Vasudevas was born at Surasena at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh and belongs to the Yaduvanshi Dynasty. He is well known in the Kurukshetra War. Parents of Vasudeva are Vasudeva Anakadundubhi (father and king of the Vrishnis in Mathura) and Devaki (mother). His sister is Subhadra and Balarama is his brother. Rukmini, Nagnajiti, Radha, Bhadra, Satyabhama, Mitravinda Satya, Kalindi and Jambavati are his various consorts. Vāsudeva uses the Sudarshana Chakra or Kaumodaki as weapons.
Vasudeva is incorporated later as Vasudeva-Krishna. Krishna or Krishna-Vasudeva is Vasudeva Anakadundubhi’s son. Hindu mythology indicates that when authority of Vedism started diminishing in India, Vasudevism started originating during the 8th to 6th century BCE. At that time Vasudeva was worshipped in India, as the earliest deity as presented in writings of Panini in concurrence with Arjuna as an object of worship. Vasudeva was termed as ‘Gods of Gods’ – Devadeva towards the end of the 2nd century BCE. Vasudeva now known as a Supreme Deity, the mythical bird Garuda was his emblem as seen from inscriptions found on the Heliodorus pillar.
Vasudeva’s religious system was one of the major ones besides the cults of Lakshmi, Shri and Narayana which merged to form Vishnuism later. The Vrishnis tribe merged with the Yadavas tribe (with Krishna as their hero god) after the establishment of the Vasudeva cult. Gradually the Krishna-Vasudeva fused cult turned into an important tradition in the early history of Krishnaism.
Vasudeva is mentioned in the Naneghat inscription in the 1st century BCE. Vasudevas religious system, transformed gradually, into Vaishnavism over the centuries. He is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna by a lot of people. Vasudevas deck themselves with a cap made from peacock features, colorful clothing, dance and present anecdotes of the life of Krishna and take alms in return.
