Editing Vasudeva (section)

===Descendants===
Vasudeva traced a number of descendants through his sons. Sarana had many sons like Satyadhriti and Marsti, and Shatha had a son called Sarthi. Balarama married [[Revati]] and had two sons – Nishatha and Ulmuka & a daughter – Vatsala/Shashirekha. Krishna had [[Ashtabharya|eight principal wives]], and he begat many children from them, such as [[Pradyumna]], [[Samba (Krishna's son)|Samba]], Bhanu etc., and they also had many children. Vasudeva's daughter [[Subhadra]] married Pandava prince [[Arjuna]], and they had a son [[Abhimanyu]]. Ultimately, it was Abhimanyu's son [[Parikshit]] who ascended the [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru throne]] after [[Yudhishthira]].

Many of the Yadavas killed themselves in the [[Mausala Parva|Yadava fratricide]]. Krishna, Balarama and Vasudeva later gave up their lives, and the [[Pandava]]s collected the remaining Yadava children and ladies with them to [[Indraprastha]], where Pradyumma's grandson Vajra was crowned as king of [[Mathura]], and some other survivors also were crowned as kings of different places.''(See [[Mausala Parva]])''.Many migrated southwards and known as ''[[Balija|vira balija]]'' or ''vir banajiga'' and created a powerful warrior merchant class of south India and ruled [[nayaka dynasties]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appadorai |first=A. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39545 |title=Economic Condition In Southern India  Vol. 1 |date=1936}}</ref>

{{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=2/1|total_width=600|caption_align=center
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| image1   = Vasudeva carrying baby Krishna in a basket across the Yamuna, Art of Mathura, circa 1st century CE.jpg
| image2   = Vasudeva_Carrying_Baby_Krishna_in_Basket_Across_Yamuna_-_Circa_1st_Century_CE_-_Gatashram_Narayan_Temple.jpg
| footer = Vasudeva carrying baby Krishna across the [[Yamuna river|Yamuna]]. Circa 1st Century CE, Gatashram Narayan Temple. [[Mathura Museum]]}}
The sons of Vasudeva were related to [[Bhagavatism]] that was largely formed by the 1st-millennium BCE where ''[[Vāsudeva]]'' (Krishna, the son of Vasudeva) was worshiped as supreme ultimate reality. This is evidenced by texts and archaeological evidence. As textual evidence, the [[Mahanarayana Upanishad]] records the verse:

{{Quote|
नारायाणाय विद्महे '''वासुदेवाय''' धीमहि तन्नो विष्णुः प्रचोदयात्

''nārāyāṇāya vidmahē vāsudēvāya dhīmahi tannō viṣṇuḥ pracōdayāt''

We endeavor to know Narayana, we meditate on Vāsudeva and [[Vishnu]] bestows wisdom on us.
|Mahanarayana Upanishad|Chapter 7{{Sfn|Hattangadi|1999|p=॥ ७॥ Adhayaya}}<ref name=srinivaschari132>SM Srinivaschari (1994), Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120810983}}, page 132-134, 212-218</ref>}}

[[File:Krishna meets parents.jpg|thumb|[[Krishna]] and [[Balarama]] meeting their parents (painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]])]]
This verse asserts that Narayana, Vāsudeva (Krishna), and Vishnu are synonymous.<ref name=srinivaschari132/> The author and the century in which the above Mahanarayana Upanishad was composed is unknown. The relative chronology of the text, based on its poetic verse and textual style, has been proposed by Parmeshwaranand to the same period of composition as [[Katha Upanishad|Katha]], [[Isha Upanishad|Isha]], [[Mundaka Upanishad|Mundaka]] and [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]]s, but before [[Maitri Upanishad|Maitri]], [[Prashna Upanishad|Prashna]] and [[Mandukya Upanishad]].{{Sfn| Parmeshwaranand|2000|pp=458-459}} Feuerstein places the relative composition chronology of Mahanarayana to be about that of Mundaka and Prashna [[Upanishads]].{{Sfn|Feuerstein|1989|pp=119-120}} These relative chronology estimates date the text to second half of 1st millennium BCE.{{Sfn| Parmeshwaranand|2000|pp=458-459}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1998|pp=11-14}} Srinivasan suggests a later date for the composition of the Mahanarayana Upanishad, one after about 300 BCE and probably in the centuries around the start of the common era.{{Sfn|Srinivasan|1997|pp=112, 120}}

Other evidence is from archeological inscriptions, where ''Bhagavan'' is documented epigraphically to be from around 100 BCE, such as in the inscriptions of the [[Heliodorus pillar]]. An [[Indo-Greek]] ambassador from [[Taxila]] named Heliodorus, of this era, visited the court of a [[Shunga Empire|Shunga]] king, and addresses himself as a Bhagavata on this pillar, an epithet scholars consider as evidence of Vāsudeva worship was well established in 1st millennium BCE.<ref>John Irvin (1973-1975), Aśokan Pillars: A Reassessment of the Evidence, The Burlington Magazine. v. 115, pages 706-720; [https://www.jstor.org/stable/877843 v. 116, pages 712-727]; v. 117, pages 631-643; v. 118, pages 734-753; {{oclc|83369960}}</ref> A popular short prayer for worshipping Vāsudeva is [[Dwadashaakshar]].