Product Code Database
Vasudeva (; Sanskrit: वसुदेव ), also called Anakadundubhi ( anakas and dundubhis both refer to drums, after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Vāsudeva-Krishna, Balarama, and Subhadra. He was a king of the . His sister Kunti was married to Pandu and elder brother Samudravijaya is father of Neminath.
"Vasudeva" as an object of worship in Hinduism usually refers to the son (Krishna), rather than his father Vasudeva.
Many of the Yadavas killed themselves in the Mausala Parva. Krishna, Balarama and Vasudeva later gave up their lives, and the 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 Balija or vir banajiga and created a powerful warrior merchant class of south India and ruled nayaka dynasties.
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:
This verse asserts that Narayana, Vāsudeva (Krishna), and Vishnu are synonymous. 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 Upanishad, Isha Upanishad, Mundaka and Shvetashvatara Upanishads, but before Maitri Upanishad, Prashna and Mandukya Upanishad. Feuerstein places the relative composition chronology of Mahanarayana to be about that of Mundaka and Prashna Upanishads. These relative chronology estimates date the text to second half of 1st millennium BCE. 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.
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 Empire 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.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; A popular short prayer for worshipping Vāsudeva is Dwadashaakshar.
Once, the sage is said to have performed a yajna (a ritual sacrifice) in his Ashram. 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.
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.
Kashyapa incarnated as Vasudeva
, . 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.
See also
Hastings, James Rodney (2026). 9780766136731, Kessinger Publishing, LLC (Reprint 1990). . ISBN 9780766136731
Further reading
|
|
