Bhajamana Andhaka

Bhajamana — Yadava Prince and Progenitor of the Andhaka Clan

Bhajamana · Bhajina · Bhajamana Andhaka

Bhajamana is a Yadava king of the Lunar dynasty, belonging to the Satvata line descended from the ancient king Yadu through Kroshtu. He is the figure from whom the Andhaka clan of the Yadavas traced their descent, and his lineage — through his son Viduratha — eventually produced the warrior Kritavarma, one of the celebrated chieftains of the Kurukshetra War. Bhajamana appears in the Harivamsha, the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana, the Matsya Purana, the Brahmanda Purana, the Garuda Purana, and the Vayu Purana, though the texts differ on his precise parentage.

✦ The Name

The name Bhajamana derives from the Sanskrit root bhaj, meaning to serve, honour, or distribute. The participial form Bhajamana carries the sense of one who is engaged in devotion or service. The variant form Bhajina, recorded in the Harivamsha alongside Bhajamana as names for the same or closely related figures, shares this same root. In some Puranic lists, the two names appear as separate sons of Satvata, while in others they denote the same individual.

✦ Lineage

• Father (Harivamsha account): Andhaka, son of Satvata — a Yadava chief of the Satvata line, from whose name the Andhaka clan takes its designation. In the Harivamsha (1.37.17), Bhajamana is explicitly named as a son of Andhaka and a daughter of Kashya.
• Father (Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Matsya Purana account): Satvata directly — the Vishnu Purana (IV.13.1) and Bhagavata Purana (IX.24.6) list Bhajamana among the sons of Satvata himself, not of Andhaka.
• Mother: A daughter of the Kashya lineage, named in the Harivamsha account as the mother of Andhaka's sons including Bhajamana.
• Siblings (Harivamsha, Andhaka's sons): Kukura, Shami, and Kambalabarhisha — all sons of Andhaka by the daughter of Kashya.
• First wife: Bahyaka, daughter of Srinjaya — a princess of the Srinjaya people.
• Second wife: Upabahyaka, also a daughter of Srinjaya.
• Sons by Bahyaka (Harivamsha 1.38.4): Krimi, Kramana, Dhrishta, Shura, and Puranjaya.
• Sons by Upabahyaka (Harivamsha 1.38.5): Ayutajit, Sahasrajit, Shatajit, and Dashaka.
• Sons (Vishnu Purana account): The Vishnu Purana names three sons by one wife — Nimi, Krikana, and Vrishni — and three by another — Shatajit, Sahasrajit, and Ayutajit. The Bhagavata Purana similarly records six sons by two wives named as daughters of Srinjaya.
• Son (genealogical line to Kritavarma): Viduratha — identified in the Harivamsha (1.38.1) and Garuda Purana as the foremost of chariot warriors and the son through whom the Andhaka dynastic succession continued.

✦ Textual Variants and Inconsistencies

The primary textual inconsistency surrounding Bhajamana concerns his parentage. The Harivamsha (1.37.17) is explicit that Bhajamana was among the sons born to Andhaka by the daughter of Kashya, making him a grandson of Satvata. The Garuda Purana similarly states that Viduratha was the son of Bhajamana, a son of Andhaka. By contrast, the Vishnu Purana (IV.13.1), the Bhagavata Purana (IX.24.6), the Matsya Purana (44.47), and the Brahmanda Purana (III.71) all list Bhajamana as a direct son of Satvata — in the same generation as Andhaka rather than the generation below him. The Purana Index (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries) records both placements, noting that the Matsya Purana (44) contains a passage describing Bhajamana specifically as a son of Andhaka and father of Viduratha, while other passages in the same text treat Bhajamana as a son of Satvata.

A secondary inconsistency concerns the sons. The Vishnu Purana names Nimi, Krikana, and Vrishni by one wife, and Shatajit, Sahasrajit, and Ayutajit by another. The Harivamsha gives a different set of names — Krimi, Kramana, Dhrishta, Shura, and Puranjaya by Bahyaka, and Ayutajit, Sahasrajit, Shatajit, and Dashaka by Upabahyaka — and does not name Nimi, Krikana, or Vrishni in this list. The two accounts cannot be fully reconciled, and it is possible that different redactions of the genealogy have preserved different branches of Bhajamana's immediate descendants.

A further textual matter concerns the relationship between Bhajamana and the name Bhajina. In the Harivamsha (1.37.1), Satvata's sons are listed as Bhajina, Bhajamana, Divya, Devavridha, Andhaka, and Vrishni. Some commentators treat Bhajina and Bhajamana as two separate sons of Satvata; others take them as variant names for one individual.

✦ Connection to the Wider Genealogy

Bhajamana stands at the head of the dynastic line that produced the Andhaka clan as a historical and genealogical entity. His son Viduratha continued the succession, and through Viduratha's line — passing through Rajadhideva, Shami, Pratiksatra, and Svayambhoja — the line reached Hridika, whose eldest son Kritavarma became one of the most prominent Yadava warriors of the Kurukshetra War era. Satvata, the ancestor of Bhajamana, was himself a descendant of Kroshtu, son of Yadu, the founding ancestor of the entire Yadava lineage. The Andhakas, along with the Vrishnis, Kukuras, Bhojas, and Shainyas, are all described in the Mahabharata and the Puranas as among the principal clans descended from Satvata.

✦ References

• Harivamsha, Harivamsha Parva, 1.37.1–5, 1.37.17: Names Bhajamana as a son of Andhaka (son of Satvata) by the daughter of Kashya; lists his wives as Bahyaka and Upabahyaka, daughters of Srinjaya, and names his sons by each.
• Harivamsha, Harivamsha Parva, 1.38.1: Names Viduratha as Bhajamana's son, described as the foremost of chariot warriors.
• Vishnu Purana, IV.13.1–2: Lists Bhajamana as a direct son of Satvata; names his six sons by two wives including Nimi, Krikana, Vrishni, Shatajit, Sahasrajit, and Ayutajit.
• Bhagavata Purana, IX.24.6–8: Records Bhajamana as a son of Satvata with six sons by two daughters of Srinjaya.
• Matsya Purana, 44.47: Names Bhajamana in the Satvata genealogy; a separate passage (44) also identifies him as son of Andhaka and father of Viduratha.
• Brahmanda Purana, III.71.1–3: Records Bhajamana in the Satvata genealogy.
• Garuda Purana, Chapter 139 (Dutt translation): Explicitly states that Viduratha was the son of Bhajamana, a son of Andhaka, and that Viduratha's son was Shura.
• Vayu Purana, 96.115, 135: Records Bhajamana in the Yadava genealogy.
• V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar and Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries, Purana Index, s.v. Bhajamana: Modern reference consolidating cross-Puranic attestations and noting the variant placements of Bhajamana as son of Satvata versus son of Andhaka.