Aniruddha
- For place of this name see Aniruddha Kushinagar
Aniruddha (अनिरुद्ध) was the son of Pradyumna and the grandson of Krishna.
Genealogy of Pradyumna
Hukum Singh Panwar[1] has given the ancestry of Bharatpur rulers starting from 1. Yadu. Shini is at S.No. 38 and Krishna at S.No. 43 as under[2]:
34. Andhaka → 35. Bhajmana → 36. Viduratha → 37. Shura → 38. Shini → 39. Bhoja → 40. Hardika → 41. Devamidha → 42. Vasudeva → 43. Krishna → 44. Pradyumna → 45. Aniruddha → 46. Vajra
Story of Usha and Aniruddha
A Daitya princess named Usha, daughter of Banasura, fell in love with Aniruddha and had him brought by magic influence to her apartments in her father's city of Sonitpur in Assam. On discovering that Aniruddha had been carried away, Krishna, Balarama, and Pradyumna went to rescue him. Bansura was a great devotee of the god Shiva and had 1000 arms, as a result of which no one had ever been willing to fight him. Blinded by his pride, he asked Shiva to give him a chance to fight with someone as strong as himself. Shiva therefore cursed him to defeat in war by Krishna.
Only after some months Krishna came to know where his grandson was and launched an attack on Banasura with a big army. Thus a great battle was fought.
When the army laid siege to his city, Banasura staged a fierce counter-attack. At this point, Lord Shiva joined the battle against Krishna because he had promised protection to Banasura. The fight was intense in all directions, and Siva (also known as Mahesvara) caused a mighty fever with three heads and three legs (Mahesvari jvara). But Krishna generated a counter-fever. Ultimately Krishna’s forces were close to victory and Krishna himself was vigorously cutting off the myriad arms of Banasura. Siva again intervened because of his promise to Banasura.
Krishna, however, assured Siva that he had no intention of killing Banasura, but would leave him with only four arms so that his power would be limited. However, in honour of the demon’s boon from Siva, Krishna promised that Banasura would have nothing to fear from anybody in the future.
Gratefully, Banasura prostrated before Krishna and then had Aniruddha and his bride, Usha, brought to Krishna in a regal chariot. All then returned to Dvarka, where Krishna’s victory in the combat with Siva was celebrated with festivity.
Bana was defeated, but his life was spared at the intercession of Shiva, and Aniruddha was carried home to Dwaraka with Usha as his wife. He is also called Jhashanka and Ushapati. He had a son named Vajra, whose lineage is traced to the royal family of Bharatpur.
External links
References
- ↑ The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations/Appendices/Appendix No.1
- ↑ Yadu Vamsavali of Bharatpur given by Ganga Singh in his book 'Yadu Vamsa', Part 1, Bharatpur Rajvansa Ka Itihas (1637-1768), Bharatpur, 1967, pp. 19-21
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