Vajra

Vajra (वज्र), also known as Vajra Nabha or Vajranabha (वज्रनाभ्), was one of the last surviving Yadu, who succeeded King Aniruddha to the throne, according to the Mahabharata and the Puranas. He was the great grandson of Krishna, the grandson of Pradyumna and Son of Aniruddha. Vajra is also name of a kind of club or weapon of the Sivis and the Sakas also. Vajra is also name of a Mountain mentioned in Ramayana (4.42.25).

Variants

• Vraja व्रज (AS, p.884)
• Vajra वज्र (AS, p.829) = Bundelkhand (बुन्देलखण्ड) - वज्र बुन्देलखण्ड का एक प्राचीन नाम था।

Genealogy of Vajra

Hukum Singh Panwar has given the ancestry of Bharatpur rulers starting from 1. Yadu. Shini is at S.No. 38, Krishna at S.No. 43 and Vajra at S.No. 46. From Naba at S.No. 47 onward we follow James Tod who has based on records of Brahman Sukhdharma of Mathura.

1. Yadu → → → → 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 →

47. Naba → 48. Prithibahu → 49. Bahubal (w.Kamlavati Puar) → 50. Bahu → 51. Subahu → 52. Rijh → 53. Raja Gaj (founded Ghazni in Yudhishthira 3008= BC 93) → 54. Salivahana (S.72 = AD 16) → 55. Raja Baland

Birth of Vajra

From Shri Krishna and his queen Rukmini was born the great warrior Pradyumna, one of Krishna's prominent sons, who married the daughter of his maternal uncle, Rukmi, Rukmavati. They gave birth to mighty Aniruddha. Aniruddha married Usha, the daughter of Banasura and from her was born Vajra, who was invincible in wars and would remain among the few survivors of the Yadus' battle.

Mention by Panini

Vraja (व्रज) is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi.

History

Crowning of Vajra : After Krishna left the earth for Vaikunta, about 36 years after the Kurukshetra War (3138 BC), major Yadu leaders were killed in disputes among themselves and due to submergence of Dwarka into the sea. Arjuna went to Dwarka to bring the last surviving Yadus i.e. Krishna's great grandson Vajra and the Yadava wives to Hastinapur, to safety. Arjuna then proclaimed the brave Vajra the king of Mathura at Indraprastha.

King Parikshit meets King Vajra : Just Before Pandava's left for Himalayas, Arjuna's grandson Parikshit was crowned the King of Indraprastha by Yudhishthira. Parikshit to generally know the well being of King Vajra went to visit him at Mathura. Parikshit was welcomed with great respect by Vajra and in return Parikshit expressed his obligation towards Vajra, for his great grandfather Krishna had saved his entire dynasty in war with Kaurava. When asked King Vajra whether he needed any help the King replied "Although I am now the King of Mathura, I am unable to enjoy the rule. The happiness of a kingdom is due to the people that live there, and I have no idea where the residents of this place have gone, Mathura is deserted". On hearing this King Parikshit immediately sent out for Sage Ṣāṇdilya, a preceptor to King Nanda in order to clear Vajra's doubts.

Sage Ṣāṇdilya explains the meaning of Brijbhumi or Braja: Sage Ṣāṇdilya asked King Vajra that with the help of King Parikshit he needs to rehabilitate the land of Mathura. He told them that "Braj" or Vrindavan is the childhood place of Lord Krishna, where he grew up and enjoyed his childhood to the fullest with the beautiful forests of Vrindavan, gopis and cows as his playmates. Ṣāṇdilya told them that Brij means omnipresent or all pervading like a nomad or a wanderer. For Vajra to obtain the same peace and happiness he needed to revitalize the place with the same energy that Lord Krishna possessed. In other words, he needed to have Krishna's presence felt everywhere in the places, like Govardhana, Nandgaon, Gokul and Mathura where Lord spent majority of his childhood and performed his leelas. After telling this Shandilya Rushi left for his hermitage. Vajra and Parikshit were very happy on listening to him and followed his instructions to rehabilitate the kingdom of Mathura.

Temples and deities of Krishna built by Vajra: King Vajra then had 16 deities of Krishna and other gods carved from a rare, imperishable stone called Braja and built temples to house these deities in and around Mathura so as to feel the presence of Lord Krishna.

The four presiding deities of Braja Mandala are

• Sri Harideva of Govardhan,
• Sri Keshava Deva of Mathura,
• Sri Baladeva of Baladeo, and
• Govindaji of Vrindavan.

There are two Naths—Sri Nathji, who was originally at Govardhan and is now in Nathdwara, Rajasthan and Sri Gopinath, who is now in Jaipur. The two Gopals are Sri Madana Mohan, who is now housed at Karoli Rajasthan, and Sakshi Gopal, who is now moved to town of Sakshi Gopal, Orissa, near Puri. It is said that King Vajra first had three Deities of Krishna carved but he had never seen Krishna, so then they were carved from the description of Uttara, the mother of Maharaja Pariksit. He had three different images carved, but none of them were perfect. Govindaji resembled the face, Madana Mohan resembled the navel down to the lotus feet, and Gopinath resembled the trunk of the body, from the navel to the neck.

व्रज

व्रज (AS, p.884): विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है .....व्रज मथुरा, उत्तर प्रदेश तथा उसका परिवर्ती प्रदेश (प्राचीन शूरसेन), जो श्रीकृष्ण की लीला भूमि होने के कारण प्राचीन साहित्य में प्रसिद्ध है। व्रज का विस्तार 84 कोस में कहा जाता है। यहाँ के 12 वनों और 24 उपवनों की यात्रा की जाती है। 'व्रज' का अर्थ 'गोचर भूमि' है और यमुना के तट पर प्राचीन समय में इस प्रकार की भूमि की प्रचुरता होने से ही इस क्षेत्र को 'व्रज' कहा

[p.885]: जाता था। विशेष रूप से भारतीय मध्यकालीन 'भक्ति साहित्य' में व्रज का वर्णन प्रचुरता से मिलता है। वैसे इसका उल्लेख कृष्ण के संबंध में 'श्रीमद्भागवत' तथा 'विष्णुपुराण' आदि प्राचीन ग्रंथों में भी मिलता है- "जयति तेऽधिकं जन्मना व्रजः श्रयत इन्दिराशश्वदत्रहि। श्रीमद्भागवत 10.31.1. "विना कृष्णेन को व्रज:।" विष्णुपुराण 5,7,27 "तयोर्विहरतोरेवं रामकेशवयोर्वृजे।" विष्णुपुराण 5,10,1 "तत्याज व्रजभूभागं सहरामेण केशवः।" विष्णुपुराण 5,18,32 "प्रीतिः सस्त्री-कुमारस्य व्रजस्य त्वयि केशव।" विष्णुपुराण 5,13,6

हिन्दी में सूरदास आदि भक्ति कालीन कवियों ने तो व्रज की महिमा के अनंत गीत गाए है- "ऊधो मोहि व्रज बिसरत नाही।" इस पद में सूरदास के कृष्ण का ब्रज के प्रति बालपन का प्रेम बड़ी ही मार्मिक रीति से व्यक्त किया गया है।

References

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