. The Christian fish (Ichthys) was a 2nd-century secret acronym: Iēsous Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr (Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior).

Q: Were there “Wise Men” at Krishna’s birth?
No. According to SB 10.3.51, Krishna was visited by his father and later cowherds of Gokul.

Works Cited

Bryant, Edwin. Krishna: A Sourcebook. Oxford University Press, 2007.

Debroy, Bibek, translator. The Mahabharata. Penguin Classics, 2015.

Ehrman, Bart D. Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. HarperOne, 2012.

Müller, Max. Lectures on the Science of Language. Longmans, Green, and Co., 1866.

Prabhupada, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, translator. Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1972.