https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=103.47.186.123Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]2026-08-22T09:53:58ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paundraka_Vasudeva&diff=275857Paundraka Vasudeva2021-12-30T05:13:10Z<p>103.47.186.123: </p>
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<div>{{distinguish|Vasudeva Krishna}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}<br />
{{Infobox character<br />
| name = Paundraka Vasudeva<br />
| series = Bhagavata Purana<br />
| affiliation = The king of Kasi,<ref>Vijaya-dhvaja's Bhagavata Purana, Chapter 69</ref> The king of Pundra, False [[Krishna|Vasudeva Krishna]]<br />
| weapon = [[Sudarshana Chakra|False discus]], [[Kaumodaki|false mace]], [[Panchajanya|false conch]] of [[Vishnu]]<br />
| family = Vasudeva (father)<br />
Sutana (mother)<br />
}}<br />
'''Paundraka Vasudeva''' is a king appearing in the [[Bhagavata Purana|Bhagawat Purana]]. According to it, he was the king of [[Pundra Kingdom]]. Some sources state he was an ally of both [[Jarasandha]], the king of [[Magadha]] and [[Shakuni]], the king of the [[Gandhara Kingdom]]. He was a major enemy of [[Lord Krishna|Krishna]]. He imitated Krishna, believing himself to be Vāsudeva, or God. Later he was killed by Krishna in battle. According to some scriptures, Paundraka was Krishna's doppelganger. He is considered to be an incarnation of the demoniac King [[Vena (Hindu king)|Vena]] as per some sources.<br />
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== Declaration to be God ==<br />
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Some versions of [[Bhagavata Purana|Srimad Bhagavatam]], states that he was the son of Vasudeva (Not to be mistaken with that [[Vasudeva]], who was the Father of Shri Krishna bhagwan) and Sutanu, the princess of Kasi. [[Krishna|Vāsudeva Krishna]], and as a son of Vasudeva he was named Vāsudeva. He became the king of Kasi, because his grandfather was son-less. Vasudeva could not enjoy the childhood of Paundraka, being held captive by [[Kamsa|Kansa]]<ref> Bhagavata Purana Skandha X Chapter 66, Motilal Bansaridass Publishers Book 4 Appendix (66A) pages 1884- 1885, additional verses in Vijaya-dhvaja's Bhagavata Purana, Chapter 69</ref> Paundraka collected taxes from several kings. <ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 10 Chapter 66-|url=http://bhagavata.org/canto10/chapter66.html|access-date=2020-08-05|website=bhagavata.org}}</ref> He foolishly believed the words of his friends, who said Paundraka was God. During the absence of Balarama in Dwarka (Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 65), Paundraka sent a message to [[Krishna]], stating that the symbols used by the latter belonged to him, such as the flag of [[Garuda]]. He declared he was the real Vasudeva (God) and not Krishna, who is considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He ordered Krishna to stop using "his" identity. Then, Krishna waged war against Paundraka and killed him.<br />
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== Death ==<br />
According to the 66th chapter of Canto 10 of Srimad Bhagavatam, when Paundraka sent a message to [[Dvārakā|Dwaraka]] stating that he was God, Krishna declared war against him. Paundraka's chariot was made similar to Krishna's, even with a flag of Garuda.After giving many warnings to him to leave his false claims of pretending as Vasudeva, Krishna killed Paundraka by beheading off Paundraka's head with the [[Sudarshana Chakra]]. The son of the king of Kashi, Sudakshina, created a demon using black magic to destroy Dwaraka, with the help of some corrupt priests. However, Krishna's Sudarshana Chakra set fire around [[Varanasi|Kashi]]. The whole kingdom was burnt and Sudakshina and all his priests were killed.<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[History of India]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite book |last=Kakati |first=Banikanta |author-link=Banikanta Kakati |year=1952 |title=Viṣṇuite Myths and Legends in Folklore Setting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxjaAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Sri Tarini Das |page=21}}<br />
* {{cite book| last=Sircar |first=Dineschandra |author-link=Dineschandra Sircar |year=1971 |title=Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mh1y1eMgGBMC&pg=PA22 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |pages=22– |isbn=978-81-208-2790-5}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Dandekar |first=Ramchandra Narayan |author-link=Ramchandra Narayan Dandekar |year=1979 |title=Insights into Hinduism|url=https://archive.org/details/insightsintohind0000dand |url-access=registration |publisher=Ajanta Publications |pages=[https://archive.org/details/insightsintohind0000dand/page/211 211]–212}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Goyala |first=Śrīrāma |year=1986 |title=A Religious History of Ancient India, Upto C. 1200 A.D. |volume=Volume 2: Smarta, epic-Pauranika and Tantrika Hinduism, Christianity and Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLHXAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Kusumanjali Prakashan |pages=171, 188, 207}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |year=2011 |title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TI8GQioaoL4C&pg=PT36 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |pages=36– |isbn=978-81-8475-530-5}}<br />
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[[Category:History of Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:Rulers of Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:Mythological Indian monarchs]]</div>103.47.186.123