Shloka 28
देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्
क्रियतां तन् महाभागा मम भारावतारणम् यथा रसातलं नाहं गच्छेयम् अतिविह्वला
kriyatāṃ tan mahābhāgā mama bhārāvatāraṇam yathā rasātalaṃ nāhaṃ gaccheyam ativihvalā
O greatly fortunate ones, do what will bring down my burden, so that I—utterly distressed—do not sink into Rasātala, the nether depths.
Bhūmi Devī (the Earth, personified), addressing the gods
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: The Purāṇic cosmos is layered (upper worlds and nether realms), and dharmic imbalance is portrayed as a literal destabilization of Bhūmi within that hierarchy.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat ethical collapse as a real destabilizing force—restore balance through just action and restraint before crises ‘cascade’ downward.
Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic order is meaningful within a real universe sustained by the Lord; the world’s stability is part of divine administration rather than illusion.
Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi
FAQs
This verse frames the crisis of adharma as a tangible cosmic weight upon Bhūmi, prompting the gods to seek a divine remedy that culminates in Vishnu’s saving intervention.
By personifying Earth as overwhelmed and at risk of sinking into Rasātala, the text dramatizes imbalance in universal order and motivates the gods’ coordinated appeal for Vishnu’s corrective action.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the narrative logic assumes him as the supreme sustainer who alone can truly ‘lighten the burden’ and re-establish dharma through avatāra.