Vrishni

The Vrishnis (Sanskrit: वृष्णि, IAST: Vṛṣṇi) were an ancient Indian clan who were believed to be the descendants of Vrishni. It is believed that Vrishni was the son of Satvata, a descendant of Yadu, the son of Yayati. He had two wives, Gandhari and Madri, not to be confused with Gandhari and Madri from the Mahabharata. He has a son named Devamidhusha by his wife Madri. Vasudeva, the father of Krishna was the grandson of Devamidhusha.^[5] According to the Puranas, the Vrishnis were residents of Dvaraka.

Vrishnis
5th century BCE–4th century CE
Silver coin of a "King Vrishni" (of the Audumbaras according to Cunningham).[1][3] Obv Pillar with half-lion and half-elephant, surmounted by a Triratna symbol and surrounded by Buddhist railing. Brahmi legend Vṛishṇi Raja jnâgaṇyasya blubharasya Rev Large Dharmachakra symbol. Kharosthi legend Vrishni Raja jnâganyasya blubharasya.[1]
South Asia 150 BCE SATAVAHANAS MAHAMEGHA- VAHANAS SAMATATAS AUDUMBARAS YAUDHEYAS PAURAVAS VRISHNIS KUNINDAS INDO- GREEKS GRECO- BACTRIANS MITRAS ARJUNAYANAS MALAVAS SHUNGAS PANDYAS CHOLAS CHERAS LOULAN HAN DYNASTY Location on the Vrishnis and contemporary South Asian polities circa 150 CE.[4]
Location of the Vrishni among other groups: the Audumbaras, the Kunindas, the Vemakas, the Yaudheyas, the Pauravas and the Arjunayanas.
Capital	Hoshiarpur
Government	Monarchy
History
• Established	5th century BCE
• Disestablished	4th century CE
Succeeded by Gupta Empire

Migration of Vrishnis to Dvaraka

Jarasandha, father-in-law of Kamsa, invaded Mathura with a vast army; and though Krishna destroyed his army of demons, another asura, Kalayavan by name, surrounded Mathura with another army of thirty million monstrous fiends. Then Krishna thought it well to depart to Dvaraka.^[6]

End of the Vrishnis

After the death of Duryodhana in Mahabharata, Krishna received the curse of Gandhari. She bewailed the death of her son and of friend and foe; then recognizing Hari as the Prime Mover, the One behind All, she cursed him for letting such things befall. This was her curse: that after 36 years Krishna should perish alone miserably and his people, the Vrishnis, should be destroyed. These things in due time came to pass. A madness seized the people of Dvaraka so that they fell upon one another and were slain, together with all sons and grandsons of Krishna. Only the women and Krishna and Balarama remained alive. Then Balarama went to the forest, and Krishna first sent a messenger to the Kuru city, to place the city and women of Dvaraka under the Pandavas protection, and then took leave of his father; afterward he himself sought the forest, where Balarama awaited him. Krishna discovered his brother seated under a mighty tree on the edge of the forest; he sat like a yogi, and behold, there came forth from his mouth a mighty snake, the thousand headed naga, Ananta, and glided away to ocean. Ocean himself and the sacred rivers and many divine nagas came to meet him. Thus Krishna beheld his brother depart from human world, and he wandered alone in forest. He thought of Gandhari's curse and all that had befallen, and he knew that the time had come for his own departure. He restrained his senses in yoga and laid himself down. Then there came a hunter that way and thought him a deer, and loosed a shaft and pierced his foot; but when he came close the hunter beheld a man wrapped in yellow robes practicing yoga. Thinking himself an offender, he touched his feet. Then Krishna rose and gave him comfort, and himself ascended to Heaven. The hunter is said to be rebirth of Vali from Ramayana who was killed by Rama by hiding behind a tree and was therefore given the opportunity to avenge in similar fashion by Rama himself.^[6]

Vrishnis in ancient literature

Pāṇini in his Ashtadhyayi (IV.1.114, VI.2.34) mentioned about the Vrishnis along with the Andhakas. The Arthashastra of Kautilya described the Vrishnis as a sangha (tribal confederation). In the Mahabharata (Drona Parva, 141.15) the Vrishnis and the Andhakas are referred as Vratyas.^[7]

Vrishni coins

Alexander Cunningham found a unique silver coin of a King Vrishni (Raja Vrishni) which he identifies from the tribe of the Audumbaras, found in Hoshiarpur, Punjab.^[1] This coin is at the British Museum, London. This circular coin has a sort of nandipada-standard-in-railing, a mythical animal, half lion and half elephant and a circular Brahmi legend Vṛṣṇirāja Jñāgaṇasya trātārasya on the obverse and an elaborate chakra of twelve spokes in pellet border with slightly truncated Kharoshthi legend Vṛṣṇirājaṇṇa(gaṇasa) tra(tarasa) the reverse.^[8] Later a number of Vrishni copper coins were also discovered from Punjab. ^{[citation needed]}

"Vrishni heroes"

Main article: Vrishni heroes

The Vrishni heroes are a group of five legendary, deified heroes who are found in the literature and archaeological sites of ancient India.^[9][10] Their earliest worship is attestable in the clan of the Vrishnis near Mathura by 4th-century BCE.^[9][11][12] Legends are associated with these deified heroes, some of which may be based on real, historical heroes of the Vrishni clan.^[13][14] Their early worship has been variously described as cross-sectarian, much like the cult of the Yakshas, related to the early Bhagavata tradition of Hinduism, and with possible links to Jainism as well.^[15] They and their legends – particularly of Krishna and Balarama – have been an important part of the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.^[9][16][10]

• 
  "Vrishni heroes" on the coinage of Agathocles of Bactria, circa 190-180 BCE: Samkarshana-Balarama, with Gada mace and plow, and Vāsudeva-Krishna, with Shankha (a pear-shaped case or conch) and Chakra wheel.^[13][17][18] This is "the earliest unambiguous image" of the two deities.^[19]
• 
  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.^[20]

Archaeologist Vinay Kumar Gupta recently identified the five Vṛsṇi heroes (Pañca-Vṛsṇi Vīras), in another rock painting from Naldah, District Bundi, Rajasthan, considering it as not later than 3rd century BCE: "[W]here the five Vṛsṇi heroes are shown standing side by side [...] The two figures on the extreme left and right are properly shown with haloes and can be identified as Vāsudeva-Kṛsṇa and Balarāma. Most of the figures appear with their hands held akimbo. They all are shown connected by a long piece of cloth, running like a rope. The one to the extreme right either possibly holds a cakra in his left hand or is having it tied to the rope, can be identified as Vāsudeva-Kṛsṇa whereas the one to the extreme left either possibly holds a hala (plough-share) or is having it tied to the rope but the artist seems to have taken some liberty by stylizing the depiction in a rectangular form."^[21]

Vrishni Family Tree

The following chart shows the family tree of Krishna.^[6][22][23]

Vrishni♂

consort♀#

Yudhajit♂

consort♀#

Anamitra♂

consort♀#

Vrishni♂

consort♀#

Chitraratha♂

consort♀#

Viduratha♂

consort♀#

4 generations

Hridika♂

consort♀#

Devamidha♂

Mandisha♀# Vaishyvarna♀#

Surasena♂

Bhojrajkumari♀#

Devaki♀#

Vasudeva♂

Rohini♀#

Kunti♀

9 other sons♂

4 other daughters♀

Krishna♂

other sons♂

Balarama♂

Subhadra♀

Rukmini♀#

Satyabhama♀#

Jambavati♀#

Nagnajiti♀#

Kalindi♀#

Madra♀#

Mitravinda♀#

Bhadra♀#

Rohini♀#

16,100 other wives♀#

Pradyumna, Charudeshna, Sudeshna, Charudeha, Sucharu, Charugupta, Bhadracharu, Charuchandra, Vicharu and Charu

Bhanu, Subhanu, Svarbhanu, Prabhanu, Bhanuman, Chandrabhanu, Brihadbhanu, Atibhanu, Shreebhanu and Pratibhanu

Samba, Sumitra, Purujit, Satajit, Sahasrajit, Vijaya, Citraketu, Vasuman, Dravida and Kratu

Vira, Candra, Asvasena, Citragu, Vegavan, Vrisha, Ama, Sanku, Vasu and Kunti

Sruta, Kavi, Vrisha, Vira, Subahu, Bhadra, Santi, Darsa, Purnamasa and Somaka

Praghosha, Gatravan, Simha, Bala, Prabala, Urdhaga, Mahasakti, Saha, Oja and Aparajita

Vrika, Harsha, Anila, Gridhra, Vardhana, Unnada, Mahamsa, Pavana, Vahni and Kshudhi

Sangramajit, Brihatsena, Sura, Praharana, Arijith, Jaya and Subhadra, Vama, Ayur and Satyaka

Diptiman, Tamratapta and 8 others

each wife had 10 sons and 1 daughter

• The members born to the family are linked with solid lines (—)
• The wives of the male members are linked with dashed lines (--)
• Up to Surasena only the male members leading to the generation of Krishna are shown and other members are ignored.
• The individual male members shown in the chart are denoted by the symbol "♂".
• The individual female members shown in the chart are denoted by the symbol "♀".
• The female members who not born to the family but are related through marriage are denoted by the symbol "#".
• The sons of Krishna born to each of his eight princely wives are not shown separately due to their large number.
• The names of the children of Krishna born to each of the rest of his 16,100 wives are not mentioned.

Medieval Vrishnis

The medieval Ay dynasty claimed that they belonged to the Vrishni lineage and this claim was advanced by the rulers of Venad and Travancore.^[24][25] Sri Padmanabha in Trivandrum was the tutelary deity of the medieval Ay family.^[26]

See also

• Vrishni heroes
• Yadavas
• Surasena Kingdom
• Mathura

References

1. Alexander Cunningham's Coins of Ancient India: From the Earliest Times Down to the Seventh Century (1891) p.70
2. Ph.D, Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. ABC-CLIO. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.
3. Ph.D, Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. ABC-CLIO. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.
4. Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (d). ISBN 0226742210.
5. Pargiter F.E. (1922, reprint 1972). Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp.103-7
6. Sister Nivedita & Ananda K. Coomaraswamy: Myths and Legends of the Hindus and Bhuddhists, Kolkata, 1913 ISBN 81-7505-197-3 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. Raychaudhury, H.C. (1972). Political History of Ancient India, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.126-8
8. Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.), Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.242-3
9. Doris Srinivasan (1997). Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art. BRILL Academic. pp. 211–220, 236. ISBN 90-04-10758-4.
10. R Champakalakshmi (1990). H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy (ed.). Essays on Indian History and Culture. Mittal Publications. pp. 52–60. ISBN 978-81-7099-211-0.
11. Gavin D. Flood (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0.
12. Christopher Austin (2018). Diana Dimitrova and Tatiana Oranskaia (ed.). Divinizing in South Asian Traditions. Taylor & Francis. pp. 30–35. ISBN 978-1-351-12360-0.
13. Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. pp. 436–438. ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
14. Srinivasan, Doris (1979). "Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms". Archives of Asian Art. 32: 49–50. ISSN 0066-6637. JSTOR 20111096.
15. Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. pp. 211–213. ISBN 978-90-04-15537-4.
16. Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. ABC-CLIO. pp. 23–25, 239. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.;
    For their regional significance in contemporary Hinduism, see: [a] Couture, André; Schmid, Charlotte; Couture, Andre (2001). "The Harivaṃśa, the Goddess Ekānaṃśā, and the Iconography of the Vṛṣṇi Triads". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 121 (2): 173–192. doi:10.2307/606559. JSTOR 606559.; [b] Doris Srinivasan (1979). "Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms". Archives of Asian Art. 32: 39–54. JSTOR 20111096.
17. Srinivasan, Doris (1979). "Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms". Archives of Asian Art. 32: 50. ISSN 0066-6637. JSTOR 20111096.
18. Joshi, Nilakanth Purushottam (1979). Iconography of Balarāma. Abhinav Publications. p. 22. ISBN 978-81-7017-107-2.
19. Srinivasan, Doris (1997). Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art. BRILL. p. 215. ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8.
20. Gupta, Vinay K. "Vrishnis in Ancient Literature and Art". Indology's Pulse Arts in Context, Doris Meth Srinivasan Festschrift Volume, Eds. Corinna Wessels Mevissen and Gerd Mevissen with Assistance of Vinay Kumar Gupta: 71.
21. Gupta, Vinay Kumar (May 2023). "Vrsnis in Ancient Art and Literature: An Addendum". VESTIGIA INDICA: BSSS Journal of History & Archaeology. 1 (1): 184–235.
22. "Krishna's visit to Prabhasa along with his family, Mausala Parva, Mahabharata - Kashiram Das". Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
23. Family Trees, The descendants of Pururava.
24. Aiya, V. Nagam. The Travancore State Manual. Vol 1. Part 2. Trivandrum: The Travancore Government Press, 1906
25. Ganesh, K.N. (February 1990). "The Process of State Formation in Travancore". Studies in History. 6 (1): 15–33. doi:10.1177/025764309000600102. ISSN 0257-6430. S2CID 162972188.
26. A Survey of Kerala History, A. Sreedhara Menon, D C Books Kerala (India), 2007, ISBN 81-264-1578-9, ISBN 978-81-264-1578-6