View source for Vasudeva

{{Infobox deity
| Devanagari = वसुदेव
| type = Hindu
| image = File:Raja Ravi Varma, Birth of Krishna (1890).jpg
| caption = Vasudeva secretly exits the prison to go to Gokula, a painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]
| spouse = [[Rohini Devi|Rohini]], [[Devaki]], and ''[[#Wives and children|various other wives]]''
| children = [[Balarama]], [[Krishna]], [[Subhadra]], and ''[[#Wives and children|various other children]]''
| father = [[Shurasena]]
| mother = Marisha
| siblings = [[Samudravijaya]], [[Kunti]]
| dynasty = [[Yadava|Yaduvamsha]] – [[Chandravamsha]]
| texts = ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', ''[[Harivamsa]]'', ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'', ''[[Brahma Purana]]'', ''[[Mahabharata]]''
| venerated_in = [[Vaishnavism]]
}}{{short description|Father of Hindu god Krishna}}
{{For|his son Vāsudeva the deity|Vāsudeva|Krishna}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
'''Vasudeva''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|v|ʌ|s|u|ˈ|d|eɪ|v|ə}}; [[Sanskrit]]: वसुदेव {{IPA|sa|ʋɐsudéːʋɐ|}}), also called '''Anakadundubhi''' (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Garg |first1=Gaṅgā Rām |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World |date=1992 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-375-7 |page=408 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjDcd0cTFxQC&pg=PA408 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ph.D |first1=Lavanya Vemsani |title=Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names |date=2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-211-3 |page=297 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4fw2DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA297 |language=en}}</ref> is the father of the Hindu deities [[Krishna]] ([[Vāsudeva]], i.e. "son of Vasudeva"), [[Balarama]], and [[Subhadra]]. He was a king of the [[Vrishni]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Joanna Gottfried |title=Kalādarśana: American Studies in the Art of India |date=1981 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-06498-0 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qoeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA129 |language=en}}</ref> His sister [[Kunti]] was married to [[Pandu]] and elder brother [[Samudravijaya]] is father of [[Neminath]].

The patronymic ''{{IAST|[[Vāsudeva]]}}'' (with a [[vrddhi|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">{{Harvcoltxt|Fortson|2004|pp=116f}}</ref> "Vasudeva" as an object of worship in Hinduism usually refers to the son {{IAST|Vāsudeva}} (Krishna), rather than his father Vasudeva.

==Family==
Vasudeva was born to the king [[Shurasena]] in the [[Surasena]] kingdom of Khandalwansha.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appadorai |first=A. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39545 |title=Economic Condition In Southern India  Vol. 1 |date=1936}}</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 Baba|Nanda]], the chief of Gokula, his Step-Brother.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Prabhupada |first=His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oohOCgAAQBAJ&dq=nanda+vaisya&pg=PT457 |title=Srimad-Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto: The Summum Bonum |last2=Prabhupada |first2=Disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami |date=1977-12-31 |publisher=The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust |isbn=978-91-7149-643-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wT-BAAAAMAAJ&q=Kshatriya|title=The Cattle and the Stick: An Ethnographic Profile of the Raut of Chhattisgarh|last=Soni|first=Lok Nath|date=2000|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture|isbn=978-81-85579-57-3|language=en|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Carl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuqB0o8aGzMC&pg=PA240 |title=Hindu Primary Sources: A Sectarian Reader |date=2007 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4070-2 |language=en}}</ref>

===Wives and children===
Vasudeva married [[Devaki]], and also had other wives such as [[Rohini (wife of Vasudeva)|Pauravi Rohini]], Madira, Vaishakhi, Bhadra, Sunama, Sahadeva, Shantideva, Shrideva, Devarakshita, Vrikadevi, Upadevi, and Badarva. Rohini bore several sons, namely, [[Balarama]], Sarana and Shatha.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/shatha|title = Shatha, Śaṭha, Satha, Saṭha, Śaṭhā: 19 definitions|date = 3 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sharana#purana|title=Sharana, Sārana, Sarana, Saraṇa, Sāraṇā, Śaraṇa, Sāraṇa, Saraṇā: 25 definitions|date=12 April 2009}}</ref> Vrikadevi gave birth to Avagaha and Nandaka.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vrikadevi|title = Vrikadevi, Vṛkadevī: 2 definitions|date = 18 February 2017}}</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>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vishnu-purana-wilson/d/doc116012.html|title = The story of the previous birth of Shishupala and the sons of Vasudeva &#91;Chapter XV&#93;|date = 30 August 2014}}</ref> In some versions of the Bhagavata Purana, Vasudeva also married Sutanu, the princess of Kasi, and they had a son named [[Paundraka Vasudeva|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 [[Ashtabharya|eight principal wives]], and he begat many children from them, such as [[Pradyumna]], [[Samba (Krishna's son)|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 Kingdom|Kuru throne]] after [[Yudhishthira]].

Many of the Yadavas killed themselves in the [[Mausala Parva|Yadava fratricide]]. Krishna, Balarama and Vasudeva later gave up their lives, and the [[Pandava]]s 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|vira balija]]'' or ''vir banajiga'' and created a powerful warrior merchant class of south India and ruled [[nayaka dynasties]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appadorai |first=A. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39545 |title=Economic Condition In Southern India  Vol. 1 |date=1936}}</ref>

{{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=2/1|total_width=600|caption_align=center
| align    = center
| direction =horizontal
| image1   = Vasudeva carrying baby Krishna in a basket across the Yamuna, Art of Mathura, circa 1st century CE.jpg
| image2   = Vasudeva_Carrying_Baby_Krishna_in_Basket_Across_Yamuna_-_Circa_1st_Century_CE_-_Gatashram_Narayan_Temple.jpg
| footer = Vasudeva carrying baby Krishna across the [[Yamuna river|Yamuna]]. Circa 1st Century CE, Gatashram Narayan Temple. [[Mathura Museum]]}}
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:

{{Quote|
नारायाणाय विद्महे '''वासुदेवाय''' धीमहि तन्नो विष्णुः प्रचोदयात्

''nārāyāṇāya vidmahē vāsudēvāya dhīmahi tannō viṣṇuḥ pracōdayāt''

We endeavor to know Narayana, we meditate on Vāsudeva and [[Vishnu]] bestows wisdom on us.
|Mahanarayana Upanishad|Chapter 7{{Sfn|Hattangadi|1999|p=॥ ७॥ Adhayaya}}<ref name=srinivaschari132>SM Srinivaschari (1994), Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120810983}}, page 132-134, 212-218</ref>}}

[[File:Krishna meets parents.jpg|thumb|[[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 Upanishad|Katha]], [[Isha Upanishad|Isha]], [[Mundaka Upanishad|Mundaka]] and [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]]s, but before [[Maitri Upanishad|Maitri]], [[Prashna Upanishad|Prashna]] and [[Mandukya Upanishad]].{{Sfn| Parmeshwaranand|2000|pp=458-459}} Feuerstein places the relative composition chronology of Mahanarayana to be about that of Mundaka and Prashna [[Upanishads]].{{Sfn|Feuerstein|1989|pp=119-120}} These relative chronology estimates date the text to second half of 1st millennium BCE.{{Sfn| Parmeshwaranand|2000|pp=458-459}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1998|pp=11-14}} 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.{{Sfn|Srinivasan|1997|pp=112, 120}}

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|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; [https://www.jstor.org/stable/877843 v. 116, pages 712-727]; v. 117, pages 631-643; v. 118, pages 734-753; {{oclc|83369960}}</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|thumb|Vasudeva Takes the Infant Krishna Across the Yamuna River. [[Rajput painting|Master at the Court of Mankot]], {{Circa|1700}}. [[Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh]]]]<nowiki> </nowiki>
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 [[Ashram|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>{{Cite book |last=Vemsani |first=Lavanya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56QvEAAAQBAJ&dq=Kashyapa+Yadava&pg=PA231 |title=Feminine Journeys of the Mahabharata: Hindu Women in History, Text, and Practice |date=2021 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-73165-6 |page=231 |language=en}}</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 (wife of Vasudeva)|Rohini]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mani |first=Vettam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvXsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA397 |title=Puranic Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Work with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature |date=2015-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0597-2 |page=397 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Preciado-Solis |first1=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvCaWvjGDVEC&q=gopatve+ka%C5%9Byapo+bhuvi |title=The Kṛṣṇa Cycle in the Purāṇas: Themes and Motifs in a Heroic Saga |last2=Preciado-Solís |first2=Benjamín |date=1984 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-0-89581-226-1 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Hinduism small}}
{{Commons category}}
* [[Heliodorus pillar]]
* [[Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions]]
* [[Naneghat]]
* [[Vasu Doorjamb Inscription]]
* [[Vasudeva Upanishad]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Fortson |first=Benjamin W. IV |title=Indo-European Language and Culture |publisher=Blackwell Publishing  |year=2004 |isbn=1-4051-0316-7 }}
*{{cite book|title= Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy|first= Georg|last= Feuerstein|publisher= Tarcher|year= 1989|isbn= 978-0-87477-525-9}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/mahanarayana.pdf |title= महानारायणोपनिषत् (Mahanarayana Upanishad)|access-date=23 January 2016| language = sa|last= Hattangadi| first= Sunder| year= 1999 }}
*{{citation|last=Olivelle|first=Patrick|title=Ascetics and Brahmins: Studies in Ideologies and Institutions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TecNS3Vi2F4C|year=2011|publisher=[[Anthem Publishing|Anthem Press]]|isbn=978-0-85728-432-7}}
* {{Citation|last=Olivelle|first=Patrick|title=Upaniṣads|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-283576-5}}
*{{cite book|last= Parmeshwaranand |first=S|title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Upanisads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zQytiw_cg8C|year=2000|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-148-8}}
*{{cite book|author= Hastings, James Rodney|author-link=James Hastings|others=John A Selbie, ed|title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, v.4: Behistun (continued) to Bunyan, p. 540.|publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC (Reprint 1990)|location=Edinburgh|year=1908|page=476|isbn=978-0-7661-3673-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kaz58z--NtUC&q=Krishna&pg=PA540 }}
*{{cite book|last=Srinivasan |first=Doris |title=Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes| publisher=BRILL Academic| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vZheP9dIX9wC&pg=PA111| isbn=978-90-04-10758-8 |year=1997 }}

==Further reading==
*[[RG Bhandarkar]]: "Vasudeva of Panini" 4.3.98. ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', 1910.
{{Hindudharma}}
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[[Category:People related to Krishna]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Characters in the Bhagavata Purana]]