Saṃkarṣaṇa

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Saṃkarṣaṇa
Vasudeva Anakadundubhi (father)
SiblingsVāsudeva (youger brother)
Subhadra (sister)
Vrishni heroes
Kondamotu Vrishni heroes relief, 4th century CE, Hyderabad State Museum
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Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
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Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

Saṃkarṣaṇa (

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

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, Rauhineya or Halayudha, and is presented as the elder brother of Vāsudeva.[16]

Initially, Saṃkarṣaṇa seems to hold precedence over his younger brother

Ghosundi inscription.[4] Later this order was reversed, and Vāsudeva became the most important deity of the two.[4]

Characteristics

Evolution as a deity

Saṃkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva and the female Goddess Ekanamsha shown in a rock painting at Tikla, 3rd-2nd century BCE.[17]

The belief 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

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.[20]

The

Vaishnava concept of primary quadrupled expansion, or chatur vyuha.[21]

The name of Samkarsana first appears in epigraphy in 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)

Saṃkarṣaṇa symbol at Besnagar
The fan-palm pillar capital, found near the Heliodorus pillar, is associated with Samkarsana.[22][16][23]

Various sculptures and pillar capitals were found near the

Besnagar, and it is thought they were dedicated to Vāsudeva's kinsmen, otherwise known as the Vrishni heroes and objects of the Bhagavata cult.[24] 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.[25] Just as Garuda is associated with Vasudeva, the fan-palm capital is generally associated with Samkarsana, and the makara is associated with Pradyumna.[22][16] The banyan-tree capital with ashtanidhis is associated with Lakshmi.[25]

The presence of these pillar capitals, found near the Heliodorus pillar, suggests that the Bhagavata belief, although centered around the figures of Vāsudeva and Samkarsana, may also have involved the worship of other Vrishni deities.[16]

In his

theriomorphic form, Saṃkarṣaṇa is associated to the lion.[26]

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.[27][28] 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.[29]

Bacchanalian orgies

Early on, the belief of Smarkasana is associated with the abuse of wine, and the

Bacchanalian features of the belief of Dionysus are also found in the belief of Saṃkarṣaṇa.[30] The Mahabharata mentions the Bacchanalian orgies of Baladeva, another name of Smarkasana, and he is often depicted holding a cup in an inebriated state.[31]

Naneghat inscription (1st century BCE)

Main article: Naneghat
Samkasana (𑀲𑀁𑀓𑀲𑀦) and Vāsudeva (𑀯𑀸𑀲𑀼𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀸) in the Naneghat cave inscription

The Naneghat inscription, dated to the 1st century BCE, mentions both Samkarshana and

Vaishnava tradition.[33][34][35] Given it is inscribed in stone and dated to 1st-century BCE, it also linked the religious thought in the post-Vedic centuries in late 1st millennium BCE with those found in the unreliable highly variant texts such as the Puranas dated to later half of the 1st millennium CE. The inscription is a reliable historical record, providing a name and floruit to the Satavahana dynasty.[32][34][36]

Gosundi inscription

Main article:
Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions

Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa are also mentioned in the 1st century BCE

Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions in association with Narayana:[1]

Kharoshthi inscription nearby reads Rama [kri]ṣa. 1st century CE.[3]

(This) enclosing wall round the stone (object) of worship, called Narayana-vatika (Compound) for the divinities Samkarshana-Vasudeva who are unconquered and are lords of all (has been caused to be made) by (the king) Sarvatata, a Gajayana and son of (a lady) of the Parasaragotra, who is a devotee of Bhagavat (

Samkarshana/Vāsudeva
) and has performed an Asvamedha sacrifice.

– Ghosundi Hathibada Inscriptions, 1st-century BCE[37]

Chilas petroglyphs

At Chilas II archeological site dated to the first half of 1st-century CE in northwest Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, are engraved two males along with many Buddhist images nearby. The larger of the two males holds a plough and club in his two hands. The artwork also has an inscription with it in Kharosthi script, which has been deciphered by scholars as Rama-Krsna, and interpreted as an ancient depiction of the two brothers Saṃkarṣaṇa and Krishna.[38][39]

Saṃkarṣaṇa in Indo-Scythian coinage (1st century BCE)

Saṃkarṣaṇa-Balarama with mace and plough, striding forward with billowing scarf, on the coinage of Maues (90-80 BCE).

Samkarshana, the Vrishni elder and the leading divinity until the rise to precedence of

Indo-Scythian rulers Maues and Azes I during the 1st century BCE.[3][40] These coins show him holding a mace and a plough.[3][40][41]

  • Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[41]
    Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[41]
  • Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[41]
    Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[41]
  • Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[41]
    Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Maues (90-80 BCE)[41]
  • Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Azes (58-12 BCE)
    Samkarsana-Balarama on a coin of Azes (58-12 BCE)

Saṃkarṣaṇa in 2nd century CE sculpture

Saṃkarṣaṇa-Balarama in the Caturvyūha
Vrishni clan.[10] Vāsudeva (emanation of Narayana) is four-armed and is fittingly in the center with his heavy decorated mace on the side and holding a conch, his elder brother Saṃkarṣaṇa-Balarama to his right under a serpent hood, his son Pradyumna to his left (lost), and his grandson Aniruddha on top.[10]
2nd century CE, Mathura Museum.
Main article:
Chatur-vyūha

Some sculptures during this period suggest that the concept of the

Kadamba tree, symbolically showing the relationship being the different deities.[10] The depiction of Vishnu was stylistically derived from the type of the ornate Bodhisattvas, with rich jewelry and ornate headdress.[42]

Saṃkarṣaṇa in the Kondamotu relief (4th century CE)

Saṃkarṣaṇa appears prominently in a relief from Kondamotu, Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, dating to the 4th century CE, which shows the Vrishni heroes standing in genealogical order around Narasimha.[43][44] Saṃkarṣaṇa stands to the left in the place of seniority, holding a mace and a ploughshare topped by the depiction of a lion, followed by Vāsudeva, with a hand in abhaya mudra and the other hand on the hip holding a conch shell.[43] Vāsudeva also has a crown, which distinguishes him from the others.[45] Then follow Pradyumna, holding a bow and an arrow, Samba, holding a wine goblet, and Aniruddha, holding a sword and a shield.[43] The fact that they stand around Narasimha suggests a fusion of the Satvata cult with the Vrishni cult.[43]

Hyderabad State Museum. Saṃkarṣaṇa is first to the left.[43][44]

Lion symbol

Saṃkarṣaṇa appears as a lion, while Aniruddha appears as a boar in this Vaikuntha Chaturmurti statue, showing Vishnu with his three main emanations, mid-5th century. Boston Museum.[46][47]

In

theriomorphic aspect.[48][46] He can be identified as Narasimha.[49][50] Saṃkarṣaṇa appears as a lion in some of the Caturvyūha statues (the Bhita statue), where he is an assistant to Vāsudeva, and in the Vaikuntha Chaturmurti when his lion's head protrudes from the side of Vishnu's head.[46]

Saṃkarṣaṇa is also associated with the quality of knowledge.[50]

See also

Pāñcarātra system[51][52][53]
Vyūhas Image Attributes Symbol[54][55] Direction Face Concept
Narayana
Vishnu 		Vāsudeva Chakra Wheel
Gadā Mace
Shankha Conch 		Garuda Eagle East Saumya
(Placid/ benevolent) 		Jṅāna Knowledge
Samkarsana
 Lāṅgala
Pestle

Wine glass 		Tala Fan palm South Simha Lion Bala Strength
Pradyumna Cāpa Bow
Bāṇa
 Arrow 		Makara Crocodile West Raudra Kapila Aiśvaryā Sovereignty
Aniruddha Carma Shield
Khaḍga Sword 		Ṛṣya (ऋष्य) White-footed antelope North Varaha Boar Śakti Power

Footnotes

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0
    .
  2. ^ Osmund Bopearachchi, Emergence of Viṣṇu and Śiva Images in India: Numismatic and Sculptural Evidence, 2016.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-005412-0
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-19-514891-6
    .
  6. ^ Raychaudhuri, H.C. (1972), Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, p. 124
  7. ^ "Sanskritdictionary.com: Definition of saṃkarṣaṇa". www.sanskritdictionary.com.
  8. ^ a b Vāsudeva and Krishna "may well have been kings of this dynasty as well" in Rosenfield, John M. (1967). The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans. University of California Press. pp. 151–152 and Fig.51.
  9. ISBN 978-90-04-06498-0
    .
  10. ^
    JSTOR 29756891
    .
  11. ^ Smagur, Emilia. "Vaishnavite Influences in the Kushan Coinage, Notae Numismaticae- Zapiski Numizmatyczne, X (2015)": 67. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ISBN 90-04-10758-4
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0
    .
  14. ISBN 978-1-351-12360-0
    .
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-1-61069-566-4
    .
  16. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-005412-0
    .
  17. ^ 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: 70–72.
  18. JSTOR 20111096
    .
  19. ^
    JSTOR 20111096
    .
  20. ^
    ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9
    .
  21. ^ "Chatur vyuha," Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine article at Bhaktipedia (a Hare Krishna's site).
  22. ^ a b 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: 81.
  23. ISBN 978-1-315-43263-2
    .
  24. ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4
    .
  25. ^
    ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4
    .
  26. JSTOR 20111096
    .
  27. ^ "We find Dionysos to be the same as Samkarsana because just as in Greece the former is associated with wine and plough so is the latter in India" Bose, Ananta Kumar (1934). Indian Historical Quarterly Vol.10. p. 288.
  28. ISBN 978-0-89684-167-3
    .
  29. JSTOR 41163978
    .
  30. ^ "The belief of Dionysus with its Bacchanalian features reminds us of the belief of Samkarsana." Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1952). Age Of The Nandas And Mauryas. p. 306.
  31. ^ "...the inebriate condition of this Avatara which is fully corroborated by the presence of the wine cup in the hands of some of the extant images of Balarama, as well as the goggle eyes depicted in others. The 'Mahabharata' refers to the bacchanalian orgies of Baladeva" in Journal of the Indian society of oriental art vol.14. 1946. p. 29.
  32. ^ a b Charles Allen 2017, pp. 169–170.
  33. ISBN 90-04-06498-2
    .
  34. ^ a b Mirashi 1981, pp. 131–134.
  35. ISBN 978-0-19-972431-4
    .
  36. ISBN 978-90-04-20735-6
    .
  37. D. R. Bhandarkar, Hathi-bada Brahmi Inscription at Nagari
    , Epigraphia Indica Vol. XXII, Archaeological Survey of India, pages 198-205
  38. ISBN 90-04-10758-4
    .
  39. ISBN 978-90-04-18159-5
    .
  40. ^
    ISBN 978-90-474-2049-1
    .
  41. ^
    ISBN 978-0-9518399-1-1
    .
  42. ^ Bautze-Picron, Claudine (2013). "A neglected Aspect of the Iconography of Viṣṇu and other Gods and Goddesses". Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Arts. XXVIII–XXIX: 81–92.
  43. ^ a b c d e 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: 74–75.
  44. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-005411-3
    .
  45. ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8
    .
  46. ^
    JSTOR 20111096
    .
  47. doi:10.3406/arasi.1997.1401
    .
  48. ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8
    .
  49. ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8
    .
  50. ^ a b "Gentleness and strength are associated with Vasudeva, "knowledge with Samkarsana, (Narasimha) female power with Pradyumna (Varaha) and ferociousness and sovereignty with Aniruddha (Kapila)." Kamalakar, G.; Veerender, M. (1993). Vishnu in Art, Thought & Literature. Birla Archeological & Cultural Research Institute. p. 92.
  51. ISBN 978-90-04-10789-2
    .
  52. ^ A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1-2. A.D. 300-985. Orient Longmans. 1982. p. 866.
  53. ISBN 978-2-84050-464-1
    .
  54. ^ "A shrine of Aniruddha, the fourth of the 'vyuhas', which had within its precincts a 'rsyadhvaja', i. e. a column bearing on its top the figure of a 'rsya' or a white antelope which was his characteristic 'lanchana'." in Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art. Indian Society of Oriental Art. 1937. p. 16.
  55. ^ 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: 80–81.

References

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