Aniruddha

Aniruddha or Aniruddh (Sanskrit: अनिरुद्ध aniruddha), meaning "unrestrained", "without obstacles" or "unstoppable" was the son of Pradyumna and Rukmavati and the grandson of Krishna and Rukmini.[2] He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he may be a Jana avatar, the avatar of Vishnu. The four are considered to be Vishnu-tattva or Vishnu's plenary expansions. It has been also used as one of the names of Lord Shiva.

Aniruddha
Aniruddha and Usha
Devanagari	अनिरुद्ध
Texts	Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Shiva Purana, Mahabharata
Personal information
Parents	Pradyumna (father) Rumkavati (mother)
Spouse	Rochana and Usha
Children	Vajra and Mrigaketana[1]
Dynasty	Yadava

Early life

Aniruddha, holding a sword and a shield, in the Kondamotu Vrishni heroes relief, 4th-century CE.[3]

Anirudha was born to Pradyumna and Rukmavati. He was the grandson of Lord Krishna and Rukmini. He was also one of the few Maharathas (incredibly strong warriors) of his dynasty. His early life and marriage to his first wife, Rochana, are described in Bhagavata Purana, Canto 10, Chapter 61.[4]

Marriages

Marriage to Rochana

Aniruddha's marriage to Rochana is described in the 61st Chapter of the 10th Canto of the Bhagavata Purana.[4] Rukmi requested Krishna and Rukmini to have Aniruddha marry Rochana, Rukmi's granddaughter. When the marriage ceremony was arranged, Rukmi was killed by Balarama after the former tried to insult the latter by cheating in a game of Pagade (dice).

Marriage to Usha

As per the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapters 62-63, a Daitya princess named Usha, daughter of Banasura (also referred to as Bana), fell in love with Aniruddha after seeing him in her dream.

Banasura was the son of Bali and the grandson of Prahlada. Banasura was a great devotee of the Lord Shiva and as a result of a boon, had gained 1000 arms. Blinded by his pride, he asked Shiva to give him a chance to fight with him. Shiva, angered by Banasura's ego, scolded him and stated that Banasura's flag of victory would collapse, he would be defeated in war and his arrogance would be destroyed.

Usha dreaming of Aniruddha

As per the artistic description of Usha's dream, Chitralekha (meaning "Artist" in Sanskrit), her friend, drew pictures of many princes using her special abilities. Usha recognized Aniruddha's picture among all of them. Chitralekha kidnapped Aniruddha brought to Usha's palace, with the help of her capabilities. Usha and Aniruddha were getting along with and were accompannying each other, when Banasura barged into Usha's room and noticed Aniruddha. Banasura had his soldiers attack Aniruddha in an attempt to seize him. Aniruddha immediately fought them, but was eventually captured by Banasura and his soldiers. Usha was overwhelmed with sorrow due to this incident. Aniruddha was captivated by Banasura for a month, until Narada informed the Yadus in Dvaraka, meanwhile, who were searching for Aniruddha.[5]

After a month, Krishna came to know where his grandson was, after Narada told him. The Yadus launched an attack on Banasura with their army. Thus a great battle was fought. (See Canto 10, Chapter 63 of Srimad Bhagavatam). When the Yadu princes and their army sieged his kingdom in 12 assemblies, surrounding it completely, Banasura staged a fierce counter-attack. During the war, Shiva appeared on the battlefield, riding on Nandi, to protect his devotee, Banasura. Balarama fought against Banasura's commander, while Samba fought against Banasura's son. Krishna and Shiva faced each other. After many of his warriors were defeated, Bana took up arms against Krishna. However, Krishna blew his conch and instantly, Banasura's charioteer was killed and his chariot broken and shattered.

Lord Shiva attacked Krishna with his lethal arrow, the Shiva jvara. It produced extreme heat. The only weapon to counter it was Vishnu's Narayana jvara. The Narayana jvara emitted the energy of coldness, which absorbed heat. So, it solely had the ability to neutralize Shiva's arrow. Krishna shot it at Shiva's arrow. The Narayana jvara struck Shiva and made him feel sleepy due its chilling effect.

Meanwhile,Balarama defeated Banasura's commander. Banasura was the final and only member of his army in the war, and Krishna fought back with his Sudarshana Chakra. Krishna started chopping Banasura's arms, until Shiva returned to his senses and asked Lord Krishna not to kill Banasura.

Lord Krishna replied that he was not intending to kill Banasura, as Shiva's words had to be respected,  and also because Banasura was the son of Bali and the grandson of Prahlada. Vishnu had promised Bali not to kill any member of his family and therefore, could not kill Banasura. However, Krishna severed Banasura's extra arms to destroy the latter's pride, leaving Banasura with only four arms.

Banasura realized his mistake and then arranged for Aniruddha's and Usha's marriage and had them sent to Dvaraka.[6]

Some sources also state that Banasura's kingdom was called Sonitpura, which is also believed to be situated in present-day Assam. However, according to some legends, Shonitpur is also identified with Sarahan in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. Going by their legends, Pradyumna was made the king of Shonitpur and subsequently the Bushahr state by Lord Krishna himself. Banasura son and daughter are worship in kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh and Usha Devi is Diety of Nichar.

Children

Vajra was the son of Aniruddha and his wife, Usha. However he is sometimes referred as the son of Rochana.[1] He was the only survivor of the Yadu dynasty after a violent disaster due to the curse of a few angered sages. Vajra was crowned as the King of Indraprastha on the request of Krishna by the Pandavas after the Yadava fratricide just before the Pandavas' exile.[7] Aniruddha had one more son named Mrigaketana from his wife.[1]

Boar Symbol

Aniruddha appears as a boar, and Samkarsana appears as a lion in this Vaikuntha Chaturmurti statue, showing Vishnu with his three main emanations, the mid-5th century. Boston Museum.[8][9]

In Vaishnavism, Aniruddha is associated with the boar, which is his theriomorphic aspect, also known as Varaha.[10][11][8] Aniruddha appears as a boar in some of the Caturvyūha statues, where he is an assistant to Vāsudeva, and in the Vaikuntha Chaturmurti when his boar's head protrudes from the side of Vishnu's head.[8]

Aniruddha is also associated with the qualities of ferociousness and sovereignty.[12]

Death

Pradyumna and Aniruddha died in the intoxicated brawl between the Yadavas, which claimed the life of every Yadava prince, except Vajra who was the only survivor. Arjuna moved the survivors to the kingdom of Indraprashta and crowned Vajra the king.[13][14]

Rebirth

According to Shiva Purana, Aniruddha and Usha were reborn again as Lakshmidhar (Lakhendir) and Behula (Bihula) and in their next life married each other again. it is mentioned in Padma Purana.

Literature

The story of Aniruddha and Usha (as Okha in Gujarati, also "Ukha" in Assamese) is depicted in the 18th century Gujarati Akhyana entitled Okhaharan by Premanand Bhatt.[15]

A 1901 Telugu language play titled Usha Parinayam written by Vedam Venkataraya Sastry was based on his love story with Usha.[16]

Aniruddha, which means "unstoppable," is also another name of Vishnu.

External links

• The story of Aniruddha in the Bhagavata Purana

References

1. Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
2. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 68.
3. 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.
4. "Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 61". Bhagavata.org.
5. "Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto10 - Chapter 62". Bhagavata.org.
6. "Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 63". Bhagavata.org.
7. Maruvada, Surya N. (2 March 2020). Who is Who in Hindu Mythology - VOL 1: A Comprehensive Collection of Stories from the Pur??as. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64805-684-0.
8. Srinivasan, Doris (1979). "Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms". Archives of Asian Art. 32: 39–54. ISSN 0066-6637. JSTOR 20111096.
9. For English summary, see page 80 Schmid, Charlotte (1997). Les Vaikuṇṭha gupta de Mathura : Viṣṇu ou Kṛṣṇa?. pp. 60–88.
10. "The glorious Aniruddha should be Varaha who rescued the Earth" in Rangarajan, Haripriya (1997). Varāha Images in Madhya Pradesh: An Iconographic Study. Somaiya Publications. p. 38. ISBN 978-81-7039-214-9.
11. "Aniruddha (is represented) by his theriomorphic form, the boar" in Srinivasan, Doris (1997). Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art. BRILL. p. 254. ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8.
12. "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.
13. "Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 30". Bhagavata.org.
14. "Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 31". Bhagavata.org.
15. Sen, Siba Pada (1988). Sources of the History of India. Institute of Historical Studies.
16. Leiter, Samuel L. (2007). Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre: A-N. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33530-3.

• Dowson: Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology.