Vasudeva

Template:Infobox deityTemplate:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English Vasudeva (Template:IPAc-en; Sanskrit: वसुदेव {{#invoke:IPA|main}}), also called Anakadundubhi (anakas and dundubhis both refer to drums, after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna (Vāsudeva, i.e. "son of Vasudeva"), Balarama, and Subhadra. He was a king of the Vrishnis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The son of king Shurasena. Vasudev had a friend named Nanda who later became the foster-father of Krishna.<ref name="GBook1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="tkk">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name="Lok Nath Soni">Template:Cite book</ref> His sister Kunti was married to Pandu.

The patronymic Template:IAST (with a pronounced ā) is a popular name of Krishna, the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. "Vāsudeva" is a vṛddhi, a derivative of the short form "Vasudeva", a linguistic pragmatic in Sanskrit signifying "of, belonging to, descended from".<ref name="Fortson116">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> "Vasudeva" as an object of worship in Hinduism usually refers to the son Template:IAST (Krishna), rather than his father Vasudeva.

Family

Vasudeva was born to the Yadava king Shurasena in the Surasena kingdom of Khandalwansha.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Vasudeva had many brothers such as Devashrava and Devabhaga, and 5 sisters Srutakirti, Kunti, Rajadhidevi, Srutadeva (Mother of the Dantavakra), and Shrutasravas (mother of Shishupala). According to the Harivamsa Purana, Vasudeva and Nanda, the chief of Gokula, were not brothers or cousins.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Wives and children

Vasudeva married Devaki, and also had other wives such as Pauravi Rohini, Madira, Vaishakhi, Bhadra, Sunama, Sahadeva, Shantideva, Shrideva, Devarakshita, Vrikadevi, Upadevi, and Badarva. Rohini bore several sons, namely, Balarama, Sarana and Shatha.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Vrikadevi gave birth to Avagaha and Nandaka.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By Devaki, he had eight sons–six of whom were killed by Kamsa and the other two being Balarama (transferred into the womb of Rohini) and Krishna. He also had a daughter – Subhadra from Rohini.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In some versions of the Bhagavata Purana, Vasudeva also married Sutanu, the princess of Kasi, and they had a son named Paundraka.<ref>Bhagavata Purana Skandha X Chapter 66, Motilal Bansaridass Publishers Book 4 Appendix (66A) pages 1884- 1885, additional verses in Vijaya-dhvaja's Bhagavata Purana, Chapter 69</ref>

Descendants

Vasudeva traced a number of descendants through his sons. Sarana had many sons like Satyadhriti and Marsti, and Shatha had a son called Sarthi. Balarama married Revati and had two sons – Nishatha and Ulmuka & a daughter – Vatsala/Shashirekha. Krishna had eight principal wives, and he begat many children from them, such as Pradyumna, Samba, Bhanu etc., and they also had many children. Vasudeva's daughter Subhadra married Pandava prince Arjuna, and they had a son Abhimanyu. Ultimately, it was Abhimanyu's son Parikshit who ascended the Kuru throne after Yudhishthira.

Many of the Yadavas killed themselves in the Yadava fratricide. Krishna, Balarama and Vasudeva later gave up their lives, and the Pandavas collected the remaining Yadava children and ladies with them to Indraprastha, where Pradyumma's grandson Vajra was crowned as king of Mathura, and some other survivors also were crowned as kings of different places.(See Mausala Parva).Many migrated southwards and known as vira balija or vir banajiga and created a powerful warrior merchant class of south India and ruled nayaka dynasties.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Template:Multiple image The sons of Vasudeva were related to Bhagavatism that was largely formed by the 1st-millennium BCE where Vāsudeva (Krishna, the son of Vasudeva) was worshiped as supreme ultimate reality. This is evidenced by texts and archaeological evidence. As textual evidence, the Mahanarayana Upanishad records the verse:

File:Krishna meets parents.jpg

Krishna and Balarama meeting their parents (painting by Raja Ravi Varma)

This verse asserts that Narayana, Vāsudeva (Krishna), and Vishnu are synonymous.<ref name=srinivaschari132/> The author and the century in which the above Mahanarayana Upanishad was composed is unknown. The relative chronology of the text, based on its poetic verse and textual style, has been proposed by Parmeshwaranand to the same period of composition as Katha, Isha, Mundaka and Shvetashvatara Upanishads, but before Maitri, Prashna and Mandukya Upanishad.Template:Sfn Feuerstein places the relative composition chronology of Mahanarayana to be about that of Mundaka and Prashna Upanishads.Template:Sfn These relative chronology estimates date the text to second half of 1st millennium BCE.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Srinivasan suggests a later date for the composition of the Mahanarayana Upanishad, one after about 300 BCE and probably in the centuries around the start of the common era.Template:Sfn

Other evidence is from archeological inscriptions, where Bhagavan is documented epigraphically to be from around 100 BCE, such as in the inscriptions of the Heliodorus pillar. An Indo-Greek ambassador from Taxila named Heliodorus, of this era, visited the court of a Shunga king, and addresses himself as a Bhagavata on this pillar, an epithet scholars consider as evidence of Vāsudeva worship was well established in 1st millennium BCE.<ref>John Irvin (1973-1975), Aśokan Pillars: A Reassessment of the Evidence, The Burlington Magazine. v. 115, pages 706-720; v. 116, pages 712-727; v. 117, pages 631-643; v. 118, pages 734-753; Template:Oclc</ref> A popular short prayer for worshipping Vāsudeva is Dwadashaakshar.

Kashyapa incarnated as Vasudeva

File:Vasudeva Takes the Infant Krishna Across the Yamuna River.jpg

Vasudeva Takes the Infant Krishna Across the Yamuna River. Master at the Court of Mankot, Template:Circa. Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh

Sage Kashyapa is said to have incarnated as Vasudeva, the father of Krishna, due to a curse of the deities Varuna or Brahma.

Once, the sage is said to have performed a yajna (a ritual sacrifice) in his hermitage. Kashyapa sought the help of the god Varuna for the offerings of milk and ghee. Varuna lent the sage a divine cow that would provide him the required offerings. After completing the sacrifice, Kashyapa delayed in returning the cow back to the deity. Varuna cursed the sage and his wife, Aditi, to be born on earth as Vasudeva and Devaki, the parents of Vishnu in his avatar of Krishna.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In other iterations, Kashyapa is stated to have stolen a divine cow from Varuna for the performance of a ritual sacrifice. The deity requested Brahma for his intervention. For his theft of a cow, Brahma cursed Kashyapa to be born on earth as a cowherd. Since his wives, Aditi and Surasa, had assisted him in concealing the cows in his hermitage, they were also born on earth as his two wives, Devaki and Rohini.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• Heliodorus pillar
• Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions
• Naneghat
• Vasu Doorjamb Inscription
• Vasudeva Upanishad

References

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Further reading

• RG Bhandarkar: "Vasudeva of Panini" 4.3.98. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1910.