Vishnu Purana 5.21.10 — Krishna Avatara, Amsha 5, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 10

वैष्णवीमायावितानम्, उग्रसेनाभिषेकः, सुधर्मासभा, सांदीपनिगमनम्, पाञ्चजन्य-प्राप्तिः, गुरुदक्षिणा

Devanagari script

राज्ये ऽभिषिक्तः कृष्णेन यदुसिंहः सुतस्य सः चकार प्रेतकार्याणि ये चान्ये तत्र घातिताः

Transliteration

rājye 'bhiṣiktaḥ kṛṣṇena yadusiṃhaḥ sutasya saḥ cakāra pretakāryāṇi ye cānye tatra ghātitāḥ

Translation

কৃষ্ণে ৰাজ্যাভিষিক্ত কৰা সেই যদুসিংহে নিজৰ পুত্ৰৰ—আৰু তাত নিহত আন সকলোৰে—প্ৰেতকাৰ্য (অন্ত্যক্ৰিয়া) সম্পন্ন কৰিলে।

Word by Word

• राज्ये: in the kingdom
• राज्ये: Adhikarana (Location/domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणम्

• अभिषिक्तः: having been consecrated/crowned
• अभिषिक्तः: Karta (Qualifying subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिच् (धातु) + अभि- (उपसर्ग) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (यदुसिंहः)

• कृष्णेन: by Krishna
• कृष्णेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करणम्/कर्तृकरणभाव (by Krishna)

• यदुसिंहः: the lion among the Yadus (Ugrasena)
• यदुसिंहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदु (प्रातिपदिक) + सिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (यदूनां सिंहः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• सुतस्य: of (his) son
• सुतस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• चकार: performed
• चकार: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• प्रेतकार्याणि: funeral rites
• प्रेतकार्याणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रेतस्य कार्याणि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• ये: who (those)
• ये: Karta (Subject of implied clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (relative pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject of implied clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• घातिताः: slain (killed)
• घातिताः: Karta (Qualifying subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle of causative: ‘caused to be slain’); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (ये अन्ये)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa installs Ugrasena and thereby enables the performance of proper rites and the reconstitution of royal dharma after violent upheaval.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Śrāddha/pretakriyā and rājadharma—order maintained even amid death

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Performing prescribed rites for the dead is a dharmic act that restores balance and provides societal and spiritual closure after violence.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Honor obligations to family and community through appropriate mourning, remembrance, and responsible closure after loss.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as Bhagavān-ordained order: worldly rites and governance become modes of service within a theistic, embodied cosmos.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Dharma Exemplar: Pitṛ-dharma (ancestral rites) and rāja-śāsana (ordered rule)

Key Kings: Ugrasena

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Yadu lineage (Yadus)
• Yadusiṁha (a Yadu prince/king)
• The slain warriors

FAQs

What is the significance of performing preta-kārya (funerary rites) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents preta-kārya as a core act of dharma: even after violence and upheaval, rightful rites restore moral order and honor the departed.

How does Sage Parāśara frame kingship and legitimacy in this passage?

Legitimacy is shown through abhiṣeka (consecration) by Kṛṣṇa and through dharmic conduct afterward—rule is not merely power, but responsibility sustained by sacred duty.

What is the theological importance of Kṛṣṇa in this context?

Kṛṣṇa functions as the divine source of rightful sovereignty: his anointing signals that political order ultimately rests under the Supreme Lord’s governance and protection of dharma.