Vṛshṇi Vaṃśa

Vṛshṇi Vaṃśa, “the line of Vṛshṇi”

Punarvasu has other meanings too: see all meanings of Punarvasu. Śala has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śala. Vṛshṇi has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vṛshṇi.

A vaṃśa is a family line or dynasty. The Vṛshṇi vaṃśa is the branch of the Yadu dynasty in which Bhagavān Kṛshṇa was born. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa gives a detailed account of this family. It traces the line from Sātvata through the Andhaka and Vṛshṇi branches, and tells the stories of the Syamantaka jewel (involving Satrājit and Akrūra), of Śvaphalka and Gāndinī, of Vasudeva‘s family, and of Kṛshṇa’s birth.

The same chapter also lists Kṛshṇa’s wives and sons, and names who certain important people had been in earlier births.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa gives the line in full in Skandha 9, Chapters 23–24, where Śuka Maharshi tells King Parīkshit that Madhu had a hundred sons, of whom Vṛshṇi was the eldest, and that from Yadu, Vṛshṇi and Madhu the line became famous as the Yādavas, the Vṛshṇis and the Mādhavas. From Sātvata it traces the Vṛshṇi branch through Śvaphalka and Akrūra, the Andhaka branch through Āhuka, Devaka and Ugrasena, and the line of Śūra and Mārishā, whose son Vasudeva married the seven daughters of Devaka and begot Śrī Hari himself as the eighth son of Devakī. Throughout the Bhāgavata the Vṛshṇis stand beside the Bhojas, Andhakas, Daśārhas and Sātvatas as the clans whom Śrī Hari rules and protects; the Vṛshṇis led by Vasudeva were devas born on earth, Śrī Kṛshṇa is the Sun that made the lotus of the Vṛshṇi line bloom, and at the end the nine Yādava lines, the Vṛshṇis among them, gave up their friendship and fought one another at Prabhāsa.

Sātvata and His Seven Sons

Sātvata was a great ancestor in the Yadu vaṃśa. His seven sons started the main branches of the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka families:

  1. Bhajamāna: his sons started a branch of their own
  2. Bhaji
  3. Divya
  4. Vṛshṭi
  5. Devāvṛdha: his son Babhru, born at the Parṇāśā tīrtha (holy bathing place), was a mahātmā (great soul) who helped 14,000 people reach moksha
  6. Andhaka: the main family line that leads to Ugrasena, Kaṃsa and Devakī, and so to Kṛshṇa
  7. Mahābhoja: founder of the Bhoja kshatriyas (warrior clan)

The Story of Śvaphalka and Gāndinī

One of the gems of this chapter is the story of Śvaphalka and Gāndinī. Gāndinī was so firmly rooted in dharma that she would not leave her mother’s womb until her father promised to give away a cow every day. Only when her father took this vow of a daily cow-gift was she born. Her son with Śvaphalka was Akrūra, one of Kṛshṇa‘s most loved devotees. Akrūra is famous for his blissful vision of Kṛshṇa and Balarāma in the waters of the Yamunā on the journey to Mathurā. Being born from such a deeply dharmic family explains the depth of his devotion.

From Andhaka to Ugrasena and Devaka

The Andhaka line runs: Andhaka → Kukura → Vahni → Vilomā → Kapotaromā → Tumburu → Dundubhi → Abhijit → Punarvasu → Āhuka → Ugrasena and Devaka.

Ugrasena’s son was Kaṃsa, the tyrant king of Mathurā. Devaka’s daughter was Devakī. This is the immediate family setting of Kṛshṇa‘s birth.

Vasudeva’s Family Line

Vasudeva belonged to the Vṛshṇi branch: Vṛshṇi → … → Śūra → Vasudeva. Vasudeva married Devakī. Kaṃsa had heard a prophecy that Devakī’s eighth child would kill him. So he locked Vasudeva and Devakī in prison and killed their children one by one.

The Birth of Kṛshṇa

Kṛshṇa was born at midnight as the eighth child of Devakī and Vasudeva. It was the Ashṭamī (eighth day) of the dark fortnight of the month of Śrāvaṇa, in the Abhijit nakshatra (lunar mansion). Right after the birth, Vasudeva carried the baby across the flooded Yamunā to Gokula. There he swapped him for the newborn daughter of Yaśodā and Nanda. This girl was a form of Devī. When Kaṃsa seized her to kill her, she slipped from his hands, rose into the sky, and announced that the one who would kill Kaṃsa had already been born somewhere else. Kṛshṇa grew up in Nanda’s home in Gokula and Vṛndāvana.

The Purāṇa says that Nanda was the divine being Droṇa, and Yaśodā was Dharā. These great beings took birth to be Kṛshṇa’s parents on earth. Vasudeva and Devakī are identified with Kaśyapa and Aditi of the previous manvantara (age of a Manu).

Kṛshṇa’s Wives and Sons

The Purāṇa records:

  • Rukmiṇī (daughter of Bhīshmaka of Vidarbha): chief queen; 8 sons, including Pradyumna
  • Satyabhāmā (daughter of Satrājit): 10 sons
  • Jāmbavatī (daughter of Jāmbavān, king of the bears): sons including Sāmba
  • Nāgnajitī: sons
  • 16,000 wives: rescued from captivity under Naraka; each had 10 sons

Past Births

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa names some important links with earlier births:

The chapter also names the mothers in related families. Pṛthā (Kuntī) was mother of Yudhishṭhira, Bhīma and Arjuna; Mādrī was mother of Nakula and Sahadeva. Śrutadevā was mother of Dantavakra; Śrutakīrti was mother of Santardana; Rājādhidevī was mother of Vinda and Anuvinda; and Śrutaśravā was mother of Śiśupāla.

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Śuka Maharshi tells King Parīkshit the line of Yadu. Madhu, the son of Kārtavīryārjuna, had a hundred sons, and of them Vṛshṇi was the eldest. From Yadu, Vṛshṇi and Madhu the line spread, and those of the line became famous by the names Yādavas, Vṛshṇis and Mādhavas.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 23

From Vidarbha to Sātvata

Vidarbha begot by Bhojyā three sons: Kuśa, Kratha and Romapāda; Romapāda gave joy to the Vidarbha line. Romapāda’s son was Babhru; Babhru’s son Kṛti; Kṛti’s son Uśika; Uśika’s son Cedi, and Śiśupāla, Damaghosha and others belong to the line of Cedi.

Kratha’s son was Kunti, and the line runs: Kunti → Dhṛshṭi → Nirvṛti → Daśārha → Vyoma → Jīmūta → Vikṛti → Bhīmaratha → Navaratha → Daśaratha → Śakuni → Karambhi → Devarāta → Devakshatra → Madhu → Kuruvaśa → Anu → Puruhotra → Āyu → Sātvata.

The seven sons of Sātvata

Sātvata had seven sons:

  1. Bhajamāna: by his first wife he had three sons, Nimlāci, Kiṅkiṇa and Dhṛshṭi, and by his second wife three more, Śatājit, Sahasrājit and Ayutājit.
  2. Bhaji
  3. Divya
  4. Vṛshṇi, whose line follows below.
  5. Devāvṛdha, whose son was Babhru.
  6. Andhaka, whose line follows below.
  7. Mahābhoja, a dharmātmā like Babhru and Devāvṛdha; in his line arose the kings called the Bhojas.

Of Devāvṛdha and Babhru the elders recite two ślokas, which the text gives in meaning: what one hears of them from afar, so they truly are when one comes near and sees them; among men Babhru is the best, and Devāvṛdha is equal to the devatās; and in their line, after them, fourteen thousand and sixty-five members of the line attained moksha through the power of those two alone.

The line of Vṛshṇi, son of Sātvata

Vṛshṇi had two sons, Sumitra and Yudhājit. Yudhājit had two sons, Śini and Anamitra.

Anamitra had three sons:

  • Nimna, whose sons were Satrājita and Prasena.
  • A second Śini, different from Yudhājit’s son Śini. His line runs: Śini → Satyaka → Yuyudhāna → Sātyaki → Jaya → Kuṇi → Yugandhara.
  • A second Vṛshṇi, different from Sātvata‘s son Vṛshṇi. His sons were Śvaphalka and Citraratha.

Śvaphalka, by his wife Gāndinī, had the famous Akrūra and twelve other renowned sons: Āsaṅga, Sārameya, Mṛdura, Mṛduvit, Giri, Dharmavṛddha, Sukarma, Kshetropeksha, Arivardhana, Śatrughna, Gandhasūda and Pratibāhu. They had a younger sister named Sucīrā. Akrūra had two sons, Devavanta and Upadeva.

Citraratha, the other son of this Vṛshṇi, had many sons, Pṛthu, Vidūratha and others; all of them were the best among the Vṛshṇi line and gave it joy.

The line of Andhaka, son of Sātvata

Andhaka had four sons: Kukura, Bhajamāna, Śuci and Kambalabarhisha. Kukura’s line runs: Kukura → Vahni → Viloma → Kapotaroma → Anu (whose friend was Tumburu) → Andhaka → Dundubhi → Aridyota → Punarvasu.

Punarvasu had a son, Āhuka, and a daughter, Āhutī. Āhuka had two sons, Devaka and Ugrasena.

The line of Vidūratha

The son of Vidūratha, son of Citraratha, was Śūra. Śūra‘s son was Bhajamāna; Bhajamāna’s son Śini; Śini’s son Svayaṃbhoja; Svayaṃbhoja’s son Hṛdīka. Hṛdīka had three sons: Devabāhu, Śatadhanu and Kṛtavarmā.

Śūra, son of Devamīḍha, and his ten sons

The wife of Śūra, the son of Devamīḍha, was famed as Mārishā. By her Śūra had ten spotless sons: Vasudeva, Devabhāga, Devaśravas, Ānaka, Sṛñjaya, Śyāmaka, Kaṅka, Śamīka, Vatsaka and Vṛka.

Vasudeva was to be the father who would give birth to Śrī Hari. So when he was born, the dundubhis and bherīs of the devatās sounded of themselves, and for this he became famous as Ānakadundubhi.

The five daughters of Śūra

The ten brothers had five sisters: Pṛthā, Śrutadevā, Śrutakīrti, Śrutaśravā and Rājādhidevī.

  • Pṛthā. Śūra had a friend named Kunti who had no children, and Śūra gave him Pṛthā as a foster-daughter; from then she is called Kuntī. Kuntī pleased Durvāsa Maharshi by her service and received from him a vidyā for calling the devatās. To test it she called Sūrya, and Sūryadeva at once stood before her. Amazed, she asked him to forgive her and go, for she had used the vidyā only to gain faith in it. Sūryadeva said that his darśana would not be in vain: he would give her a son, and bless her so that no fault came to her maidenhood. He placed the garbha in her and went to Sūryaloka, and at once a boy like a second Sūrya was born. Afraid of the world, with great difficulty, she left the boy in the waters of a river. Pāṇḍu, Parīkshit‘s great-grandfather, who showed valour for the sake of truth, married Kuntī.
  • Śrutadevā was married by Vṛddhaśarmā, king of Karūsha. Vijaya, who had received a śāpa from Sanaka and the other ṛshis, was born as Hiraṇyāksha, the son of Diti; that same Hiraṇyāksha was born again from Śrutadevā as Dantavaktra.
  • Śrutakīrti was married by Dhṛshṭaketu, king of Kekaya. She bore five sons, Santardana, Pratardana and others, who became the princes of Kekaya.
  • Rājādhidevī was married by Jayasena. Their two sons, Vinda and Anuvinda, became the rulers of Avantī (Ujjayinī). Her daughter was Mitravindā, whom Śrī Kṛshṇa carried off from her svayaṃvara while all the kings looked on.
  • Śrutaśravā was married by Damaghosha, king of Cedi. Her son was Śiśupāla.

The sons of Vasudeva’s brothers

The text names no sons for Vṛka, the tenth son of Śūra.

The wives and sons of Vasudeva

Vasudeva had as wives Pauravī, Rohiṇī, Bhadrā, Madirā, Rocanā, Ilā, Devakī and others, and among them Devakī was the chief.

  • Rohiṇī: Bala, Gada, Sāraṇa, Durmada, Vipula, Dhruva, Kṛta and others.
  • Pauravī: twelve sons, Bhūta, Subhadra, Bhadravāha, Durmada, Bhadra and others; Bhūta was the eldest.
  • Madirā: Nanda, Upananda, Kṛtaka, Śūra and others.
  • Kausalyā, that is Bhadrā: one son, Keśī, who gave joy to the line.
  • Rocanā: Hasta, Hemāṅgada and others.
  • Ilā: Uruvalka and other leading Yādavas.
  • Dhṛtadevā: one son, Vipṛshṇa.
  • Śāntidevā: Śrama, Pratiśruta and others.
  • Upadevā: ten kings, with Kalpavarsha the eldest.
  • Śrīdevā: six sons, Vasu, Haṃsa, Suvaṃśa and others.
  • Devarakshitā: nine sons, Gada and others.
  • Sahadevā: eight sons, Puruviśruta and others, as the Vasus were born to Dharma himself.
  • Devakī: generous Vasudeva begot by Devakī eight sons, counting Śrī Hari: Kīrtimanta, Susheṇa, Bhadrasena, Ṛju, Sammardana, Bhadra, and Balarāma, the avatāra of Śesha. To Devakī and Vasudeva Śrī Hari himself was born as the eighth son. They also had a daughter, Subhadrā, that great puṇyātmā, the mother of Parīkshit‘s father.

Whenever dharma declines and pāpa grows, Śuka says, Śrī Hari, Jagannātha, himself takes avatāra by his own māyā-śakti; there is no other cause for his birth or his acts. The Bhojas, Vṛshṇis, Andhakas, Madhus, Śūrasenas, Daśārhas, Kurus, Sṛñjayas and Pāṇḍus ceaselessly praised the līlās of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 24; Skandha 10, Chapter 58

The Vṛshṇis in the Bhāgavata

  • Guardians of Dvārakā. Sūta tells that the Yādavas of the Madhu, Bhoja, Daśārha, Arha, Kukura, Andhaka and Vṛshṇi lines, equal in strength to Śrī Kṛshṇa, guard Dvārakā as the nāgas guard their city. (Skandha 1, Chapter 11)
  • Yudhishṭhira‘s question. When Arjuna returned from Dvārakā, Yudhishṭhira asked whether the Madhu, Bhoja, Daśārha, Āra, Sātvata, Andhaka and Vṛshṇi Yādavas were happy, and whether Pradyumna, the great rathika among all the Vṛshṇis, was well. (Skandha 1, Chapter 14)
  • Ruled by Śrī Hari. In Śuka‘s stuti, Śrī Hari is the one who rules and protects the communities of the Andhakas, the Vṛshṇis and the Yādavas. (Skandha 2, Chapter 4)
  • Devas on earth. The gopas of Gokula led by Nanda, the Vṛshṇis led by Vasudeva, the Yādava women led by Devakī, and their kin and friends were almost all devas. (Skandha 10, Chapter 1)
  • The lotus of the Vṛshṇi line. In Brahmā‘s stuti Śrī Kṛshṇa is the Sun that made the lotus of the Vṛshṇi line bloom. (Skandha 10, Chapter 14)
  • The best of the Vṛshṇis. The gopīs call Śrī Kṛshṇa the best of the Vṛshṇis, who gives abhaya to those who take refuge at his feet; when he appears before them he is named as of the Śūra line. (Skandha 10, Chapter 32)
  • Kaṃsa‘s threat. Kaṃsa planned to kill Vasudeva and the grieving kin of the Vṛshṇi, Bhoja and Daśārha lines, and told Akrūra that among the Bhojas and Vṛshṇis no one wished his good more than he. (Skandha 10, Chapter 36)
  • Nārada‘s stuti. Nārada Maharshi bowed to Śrī Kṛshṇa as foremost among the Yādava, Vṛshṇi and Sātvata lines, who has taken a human body for līlā. (Skandha 10, Chapter 37)
  • Mathurā‘s festival. The gopīs said that in Mathurā there would be a festival for the eyes of the Dāśārha, Bhoja, Andhaka, Vṛshṇi and Sātvata clans, who would see Śrī Kṛshṇa. (Skandha 10, Chapter 39)
  • In the wrestling arena. Cāṇūra called Śrī Kṛshṇa “Kṛshṇa of the Vṛshṇi vaṃśa” and told him to show his prowess. (Skandha 10, Chapter 43)
  • The clans brought home. Afraid of Kaṃsa, the clans of Yadu, Vṛshṇi, Andhaka, Madhu, Dāśārha, Kukura, Sātvata and others had fled to the four directions; after Kaṃsa’s end Śrī Kṛshṇa had all his kin brought back, thin from living in other lands, and honoured them. (Skandha 10, Chapter 45)
  • Ugrasena‘s rule. Balarāma told the Kauravas that Ugrasena, ruler of the Bhoja, Vṛshṇi and Andhaka Yādavas, is the king of kings, whose command Indra, Agni and the other lokapālas obey. (Skandha 10, Chapter 68)
  • Sudāmā‘s wife. She told her husband that Śrī Kṛshṇa, the master of the Bhoja, Vṛshṇi and Andhaka Yādavas and father of the universe, now in Dvārakā, gives even himself to one who remembers his feet; how much more artha and kāma. (Skandha 10, Chapter 80)
  • A hundred and one clans. The fearsome rākshasas who died in the Devāsura war were born as men and oppressed the people; to punish them Śrī Hari commanded the devatās, and they were born in the Yadu vaṃśa. Their clans, such as the Vṛshṇi and the Andhaka, numbered one hundred and one, and Śrī Kṛshṇa was their master and their ideal. (Skandha 10, Chapter 90)
  • To Prabhāsa. Uddhava tells Vidura that some months later the Yādavas of the Vṛshṇi, Bhoja, Andhaka and other vaṃśas, deluded by daiva, went joyfully by chariot to Prabhāsa kshetra. Parīkshit later asks how Uddhava alone remained when all the atirathas and mahārathas of the Vṛshṇis and Bhojas had died. (Skandha 3, Chapters 3–4)
  • Uddhava’s bond. Uddhava tells Śrī Kṛshṇa that his firm noose of attachment to the Dāśārha, Vṛshṇi, Andhaka and Sātvata Yādavas, which Śrī Kṛshṇa himself had spread for the growth of creation, has been cut by the weapon of ātma-jñāna by Śrī Kṛshṇa’s own hand. (Skandha 11, Chapter 29)

The end of the lines at Prabhāsa

At Prabhāsa, bewildered by Śrī Kṛshṇa, the giver of moksha, the Yādavas fought one another. The text prints the verse:

दाशार्हवृष्ण्यंधकभोजसात्वता मध्वर्बुदा माथुरशूर सेनाः ।
विसर्जनाः कुकुराः कुंतयश्च मिथस्तत स्तेऽथ विसृज्य सौहृदम् ॥

dāśārhavṛshṇyaṃdhakabhojasātvatā madhvarbudā māthuraśūra senāḥ |
visarjanāḥ kukurāḥ kuṃtayaśca mithastata ste’tha visṛjya sauhṛdam ||

Then those of the Dāśārha, Vṛshṇi, Andhaka, Bhoja, Sātvata, Madhu, Visarjana, Kukura and Kunti lines, and the people of Arbuda, Mathurā and Śūrasena, gave up their friendship and fought one another.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 30

Per Brahma Purāṇa

The Sūta tells the munis that after the visarga of Vaivasvata Manu he will describe, as one of the marks of a Purāṇa, the Vṛshṇi line in which Śrī Hari descended. In the time of Vasudeva, he says, Dvārakā was under the rule of Vasudeva and others of the Bhoja, Vṛshṇi and Andhaka clans.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 5, 7

The name

Among the Yādavas of the Haihaya line, Vṛsha was the root ancestor; his son was Madhu, and Madhu had a hundred sons, of whom Vṛshaṇa founded the line. Vṛshaṇa’s descendants are the Vṛshṇis, and the descendants of Madhu are the Mādhavas. “In this Vṛshṇi vaṃśa Śrī Mahāvishṇu descended in the form of Śrī Kṛshṇa.” The account of the lines of Yadu and of Kroshṭu, performer of yajña and upholder of the line, frees from every pāpa.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 13

Kroshṭu’s line and the three branches

Kroshṭu‘s wives were Gāndhārī and Mādrī. Gāndhārī bore Anamitra; Mādrī bore Yudhājit and Devamīḍhusha, and Mādrī’s sons are also named Vṛshṇi and Andhaka. Their vaṃśa grew as the Vṛshṇi vaṃśa in three branches, the Vṛshṇis, the Andhakas and the Bhojas.

The Purāṇa gives the phalaśruti: one who bears in mind this history of the three-branched Vṛshṇi vaṃśa gains increase of his line and is freed from misfortune.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 14

Vasudeva’s wives and children

Vasudeva had fourteen wives: Pauravī, Rohiṇī, Madirā, Ādi, Vaiśākhī, Bhadrā, Sunāmnī, Sahadevā, Śāntidevā, Śrīdevī, Devarakshitā, Vṛkadevī, Upadevī and Devakī, with two attendants, Sutanu and Baḍabā. His eldest wife bore Rāma, Śaraṇya, Śara, Durdama, Damana, Śubhra, Piṇḍāraka, Uśīnara and a daughter Citrā, also famed as Subhadrā. To Vasudeva by Devakī, Śauri, Śrī Kṛshṇa, descended. To Rāma by Revatī was born Niśaṭha; to Arjuna by Subhadrā, Abhimanyu.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 14

The Syamantaka in the house of the Vṛshṇi-Andhakas

Satrājit, of Anamitra‘s line, received the divine gem Syamantaka from Bhagavān Sūrya and gave it to his brother Prasena. In the house of the Vṛshṇi-Andhakas the gem rained gold; the clouds rained in season and there was no fear of disease anywhere. When Prasena was killed by a lion, the Vṛshṇi-Andhakas, knowing that Śrī Kṛshṇa had asked for the gem before, suspected him, and Śrī Kṛshṇa went into the forest to bring the gem back and remove the false charge. Later, when Balarāma had left for Mithilā, Śrī Kṛshṇa went with the Vṛshṇi-Andhaka mahārathas and brought him back to Dvārakā.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 16–17

From Mathurā to Dvārakā

When Kālayavana marched on Mathurā, the Vṛshṇis and Andhakas placed Śrī Kṛshṇa of great mind at their head, took counsel, and resolved to withdraw; honouring the intention of Bhagavān Śiva, who holds the Pināka, they left Mathurā to settle in Kuśasthalī, Dvārakā. Śrī Kṛshṇa built for the Yādavas a fortress that could not be broken, in which even women could fight, “what need to speak of the Vṛshṇi and Yadu clans?”, so that whether he was asleep or gone away, no enemy could overpower them.

Vyāsa tells the munis that when Citralekhā drew the suras, daityas, gandharvas and humans on a canvas for Ushā, the daughter of Bāṇa, Ushā set the others aside, looked to the humans, and among them to the Andhaka and Vṛshṇi vaṃśas. There she saw Śrī Kṛshṇa, Balarāma and Pradyumna, and then Aniruddha, and said, “He is the one for me.”

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 14, 196, 205

The end of the line

After Śrī Kṛshṇa had withdrawn the Vṛshṇi-Andhaka kula in which he was born, Arjuna led the women of Dvārakā away. On the way the Ābhīras fell on them; Arjuna could not string the Gāṇḍīva, his divine astras did not come to his memory, and the robbers laughed at his weapons. While he watched, they carried off the women of the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka families, some of whom went with them of their own accord.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 212

Sources

  • Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 71
  • Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapters 11, 14; Skandha 2, Chapter 4; Skandha 3, Chapters 3–4; Skandha 9, Chapters 23–24; Skandha 10, Chapters 1, 14, 32, 36–37, 39, 43, 45, 58, 68, 80, 90; Skandha 11, Chapters 29–30
  • Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 5, 7, 13–14, 16–17, 196, 205, 212