Who was Krishna's guru?
Krishna and Balarama studied with the sage Sandipani at his ashram in Ujjain (Avanti); their naming ceremony was performed by the sage Garga.
Answer
After the end of Kamsa, and once their sacred thread ceremony had been performed, Krishna and Balarama went to study at the ashram of the sage Sandipani in Avantipuri, the present-day city of Ujjain. According to the Shrimad Bhagavatam they mastered the sixty-four arts, along with the Vedas, the scriptures and archery, in just sixty-four days. Sudama was their classmate at this ashram.
As guru-dakshina, the teacher and his wife asked for their son, who had drowned in the sea at Prabhasa. Krishna brought the boy back from the realm of Yama and returned him to his teacher. The Sandipani Ashram in Ujjain is still a sacred place of pilgrimage today.
Earlier, in Gokul, the sage Garga, family priest of the Yadu dynasty, had secretly performed the naming ceremony of the two boys at Nanda Baba's home, giving them the names Krishna and Rama. Krishna's humble respect for his teachers shows that even the Lord honours the tradition of the guru.
- Source
- Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10
- Place
- Ujjain (Avanti)