Pradyumna

Pradyumna (Sanskrit: प्रद्युम्न, lit. 'the eminently mighty one') is the eldest son of the Hindu deities Krishna and his wife Rukmini. He is considered to be one of the four vyuha avatars of Vishnu. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Pradyumna was the reincarnation of Kamadeva, the god of love. The Mahabharata states that Pradyumna was a portion of Sanat Kumara.

The Harivamsa describes the chaturvyuha, consisisting of the Vrishni heroes Vāsudeva, Samkarsana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, that would later be the basis for the Vaishnava concept of primary quadrupled expansion, or avatara.

Pradyumna is also another name of the Hindu god Vishnu, mentioned to be one of the 24 Keshava Namas (names).

Pradyumna was the son of Krishna and the sixty-first grandson of Adinarayana. His mother was Rukmini, whom Krishna had eloped with from Vidarbha during her swayamvara on her request. Pradyumna was born in Dvaraka and was the reincarnation of the demigod Kamadeva, a deity who was burnt to ashes by the fury of Shiva.

According to the Bhagavata Purana, within 10 days of Pradyumna's birth, he was abducted by the asura Shambara. Recognising him as his foe, the asura threw him into the ocean. The infant was swallowed by a mighty fish, which was caught by fishermen and presented to Shambara. Shambara's cooks discovered the child upon cutting the fish open. The child was given to Mayavati, who was the earthly incarnation of Rati. Recognising the son of Krishna as her divine consort, Rati fell in love with him once more. Years passed until Pradyumna flowered into adolescence, raised by Mayavati. When chastised by the deity for her amorous notions towards him, she explained to him the circumstances of his new birth. She bestowed Pradyumna with the mystic art of mahamaya, which dispelled all magic. The youth then summoned the asura to battle, where the latter first attacked him with a club, and followed with his daitya magic. Hundreds of weapons belonging to guhyakas, gandharvas, pisacas, and uragas (celestial snakes) were amassed to combat him, but all fell before the son of Krishna. Drawing his sharp-edged sword, he beheaded the asura. Accompanied with his wife, he descended upon the palace in Dvaraka like a cloud with lightning, the crowds of noble women mistaking his handsome countenance and bluish-black curling locks for Krishna himself. Rukmini, however, recognised him as her own son. Krishna manifested himself to the scene along with Vasudeva and Devaki, and together with the residents of Dvaraka, embraced the couple and rejoiced.

Pradyumna's first wife was Mayavati, the incarnation of Kamadeva's wife Rati. At first, Pradyumna objected, but upon explanation, he realised that she was, in fact, his eternal consort. He also married Rukmavati, the daughter of his maternal uncle, Rukmi. It is said that Princess Rukmavati found his valour, comeliness, and charm beyond words, and insisted on marrying him at her swayamvara. With her, he fathered, Krishna's grandson and favourite, and also considered a vyuha avatar of Vishnu, Aniruddha. Prabhavati was an asura princess who fell in love with Pradyumna, and so he eloped with her.

Soon, Pradyumna became a constant companion of his father Krishna and was well-liked by the people of Dvaraka. Pradyumna was a mighty Maharathi warrior. He possessed the extremely rare Vaishnavastra, which was one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. He was one of the very few people to know the secret of the Chakravyuha. According to the Mahabharata, Pradyumna trained Abhimanyu and the Draupadeyas in warfare when the Pandavas were in exile. But Pradyumna did not participate in the Kurukshetra War as he went on a pilgrimage with his uncle Balarama and the other Yadavas. He was, however, an active participant in the Ashvamedha Yagna, which was later conducted by Yudhishthira.

Pradyumna defended Dvaraka against Shalva, the king of the Shalva Kingdom, along with his father, uncle and brothers. In the Harivamsa, Pradyumna alone repelled the attack of Jarasandha.