Vrishni heroes
The Vrishni heroes (IAST: Vṛṣṇi Viras), also referred to as Pancha-viras (IAST: Pañca vīras, "Five heroes"), are a group of five legendary, deified heroes who are found in the literature and archaeological sites of ancient India.[8][9] Their earliest worship is attestable in the clan of the Vrishnis near Mathura by 4th-century BCE.[8][10][11] Legends are associated with these deified heroes, some of which may be based on real, historical heroes of the Vrishni clan.[1][12] 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.[13] They and their legends – particularly of Krishna and Balarama – have been an important part of the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.[8][14][9]
The Vrishnis were already known in the late Vedic literature. They are also mentioned by Pāṇini in Astadhyayi verse 6.2.34, while Krishna is referred to as Krishna Varshneya ("the Vrishni") in verse 3.187.51 of the Mahabharata.[15] Beyond texts, their importance in ancient India is attested by the ancient inscriptions found near Mathura and coins discovered in the ruins of Ai-Khanoum (Afghanistan), bearing images of the two main Vrishni heroes, with Greek and Brahmi legends.[8]
The cult of the Vrishni heroes existed as an independent cult in Mathura, as suggested by the Mora Well Inscription, and was then amalgamated very progressively into Vaishnavism.[16] The deification of the Vrhisni heroes centered around the cult of Vasudeva-Krishna, known as Bhagavatism.[17] Epigraphical evidence suggests that their legends and worship swiftly expanded to other parts of India by the start of the common era.[11][18][19] The Vrishni heroes are generally identified as Samkarshana (Balarama-Samkarshana, son of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi and Devaki),[1][15] Vāsudeva (Vāsudeva-Krishna, another son of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi and Devaki),[1][15] Pradyumna (son of Vāsudeva-Krishna and Rukmini),[1] Samba (son of Vāsudeva-Krishna and Jambavati),[1] and Aniruddha (son of Pradyumna).[18]
Probably as late as the 1st century CE, the cult of the Vrishni heroes (Vīravāda) retained more importance than the Vyuha doctrine (Vyūhavāda), the subsequent cult of emanations that evolved from the Vrishni hero cult.[20] Still later, it evolved into the Avatāravāda system of incarnations of Vishnu.[21] Overall, according to Doris Srinivasan, "the absorption of the Vrishni hero into the Vaishnava worship is very gradual. The amalgamation process was preceded and concurrent with a cult of several Vrishni heroes".[22]
The Vrishni heroes also have distinct individual qualities: Vāsudeva is also associated with gentleness and strength, Samkarsana with knowledge, Pradyumna with female power, Samba with male power and Aniruddha with ferociousness and sovereignty.[23]
Identity[]
The historical roots and the identity of the Vrishni heroes is unclear. Several interpretations have been proposed.
Local heroes turned deities[]
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".[26] According to the Vayu Purana (97.1-2), the five Vrishni heroes were originally human, and their names were Samkarshana, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Samba, and Aniruddha.[27]
The heroes would then have evolved into Vaishnavite deities through a step-by-step process: 1) deification of the Vrishni heroes 2) association with the God Narayana-Vishnu 3) incorporation into the Vyuha concept of successive emanations of the God.[28] Epigraphically, the deified status of Vāsudeva in particular is confirmed by his appearance on the coinage of Agathocles of Bactria (190-180 BCE) and by the devotional character of the Heliodorus pillar inscription (circa 110 BCE).[29] Later, the association with Narayana (Vishnu) is suggested by the Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions of the 1st century BCE.[29] It is generally thought that "by the beginning of the Christian era, the cult of Vasudeva, Vishnu and Narayana amalgamated".[30] 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.[31]
Banerjee too considered that they may have been semi-deified legendary kings who came to be considered as Vishnu's avatars.[26] This would lead to an early form of Vaishnavism, currently described as the Pancaratra system.[26] 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".[10] Vāsudeva then fused with Krishna of the Yadavas clan.[10] Over time, Vāsudeva was identified with Krishna and Vishnu.[10]
According to Christopher Austin, the Vrishni heroes are characters linked to the end of Mahabharata, reflecting the three generations of Vrishnis of Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita fame, his son, his grandson along with the Balarama (Samkarshana). This view is supported by Srinivasan and Banerjee based on evidence in two Puranic passages and the Mora well inscription.[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.[32][33]
Early coinage (3rd-2nd century BCE)[]
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.[1][34][35] This is "the earliest unambiguous image" of the two deities.[36]
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.[37] The same type of coins was excavated in Besnagar.[38]
On some post-Mauryan punch-marked coins, possible depictions of Saṃkarṣaṇa-Balarama appear.[39][40] He is shown wielding a mace and a plough.[41][39] These punch-marked coin are dated to the 2nd century BCE, and may be associated with Mathura.[42]
Coin of Agathocles of Bactria (190-180 BCE)[1]
Mauryan Empire. Late 4th-2nd century BC
Mauryan punch-marked coin with three deities 4th-2nd century BCE
Punch-marked coins excavated in Besnagar
Post-Mauryan punch-marked coin with possible Balarama (detail)[43]
Jainism[]
Another theory has been proposed by Heinrich Luders. Based on analysis of 10th to 12th century Jaina texts, Luders proposed that Vrishnis may have roots in Jainism, noting the co-existence of the Jain and Vrishni-related archaeological findings in Mathura, and the strength of Jainism at that time in Mathura.[13] He names the Vrishni heroes as Baladeva, Akrura, Anadhrsti, Sarana and Viduratha – all Jain heroes and with Akrura as the commander.[13]
Cross-sectarian deities[]
According to Quintanilla, the cult of the Vrishnis may have been cross-sectarian, much like the cult of the Yakshas, and "may not necessarily represent the roots of Vaiṣṇava theology at Mathura".[13]
Devotional structures and symbolism (circa 115 BCE)[]
Several pillar capitals with symbolic statuary associated to the Vhrishni heroes have been found in Besnagar around the site of the Heliodorus pillar, dated to about 115 BCE.[44]
The Heliodorus pillar inscription explains that the pillar erected to honour Vāsudeva is a Garuda-vajra, although the Garuda statue has not been found.[45][46] According to Susan L. Huntington, the Garuda capital on the Heliodorus pillar was probably similar to a portable Garuda standard illustrated on one of the nearly contemporary reliefs at Bharhut.[47] In Bharhut, a man riding a horse is seen holding a portable pillar-standard, crowned by a bird-man creature similar to a Kinnara.[47] The same concept of Garuda pillar may have been adopted for the Heliodorus pillar.[47]
Other sculptures and pillar capitals were found near the Heliodorus pillar, and it is thought they were dedicated to Vāsudeva's kinsmen, otherwise known as the Vrishni heroes and objects of the Bhagavata cult.[48] 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.[6] Just as Garuda is associated with Vāsudesa, the fan-palm capital is generally associated with Saṃkarṣaṇa, and the makara is associated with Pradyumna.[49][50] The banyan-tree capital with ashtanidhis is associated with Lakshmi.[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.[51]
Vrishni Temple structure[]
Excavations suggests that these various pillars with their symbolic capitals were standing in line at the site, and that the Heliodorus pillar was just one of them, standing at the end of the line.[52] 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.[53]
The 1963–65 excavations at the site suggest that the site had an elliptical shrine – possibly dating to the 4th to 3rd-century BCE – with a brick foundation and likely a wooden superstructure.[54][55][56] This was destroyed by a flood around 200 BCE. 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.[54][55] This too was destroyed by floods sometime in the 2nd-century BCE.[54] 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. Only one of these eight pillars have survived: the Heliodorus pillar.[54][55]
Depiction of Vasudeva circa 190-180 BCE.
The fan-palm capital, found next to the Heliodorus pillar, is associated with Saṃkarṣaṇa.[49][50]
Saṃkarṣaṇa in Indo-Scythian coinage (1st century BCE)[]
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.[59][60] These coins show him holding a mace and a plough.[59][60][61]
Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[61]
Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[61]
Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[61]
Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Azes (58-12 BCE)
Ghosundi Inscriptions (1st century BCE)[]
