Vishnu Purana — Amsha 5 - Krishna Avatara, Shloka 7

इन्द्रक्रोधः, संवर्तक-वर्षणम्, गोवर्धनधारण-लीला

Devanagari script

ततः क्षणेन धरणी ककुभो ऽम्बरम् एव च एकं धारामहासारपूरणेनाभवन् मुने

Transliteration

tataḥ kṣaṇena dharaṇī kakubho 'mbaram eva ca ekaṃ dhārāmahāsārapūraṇenābhavan mune

Translation

ثم، يا أيها الحكيم، في لحظة واحدة صارت الأرض والجهات وحتى السماء كأنها شيء واحد؛ إذ امتلأ كلّ شيء واتصل بسيلٍ عظيم من تلك الشلالات الطاغية.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘thereupon/then’

• क्षणेन: in a moment
• क्षणेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; काल-करण (time-instrument)

• धरणी: the earth
• धरणी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ककुभः: the quarters/directions
• ककुभः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ककुभ्/ककुभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; दिक्/कोण (quarters)

• अम्बरम्: the sky
• अम्बरम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एकम्: one/undifferentiated
• एकम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘एकरूपम्’ इत्यर्थे विधेय-विशेषणम्

• धारामहासारपूरणेन: by the filling (everything) with torrents of great force
• धारामहासारपूरणेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धारा-महा-सार-पूरण (प्रातिपदिक) = धारा + महा + सार + पूरण
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (धाराणां महत् सारं येन पूरणम्)

• अभवन्: became
• अभवन्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; ‘became’ (plural agreeing with multiple subjects)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna’s protective act is necessitated as the storm becomes so all-pervading that earth, directions, and sky seem fused into one continuous flood.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Preservation of life in Vraja and demonstration that Bhagavān alone can contain cosmic forces when misdirected.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When elemental forces surge beyond ordinary bounds, the world’s apparent stability is revealed as contingent—ultimately held together only by the Supreme’s governance.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Cultivate inner steadiness by remembering life’s contingency; anchor daily practice (japa, prayer, service) in the Lord rather than in changing externals.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos is real yet dependent (paratantra-sattā): its cohesion and order persist by the Lord’s sustaining will, aligning with qualified non-dual dependence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of the earth, directions, and sky becoming 'one' in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys total inundation—space itself appears undifferentiated when every region is equally filled by the flood, emphasizing the cosmic scale of the event.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic upheaval in this context?

He narrates it as a sudden, all-pervading condition—an instantaneous transformation where the world’s divisions vanish under an immense, filling torrent.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this kind of cosmological description?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana frames such world-altering processes as occurring within divine law and sovereignty—cosmic order and its overwhelm are ultimately under the Supreme Reality’s governance.