Shloka 64

देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्

Devanagari script

वसुदेवस्य या पत्नी देवकी देवतोपमा तस्यायम् अष्टमो गर्भो मत्केशो भविता सुराः

Transliteration

vasudevasya yā patnī devakī devatopamā tasyāyam aṣṭamo garbho matkeśo bhavitā surāḥ

Translation

O gods, Devakī—Vasudeva’s wife, radiant like a goddess—will bear an eighth child; that very eighth womb shall become My own manifestation in the form of My hair.

Word by Word

• वसुदेवस्य: of Vasudeva
• वसुदेवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• या: who
• या: Karta (Subject of relative clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• पत्नी: wife
• पत्नी: Karta (Predicate/subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देवकी: Devakī
• देवकी: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देवतोपमा: godlike, like a goddess
• देवतोपमा: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + उपमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (devatā-upamā: 'like a goddess'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (of देवकी)

• तस्य: of her/of that (woman)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अष्टमः: eighth
• अष्टमः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषण (ordinal adjective)

• गर्भः: embryo/child in the womb
• गर्भः: Karta (Apposition to अयम्/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मत्केशः: (is) my hair/lock (incarnation)
• मत्केशः: Karta (Predicate nominal/apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत् (अस्मद्-षष्ठी) + केश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('my hair/lock'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध (predicate/apposition)

• भविता: will be
• भविता: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सुराः: O gods
• सुराः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (vocative, 8th), बहुवचन

Speaker

Śrī Viṣṇu (speaking to the devas, as narrated by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Identification of the avatāra’s birth—Devakī’s eighth pregnancy as the locus of Hari’s manifestation.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: clarificatory and authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To be born as Devakī’s eighth child in Vasudeva’s house and thereby protect the devas and restore order by removing asuric tyranny.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of the devas and re-establishment of dharmic kingship through the avatāra’s birth.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The transcendent Lord chooses a human womb, making the household a sacred site for divine presence and protection.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Honor sanctity of family life and cultivate devotion in the home, seeing daily life as a place where God can be welcomed through purity and remembrance.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s ‘saulabhya’ (easy accessibility) is shown: the Supreme becomes near and relatable without ceasing to be the Supreme.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Key Kings: Vasudeva

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Vasudeva

Bhakti Type: vatsalya

Vyuha Form: Vasudeva

Characters & Entities

• Vasudeva
• Devakī
• Viṣṇu
• Devas

FAQs

What is the significance of Devakī’s eighth pregnancy in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks the foretold descent of Viṣṇu as Kṛṣṇa—an avatāra event framed as a deliberate act to protect the devas and restore dharma in the world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the avatāra principle in this context?

Through a dialogue narrative where Viṣṇu himself announces his manifestation, showing that the incarnation is not accidental but a sovereign, purposeful descent for cosmic order.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Viṣṇu is presented as the supreme governor of cosmic order who manifests by will; Kṛṣṇa’s birth is portrayed as a direct expression of that supreme reality acting within history.