Vasudeva (c. 6th century CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty of Shakambhari (modern Sambhar). He ruled the

Sapadalaksha The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (IAST: Cāhamāna), colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar or Chauhans of Ajmer, were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and neighbouring areas in India, between the 6th and 12th ...

country in present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. Ignoring Chahamana, the mythical founder of the dynasty, Vasudeva is the earliest known ruler of the dynasty. According to the '' Prabandha-Kosha'' of the 14th century Jain scholar Rajashekhara Suri, Vasudeva ascended the throne in 551 CE (608

Vikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...

). The historical accuracy of this statement is not certain. A mythical account in ''

Prithviraja Vijaya ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an eulogistic Sanskrit epic poem on the life of the Indian Chahamana king Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan in the vernacular folk legends). It is b ...

'' states that Vasudeva received the Sambhar Salt Lake as a gift from a

vidyadhara Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit , literally "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered ''Upadeva''s, or demi ...

(a supernatural being). According to this legend, Vasudeva once found a vidyadhara sleeping in the royal bed. A magic pill which gave the vidyadhara the power to fly had fallen from his mouth. Vasudeva handed over this magic pill to the vidyadhara. The grateful vidyadhara introduced himself as the son of Shakambhara. He told Vasudeva that the goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

, pleased with Shakambhara's devotion, had been residing in the local forest under the name "

Shakambhari Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. Aft ...

". The vidyadhara decided to return the favour to Vasudeva. He asked the king to put his sword in the ground at sunset, and ride a horse back to his capital without looking back. The king did as told, and waves of water followed him. The resulting body of water became the salt lake of Sambhar. The vidyadhara appeared before the king, and told him that the lake would remain in the possession of his descendants. The

Bijolia Bijoliya is a census town in Bhilwara district in the state of Rajasthan, India and is surrounded by nature and waterfalls and is famous for Tapodaya Teerth Kshetra and Mandakini Temple. Geography Bijoliya Kalan is located at . It has an aver ...

inscription of his descendant

Someshvara Someshwara or its variant spellings ''Someshwar'', ''Someshvara'' and ''Someshvar'' may refer to: * Soma (deity), a Vedic Hindu deity * Shiva, a Hindu deity People * Someshvara I, 11th century Indian king from the Western Chalukya dynasty * Somes ...

states that the lake was born of Vasudeva. The next known Chahamana king is

Samantaraja Samantaraja (IAST: Sāmantarāja, r. c. 7th century CE ) was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chahamana dynasty of Shakambhari (modern Sambhar Lake Town, Sambhar). He ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western ...

, whose relationship to Vasudeva is not clear from the available historical records.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chahamanas of Shakambhari Chahamanas of Shakambhari 6th-century Indian monarchs