One of the earliest recorded instances of a Krishna who could potentially be identified with the deity can be found in the Chandogya Upanishad (ca. 900 BCE). However, classical Vedantic commentaries by Sankara, Madhva, and the tradition of Ramanuja also do not interpret this Upanishadic statement as referring to "The" Krishna, reading it instead as referring to another sage of that name[citation needed]. The exact words that Ghora speaks are treated by some as praise of Krishna and others as a praise of the Atman. The doctrine taught by Ghora matches closely with the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita and the name of the mother is the same as found in the later Krishna traditions.
Panini, ca. 5th century BCE, in his Ashtadhyayi explains the word "Vāsudevaka" as a Bhakta (devotee) of Vāsudeva. This, along with the mention of Arjuna in the same context, indicates that the Vāsudeva here is Krishna. In the 4th century BCE, Megasthenes the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya says that the Sourasenoi (Surasena), who lived in the region of Mathura worshipped Herakles. This Herakles is usually identified with Krishna due to the regions mentioned by Megasthenes as well as similarities between some of the herioc acts of the two. Megasthenes also mentions that his daughter Pandaia ruled in south India. The south indeed had the kingdom of the Pandyas with the capital at Madhura (Madurai), the name similar to if not the same as Krishna's Mathura.
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