Karūsha
Karūsha · karūsha, “the land of the Karūshas”
Śraddhā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śraddhā.
Karūsha is a country named in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the land of three kings: Vṛddhaśarmā, who married Śrutadevā, the younger sister of Kuntī; their son Dantavakra, who faced Śrī Kṛshṇa with his mace; and Pauṇḍraka, who in his ignorance claimed to be Vāsudeva. Śrī Śuka Maharshi tells of all three to Parīkshit.
Vṛddhaśarmā and Śrutadevā
Of the daughters of Śūra, Kuntī was married by Pāṇḍu, and her younger sister Śrutadevā was married by Vṛddhaśarmā, the king of the Karūsha country. Vijaya, who had received a śāpa from Sanaka and the other ṛshis, was born as Hiraṇyāksha, son of Diti; the same Hiraṇyāksha was born again from Śrutadevā as Dantavakra.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 24
Pauṇḍraka, lord of Karūsha
While Balarāma had gone to Gokula, Pauṇḍraka, the ignorant lord of the country of Karūsha, urged on by fools who told him he was Bhagavān Vāsudeva descended on earth, sent a messenger to Śrī Kṛshṇa at Dvārakā: “I alone am Vāsudeva. Give up the false title, and the emblems you bear, and take refuge in me, or make ready for battle.” The members of the sabhā laughed, and Śrī Kṛshṇa answered that the emblems Pauṇḍraka relied on he would release upon him. Śrī Kṛshṇa mounted his chariot and went to Kāśī. Pauṇḍraka came out with two akshauhiṇīs, and his friend the king of Kāśī followed with three, guarding him from behind. Pauṇḍraka wore false copies of the conch, the cakra, the sword, the Śārṅga bow, the Śrīvatsa and the Kaustubha, with a false Garuḍa on his flag; seeing him dressed like an actor on the stage, Śrī Kṛshṇa laughed aloud, and as the fire of the pralaya torments all beings, he struck down the army of Pauṇḍraka and the king of Kāśī.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 66
Dantavakra, lord of Karūsha
Dantavakra, lord of the Karūsha country, of great strength, came alone on foot to Dvārakā with his mace, and the earth shook as he walked. Śrī Kṛshṇa leapt down from his chariot with his mace and checked him as the shore checks the ocean. Dantavakra called him the son of his maternal uncle and an enemy in the form of a kinsman, struck him on the head with his mace and roared; Śrī Kṛshṇa did not move, and with his heavy mace, the divine Kaumodakī gadā, struck Dantavakra on the chest. Dantavakra fell and died, and a subtle, wondrous radiance went from him into Śrī Kṛshṇa while all beings watched, as at the slaying of Śiśupāla. His brother Vidūratha came at Śrī Kṛshṇa with sword and shield, and Śrī Kṛshṇa cut off his head with the Sudarśana cakra.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 78
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 24; Skandha 10, Chapters 66, 78