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Vasudeva

Sri Krishna Liberating His Parents
Sri Krishna Liberating His Parents Image: Wikimedia Commons. Raja Ravi Varma / Public domain

Overview

Vasudeva (Sanskrit: वसुदेव), also known as Anakadundubhi, is a figure in Hindu tradition described as the father of the deities Vāsudeva-Krishna, Balarama, and Subhadra. The epithet Anakadundubhi is associated with the names of drums (anaka and dundubhi), said to have been played by musicians at the time of his birth.

According to the textual tradition, Vasudeva was a king of the Vrishnis, an ancient clan featured prominently in the legends surrounding Krishna. His sister Kunti was given in marriage to Pandu, thereby linking him through kinship to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata narrative.

It is important to note that the term "Vasudeva" as an object of worship within Hinduism typically refers to his son Vāsudeva, that is, Krishna, rather than to the father Vasudeva himself. The patronymic form Vāsudeva, derived from the father's name, is one of the principal designations of Krishna in devotional and philosophical literature.

References

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Vasudeva.