Vrishni is an ancient clan of India who again considered them as descendants of Vrishni who on the other hand believed that they were the descendants of the Yadu family. Vrishni was the son of Satvata who was again the descendant of Yadu, the son of Yayati. It is believed that Vrishni had two wives namely Gandhari and Madri. From Madri he had a son named Devamidhusha. The Puranic records say that the father of Lord Krishna was the grandson of Devamidhusha. Even Lord Krishna is believed to be a part of Vrishni clan which in turn is said to be a part of the Lunar Dynasty. The members of Dwarka are also sometimes known as Vrishnis.
Purana says that after the death of Duryodhana in Mahabharata Lord Krishna had received the curse of his mother and had said that after a period of 36 years Krishna would perish alone and similarly would his people of Dwarka perish away. Suddenly the situation in Dwarka was such that all the people living there fell upon each other and were slain together with all the sons and grandsons of Lord Krishna. The people who were alive were Krishna, Balarama and the women. It is said that Arjuna had rescued all the women and children from Dwarka and had tried to establish them in new cities like in the city of Kurukshetra. But many of the wives of Krishna performed Sati. And finally the entire city of Dwarka was consumed by the overwhelming ocean. The clan of Vrishni has been referred in the Mahabharata as Vratya and in the Arthasashtra of Kautaliya as a tribe.
In Panini`s Ashtadhyayi Panini has mentioned about the Vrishnis. Even in Arthashastra Kautilya has described the Vrishnis as a sangha. In the Mahabharata the Vrishnis as well as the Andhakas are referred as Vratyas.
Vrishni silver coin was discovered by Alexander Cunningham in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. This is a circular coin that has a sort of nandipada-standard-in-railing, a mythical animal, half lion and half elephant and a circular Brahmi legend on the facade and an elaborate chakra of twelve spokes in pellet border with slightly condensed Kharoshthi legend on the reverse. Several Vrishni copper coins have been discovered from Punjab.
