Saṃkarṣaṇa
| Saṃkarṣaṇa | |
|---|---|
 Saṃkarṣaṇa on a coin of Agathocles of Bactria, circa 190-180 BCE.[1][2] This is "the earliest unambiguous image" of the deity.[3][4] | |
| Affiliation | Balarama, Vishnu[5] |
| Personal information | |
| Born | |
| Parents | Devaki (mother) Vasudeva Anakadundubhi (father) |
| Siblings | Vāsudeva (youger brother) Subhadra (sister) |
| Vrishni heroes |
|---|
 |
| Part of a series on |
| Vaishnavism |
|---|
 |
 Vaishnavism portal |
Saṃkarṣaṇa (IAST Saṃkarṣaṇa, "The Plougher")[7] later known as Balarama, was a son of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi, king of the Vrishnis in the region of Mathura.[8] He was a leading member of the Vrishni heroes, and may well have been an ancient historical ruler in the region of Mathura.[8][9][10][11] The cult of Saṃkarṣaṇa with that of Vāsudeva is historically one of the earliest forms of personal deity worship in India, attested from around the 4th century BCE.[12][13][14]
The cult of Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa was one of the major independent cults, together with the cults of Narayana, Shri and Lakshmi, which later coalesced to form Vishnuism.[1] According to the Vaishnavite doctrine of the avatars, Vishnu takes various forms to rescue the world, and Vāsudeva as well as Saṃkarṣaṇa became understood as some of these forms, and some of the most popular ones.[15] This process lasted from the 4th century BCE when Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa were independent deities, to the 4th century CE, when Vishnu became much more prominent as the central deity of an integrated Vaishnavite cult, with Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa now only some of his manifestations.[15]
In epic and Puranic lore Saṃkarṣaṇa was also known by the names of Rama, Baladeva, Balarama, or Halayudha, and is presented as the elder brother of Vāsudeva.[16]
Initially, Saṃkarṣaṇa seems to hold precedence over his younger brother Vāsudeva, as he appears on the obverse on the coinage of king Agathocles of Bactria (circa 190-180 BCE), and usually first in the naming order as in the Ghosundi inscription.[17] Later this order was reversed, and Vāsudeva became the most important deity of the two.[17]
Characteristics[]
Evolution as a deity[]
The cult of Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa may have evolved from the worship of a historical figure belonging to the Vrishni clan in the region of Mathura.[1] They are leading members of the five "Vrishni heroes".[1]
It is thought that the hero deity Saṃkarṣaṇa may have evolved into a Vaishnavite deity through a step-by-step process: 1) deification of the Vrishni heroes, of whom Vāduseva and Saṃkarṣaṇa were the leaders 2) association with the God Narayana-Vishnu 3) incorporation into the Vyuha concept of successive emanations of the God.[19] Epigraphically, the deified status of Saṃkarṣaṇa is confirmed by his appearance on the coinage of Agathocles of Bactria (190-180 BCE).[20] Later, the association of Saṃkarṣaṇa with Narayana (Vishnu) is confirmed by the Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions of the 1st century BCE.[20] By the 2nd century CE, the "avatara concept was in its infancy", and the depiction of the four emanations of Vishnu (the Chatur-vyūha), consisting in the Vrishni heroes including Vāsudeva, Saṃkarṣaṇa and minus Samba, starts to become visible in the art of Mathura at the end of the Kushan period.[21]
The Harivamsa describes intricate relationships between Krishna Vasudeva, Saṃkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha that would later form a Vaishnava concept of primary quadrupled expansion, or chatur vyuha.[22]
The name of Samkarsana first appears in epigraphy in the Nanaghat cave inscriptions and the Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, both dated to the 1st century BCE. In these inscriptions, Samkarsana appears before Vasudeva, suggesting seniority and precedence.[citation needed]
Saṃkarṣaṇa symbolism at Besnagar (circa 100 BCE)[]
Various sculptures and pillar capitals were found near the Heliodorus pillar in Besnagar, and it is thought they were dedicated to Vāsudeva's kinsmen, otherwise known as the Vrishni heroes and objects of the Bhagavata cult.[26] These are a tala (fan-palm capital), a makara(crocodile) capital, a banyan-tree capital, and a possible statue of the goddess Lakshmi, also associated with the Bhagavat cult.[27] Just as Garuda is associated with Vasudeva, the fan-palm capital is generally associated with Samkarsana, and the makara is associated with Pradyumna.[23][24] The banyan-tree capital with ashtanidhis is associated with Lakshmi.[27]
The presence of these pillar capitals, found near the Heliodorus pillar, suggests that the Bhagavata cult, although centered around the figures of Vāsudeva and Samkarsana, may also have involved the worship of other Vrishni deities.[24]
In his theriomorphic form, Saṃkarṣaṇa is associated to the lion.[28]
Parallels with Greek mythology[]
Saṃkarṣaṇa has been compared to the Greek god Dionysos, son of Zeus, as both are associated with the plough and with wine, as well as a liking for wrestling and gourmet food.[29][30] Arrian in his Indika, quoting Megasthenes, writes of Dyonisos in India:
About Dionysos he writes: "Dionysos, however, when he came and had conquered the people, founded cities and gave laws to these cities, and introduced the use of wine among Indians, as he had done among the Greeks, and taught them to sow the land, himself supplying seeds for the purpose (...) It is also said that Dionysos first yoked oxen to the plough, and made many of the Indians husbandmen instead of nomads, and furnished them with the implements of agriculture; and that the Indians worship the other gods, and Dionysos himself in particular, with cymbals and drums, because he so taught them; and he also taught them the satiric dance, or, as the Greeks call it, the Kordax and that he instructed the Indians to let their hair grow long in honor of the god, and to wear the turban"
— Arrian, Indika, Chapter VII.[31]
Bacchanalian orgies[]
Early on, the cult of Smarkasana is associated with the abuse of wine, and the Bacchanalian features of the cult of Dionysus are also found in the cult of Saṃkarṣaṇa.[32] The Mahabharata mentions the Bacchanalian orgies of Baladeva, another name of Smarkasana, and he is often depicted holding a cup in an inebriated state.[33]
Naneghat inscription (1st century BCE)[]
