Aniruddha

Aniruddha is the grandson of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the son of Pradyumna. Pradyumna is Kāmadeva born again as Kṛṣṇa’s son. The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa praises Aniruddha as a warrior whose courage had no equal in the three worlds.

Both the Śiva Purāṇa and the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa tell the story of Aniruddha and Uṣā, the daughter of Bāṇāsura. He was carried off to Śoṇitapura by Citralekhā. He fought Bāṇāsura’s soldiers and was bound with nāgapāśas (serpent ropes). He was freed, married Uṣā and returned with her to Dvārakā. The Mahābhārata tells of his death at Prabhāsa.

Lineage and identity

Aniruddha was born to Pradyumna and Rukmavatī. Rukmavatī was the daughter of Rukmī, who was the brother of Rukmiṇī, the foremost wife of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. Aniruddha is therefore Kṛṣṇa’s grandson through the line of Rukmiṇī. On the other side he is the great-grandson of Vasudeva and Devakī.

The line is: Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, then Pradyumna (the reborn Kāma), then Aniruddha. The Śiva Purāṇa says he was very handsome.

When Citralekhā told Uṣā who he was, she said: “The grandson of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the lord of the three worlds; the son of Pradyumna. In all the three lokas there is no warrior to equal him.” This is in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 120.

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa shows him sitting in his palace like the moon among the stars. Women attendants, music and dance were all around him, yet his mind was elsewhere, for he too had seen Uṣā in a dream. He looked like a man who already knew his fate.

The account in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa

Uṣā’s dream and Citralekhā’s task

Uṣā, the daughter of Bāṇāsura, had received a vara (a boon) from Pārvatī. The man she would see in a dream on the night of Vaiśākha dvādaśī would be her husband. On that night a young man came to her in a dream and embraced her. She woke in distress and joy, and she told her friends.

Her friend Citralekhā was an apsarā of great siddhi (power) and the daughter of Kumbhāṇḍa. Over seven days she painted portraits of all the famous beings of the three worlds. When Uṣā’s eyes fell on the portrait of Aniruddha, she knew him at once.

Citralekhā went to Dvārakā. She took counsel from Nārada and learned the Tāmasavidyā. She entered Pradyumna’s mansion unseen by all and took Aniruddha from among his women attendants. She carried him through the sky to Śoṇitapura. This is in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapters 119–121.

Arrival and gāndharva marriage

When Aniruddha reached Śoṇitapura, Uṣā welcomed him with pūjā and great joy. Citralekhā placed them together in a hidden room of the antaḥpura (the women’s quarters). There, in the privacy of their love for each other, the two were united in a gāndharva-vivāha (a marriage by mutual consent). By day they played like cakravāka birds in their happiness. Uṣā shone with joy at her husband’s presence. This is in the Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 121.

Battle with Bāṇāsura’s forces

The palace guards found a young man in Uṣā’s rooms and told Bāṇāsura. The asura was furious. He sent soldiers to kill the stranger. Aniruddha fought them alone with a parigha (an iron club). He drove back wave after wave and killed hundreds. Bāṇāsura sent ten thousand more, and Aniruddha drove them all back. Nārada watched from the sky. He danced with delight and cheered each of Aniruddha’s wins.

Uṣā wept in fear when Bāṇāsura’s soldiers surrounded the palace. Aniruddha calmed her: “Do not be afraid while I am here. This is a time to rejoice, not to fear. Watch my courage today.”

Then Bāṇāsura himself came to the field in his great chariot drawn by a thousand horses. They fought fiercely. Aniruddha broke Bāṇāsura’s chariot, killed his horses and turned back every weapon. Then Bāṇāsura fought with unseen māyā (magic), and Aniruddha could not find his enemy. Bāṇāsura used the serpent weapon (nāgāstra). Aniruddha was bound in serpent coils and could not move. Even so, he showed no distress.

Kumbhāṇḍa advised Bāṇāsura not to kill him: “He has wed your daughter; do not bring pāpa (sin) on yourself by killing him.” Bāṇāsura agreed. He kept Aniruddha prisoner under the nāgapāśas in Uṣā’s antaḥpura.

Kumbhāṇḍa, Bāṇāsura’s own minister, spoke of Aniruddha in these words: “He has the courage of Indra; he fights as though at play; he has strength, he is learned in all the śāstras, and he is very handsome. He is not fit to be killed. He is fit to be honoured.” This is in the Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 121.

Prayer to Āryādevī

In his captivity Aniruddha made and recited a long prayer to Āryādevī. She is also called Kātyāyanī, Durgā, Bhadrakālī and Nārāyaṇī. He asked her, by her many names, to free him from his bonds. He called her the śakti (power) that lives in all living beings, the mother of Skanda, Pārvatī the daughter of the mountain, the one honoured by all the worlds, and the giver of mokṣa (liberation) to her devotees. He prayed:

“Liberate me from all bondage without obstruction. I take shelter at your feet, O wide-eyed one. You alone are capable of freeing me from all my fetters.”

Āryādevī appeared before him and comforted him. She said: “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who holds the cakra, will come. He will cut off Bāṇāsura’s thousand arms and take you back to Dvārakā. Be patient for a little while.” Aniruddha then offered a second stotra (a hymn of praise) in thanks. His prayer in captivity showed his bhakti and his trust in divine protection. This is in the Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 122.

Freed by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa

In Dvārakā, Aniruddha’s wives wept because he was gone, and the Yādavas were in turmoil. The next morning Nārada came and told the whole story. Aniruddha was held in Śoṇitapura under nāgapāśas. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa called Garuḍa at once. He rode him with Balarāma and Pradyumna and flew to Śoṇitapura.

There was a great battle with Bāṇāsura’s armies, with Śiva’s Śiva-jvara, with Śiva himself and with Kārttikeya. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa won against them all. Then he entered the antaḥpura where Aniruddha was held.

As soon as Garuḍa appeared, the nāgas that bound Aniruddha fled in fear. The serpent bonds fell away. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa went to Aniruddha and touched him with great love. Aniruddha bowed with folded hands before his grandfather and said: “O Deva-deva! You always come back victorious from every battle; not even Indra can stand before you.” Then he bowed to Balarāma, again to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and Garuḍa, and last he went to his father Pradyumna and touched his feet. Uṣā followed him and bowed to them all. This is in the Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 132.

Marriage with Uṣā

Nārada urged them, and the formal marriage of Aniruddha and Uṣā was held at Śoṇitapura itself. Kumbhāṇḍa brought all the wedding things. Agni himself came as witness. The marriage was held under an auspicious nakṣatra (star). Apsarases danced, gandharvas sang in the sweetest voices, and the three worlds rejoiced. Nārada was overjoyed to see the rite. This is in the Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 132.

Return to Dvārakā

Bāṇāsura’s wife herself placed Uṣā on a peacock chariot with many companions and sent her to Dvārakā. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Pradyumna and Aniruddha rode on Garuḍa. When Garuḍa rose into the sky, trees fell, the earth shook and the air filled with dust.

As Dvārakā came into view, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa sounded his Pāñcajanya conch. The citizens poured out with great joy. They decorated the city with garlands of jewels and welcomed their returning heroes. Devakī, Rukmiṇī, Revatī and the queens did all the maṅgala (auspicious) rites. They welcomed Uṣā into the royal antaḥpura with great love and gifts. Uṣā then lived in Aniruddha’s mansion in Dvārakā and enjoyed all the comforts of a queen. This is in the Viṣṇu Parva, Chapters 133–134.

The account in the Śiva Purāṇa

The abduction and captivity

In the Śiva Purāṇa, Aniruddha was asleep in his palace at Dvārakā. Citralekhā, the daughter of Kumbhāṇḍa, who was Bāṇāsura’s minister, came through the night sky using tāmasayoga and lifted him away to Śoṇitapura. He woke in a strange palace and found Uṣā. He knew her from his dreams, and they were joyfully united.

Bāṇāsura learned that a stranger was in the palace. Aniruddha fought ten thousand soldiers with a parigha and defeated them. Another hundred thousand were sent, and Aniruddha still fought. At last Bāṇāsura himself came and bound Aniruddha with nāgapāśas, serpent ropes of divine origin. Aniruddha was held in a pañjara (cage). Kumbhāṇḍa advised against killing him and rightly sensed what would follow. This is in the Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 52.

Freed by Kālī

From his cage Aniruddha called on Durgā. At midnight on Jyeṣṭha Kṛṣṇa Caturdaśī, the same tithi (lunar day) as the night of his abduction, Kālī appeared. She broke the cage with her fist, burned the nāgapāśas and freed Aniruddha. He was reunited with Uṣā. An ākāśavāṇī (a voice from the sky) warned Bāṇāsura to leave them alone. This is in the Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 53.

The war and the return

After four months, Nārada told Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa that Aniruddha was a captive. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa marched on Śoṇitapura with twelve akṣauhiṇīs (great divisions of an army). Then came the great war: the jvara-yuddha (the war of the fevers), Kṛṣṇa’s stotra to Śiva, the Jṛmbhaṇāstra and the cutting off of Bāṇāsura’s arms. After it Bhagavān Śiva made peace between Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and Bāṇāsura. Aniruddha and Uṣā then left formally for Dvārakā with great honour and many gifts. This is in the Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapters 51–56.

Death at Prabhāsa

In the thirty-sixth year of Yudhiṣṭhira’s reign, the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas gathered at Prabhāsa. The drinking festival ended in the Yādavas destroying one another. Aniruddha fell among the first of the dead. With Sāmba, Cārudeṣṇa and his father Pradyumna, he was struck down in the frenzy of the cursed eraka reeds that had become muṣala (clubs).

When Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa saw these deaths, he took up his anger and finished the ruin of the line, which Kāla and the brāhmaṇa śāpa (the curse of the brāhmaṇas) had ordained. Aniruddha died, but his line went on. His son Vajra, Kṛṣṇa’s great-grandson, lived through the disaster. Arjuna later crowned him king to carry on the Yādava line. This is in the Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapters 3, 7.

Sources

• Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapters 119–134
• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapters 51–56
• Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapters 3, 7