Saṃkarṣaṇa

Saṃkarṣaṇa (IAST , "The Plougher") later known as Balarama, was a son of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi, king of the Vrishnis in the region of Mathura. 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.

The cult of Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa was one of the major independent cults, together with the cults of Narayana, Shri and Lakshmi, which later coalesced to form Vishnuism. 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. Later this order was reversed, and Vāsudeva became the most important deity of the two.

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. They are leading members of the five "Vrishni heroes". Epigraphically, the deified status of Saṃkarṣaṇa is confirmed by his appearance on the coinage of Agathocles of Bactria (190-180 BCE). By the 2nd century CE, the "avatara concept was in its infancy", and the depiction of the four emanations of Vishnu (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.

The name of Samkarsana first appears in epigraphy in the Nanaghat cave inscriptions and the Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, both dated to the 1st century BCE. In these inscriptions, Samkarsana appears before Vasudeva, suggesting seniority and precedence.

Saṃkarṣaṇa symbolism at Besnagar (circa 100 BCE)

Various sculptures and pillar capitals were found near the Heliodorus pillar in Besnagar, and it is thought they were dedicated to Vāsudeva's kinsmen, otherwise known as the Vrishni heroes and objects of the Bhagavata cult. 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. Just as Garuda is associated with Vasudeva, the fan-palm capital is generally associated with Samkarsana, and the makara is associated with Pradyumna. The banyan-tree capital with ashtanidhis is associated with Lakshmi.

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. Arrian in his Indika, quoting Megasthenes, writes of Dyonisos in India:

Naneghat inscription (1st century BCE)

The Naneghat inscription, dated to the 1st century BCE, mentions both Samkarshana and Vāsudeva, along with the Vedic deities of Indra, Surya, Chandra, Yama, Varuna and Kubera. This provided the link between Vedic tradition and the Vaishnava tradition. 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.

Gosundi inscription

Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa are also mentioned in the 1st century BCE Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions in association with Narayana:

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.

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 Vāsudeva, is known to appear on the coinage of the Indo-Scythian rulers Maues and Azes I during the 1st century BCE.

Saṃkarṣaṇa in 2nd century CE sculpture multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center

direction =horizontal header=Saṃkarṣaṇa-Balarama in the Caturvyūha image1 = Chaturvuyha Sankarshan Vasudeva 2nd century CE, Mathura Museum.jpg image2 = Caturvyuha,_Balarama_under_his_snake_hood_holding_a_cup.jpg footer_align = center footer=The "Caturvyūha": Vāsudeva and other members of the Vrishni clan. 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. The famous "Caturvyūha" statue in Mathura Museum is an attempt to show in one composition Vāsudeva together with the other members of the Vrishni clan of the Pancharatra system: Saṃkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, with Samba missing, Vāsudeva being the central deity from whom the others emanate.

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. 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. Then follow Pradyumna, holding a bow and an arrow, Samba, holding a wine goblet, and Aniruddha, holding a sword and a shield. In Vaishnavism, Saṃkarṣaṇa is associated with the lion, which is his theriomorphic aspect. He can be identified as Narasimha.