Vrishni heroes

According to Rosenfield, the five heroes of the Vrishnis may have been ancient historical rulers in the region of Mathura, and Vāsudeva and Krishna "may well have been kings of this dynasty as well".

[28] By the 2nd century CE, the "avatara concept was in its infancy", and the depiction of Vishnu with his four emanations (the Chatur-vyūha), consisting in the Vrishni heroes minus Samba, starts to become visible in art at the end of the Kushan period.

[25] Also according to Gavin Flood – an Indologist and scholar of Hinduism, Vāsudeva may have originated in a real Vrishni hero or king, but the lineage is difficult to establish.

[10] This Vasudeva became deified in the Vrishni clan, its worship being traceable to the 4th century text of Pāṇini, which mentions Vāsudevaka or a "devotee of Vāsudeva".

[11] In early Hinduism, the five Vrishni heroes have been identified as Vāsudeva-Krishna, Samkarsana-Balarama, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Samba as known from the Medieval Vayu Purana.

[13][30] The Vrishni heroes appear on the coinage of Agathocles of Bactria, circa 190-180 BCE: Samkarshana, with Gada mace and plow, and Vāsudeva, with Shankha (a pear-shaped case or conch) and Chakra wheel.

[4] On some of the Indian punch-marked coins, three individuals appear without attributes, possibly deities Saṃkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva and Ekanamsha in the late 4th-2nd century BCE.

[6] In effect, the findings surrounding the Heliodorus pillar suggest the cult of a trio of the Vrishni heroes in this time and area, composed of the three deities Vāsudesa, Saṃkarṣaṇa and Pradyumna.

[45] Although the pillars are aniconic, it is probable that now lost sculptures representing the deities, broadly similar to the depictions on Vāsudeva and Samkarshana on the coins of Agathocles of Bactria (190-180 BCE), were located in adjoining shrines.

New soil was then added and the ground level raised to build a new second temple to Vāsudeva, with a wooden pillar (Garuda dhvaja) in front of the east-facing elliptical shrine.

[47] In late 2nd-century BCE, after some ground preparation, yet another Vāsudeva temple was rebuilt, this time with eight stone pillars aligned in the north-south cardinal axis.

[47][48] Saṃkarṣaṇa, the Vrishni elder and the leading divinity until the rise to precedence of Vāsudeva, is known to appear on the coinage of the Indo-Scythian rulers Maues and Azes I during the 1st century BCE.

[4][52][53] The two major Vrishni heroes Saṃkarṣaṇa and Vāsudeva, still in their proper seniority order, are again mentioned in the Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, dated to the 1st century BCE.

The Vrishni heroes are mentioned in the Mora Well Inscription in Mathura, dated to the time of the Northern Satraps Sodasa, in which they are called Bhagavatam.

[30] Sonya Rhie Quintanilla also supports an attribution of the torso to the five Vrishnis, and dates them to around the time of Sodasa (circa 15 CE), which is confirmed on artistic grounds.

[62] A few triads are known from Mathura, dated to the 1st-2nd century CE, showing Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa with their attributes, together with a female standing in the middle, thought to be Ekanamsha.

[67] Vāsudeva is fittingly in the center with ornate crown and flower necklace, making the Abhaya Mudra and holding his decorated heavy mace on the side, his elder brother Balarama to his right under a serpent hood, his son Pradyumna to his left (lost), and his grandson Aniruddha on top.

[67] Cult images of Vāsudeva continued to be produced until the 4th century CE, the worship of this Mathuran deity being much more important than that of Vishnu during that period.

[68] Statues dating to the 2nd and 3rd century show a possibly four-armed Vāsudeva standing with his attributes: the wheel, the mace and the conch, his right hand saluting in Abhaya mudra.

[70] A relief from Kondamotu, Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, dates to the 4th century CE, and shows the Vrishni heroes standing in genealogical order around Narasimha.

[73] In the Vaikuntha Chaturmurti, especially in the statues from Kasmir, Pradyumna also appears sometimes in the back of the head of the central Vishnu, as a fearsome deity, also known as Kapila.

[80][81] This is to be understood in conjunction with the description of the four Vyūhas Saṃkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, also presented as emanations of Vishnu, as known from the Pancaratra doctrine.

[82][83] This establishes multiple correspondences between the deities and their symbols:[84][85][83] The Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh is closely related to the iconic architectural temple structure described in the Viṣṇudharmottara purāṇa, and can be interpreted as an architectural representation of the Caturvyuha concept and the Pancaratra doctrine, centering on the depictions of the four main emanations of Vishnu: Vāsudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

Vrishni triad shown in a rock painting at Tikla , Madhya Pradesh , 3rd-2nd century BCE. These would be Saṃkarṣaṇa (with plough and mace), Vāsudeva (with mace and wheel) and a female deity, probably Ekanamsha . [ 24 ]
(Bala)rama and Krishna at Chilas . The Kharoshthi inscription nearby reads Rama [kri]ṣa . 1st century CE. [ 4 ]
The Heliodorus pillar was erected to Vāsudeva by the Greek Heliodorus in 115 BCE. It was crowned by a Garuda capital.
Excavation of the Vrishni Temple, with elliptic plan. The Heliodorus pillar appears in the immediate background.
Saṃkarṣaṇa-Balarama with mace and plough, striding forward with billowing scarf, on the coinage of Maues (90-80 BCE).
The name Vāsudevā ( 𑀯𑀸𑀲𑀼𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀸 ) in the Brahmi script , in the Ghosundi inscription , 1st century BCE.
Torso said to be from one of the five Vrishni Heroes, Mora, circa 15 CE, Mathura Museum . [ 30 ] [ 54 ] [ 13 ]
Chamunda Tila pillar capital.
Vāsudeva and his Vrishni kinsmen emanating from him.
Vasudeva-Krishna with his three attributes (a mace, a wheel and a conch) and an Abhaya mudra hand gesture, but without an aureole, terracotta. [ 68 ]
The five Vrishni heroes Saṃkarṣaṇa , Vāsudeva , Pradyumna , Samba , and Aniruddha standing around enthroned Narasimha . Kondamotu Vrishni heroes relief, 4th century CE, Hyderabad State Museum . [ 7 ]
Saṃkarṣaṇa appears as a lion, while Aniruddha appears as a boar in this Vaikuntha Chaturmurti statue, showing Vishnu in his three main emanations, mid-5th century. Boston Museum . [ 73 ] [ 68 ]
A depiction of Vāsudeva at Deogarh. He holds the wheel, the conch and salutes in Abhaya Mudra . [ 91 ]