Shloka 8
देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्
याम् एनां वहसे मूढ सह भर्त्रा रथे स्थिताम् अस्यास् तवाष्टमो गर्भः प्राणान् अपहरिष्यति
yām enāṃ vahase mūḍha saha bhartrā rathe sthitām asyās tavāṣṭamo garbhaḥ prāṇān apahariṣyati
O fool—this very woman whom you are carrying in your chariot, seated there with her husband: her eighth child will tear away your life-breath. In the flow of time, no power, no crown, no tyranny can outrun the decree; when the Lord Viṣṇu’s purpose ripens, it arrives as destiny itself.
A celestial voice (ākāśa-vāṇī) warning Kaṁsa about Devakī’s eighth child
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Bhagavān will be born as Devakī’s eighth child to destroy Kaṃsa and re-establish dharma in Mathurā and beyond.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Deliverance of the oppressed and the rebalancing of righteous rule
Concept: Tyrannical power cannot outrun the ripening of karmic consequence; destiny aligned with dharma arrives inexorably.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Avoid harming the innocent out of fear; respond to threatening news with restraint and ethical clarity.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s purposeful descent works through time (kāla) as His instrument, harmonizing cosmic justice with historical events.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
It establishes divine inevitability: Kaṁsa’s political power cannot override the cosmic order, and the Lord’s saving purpose will manifest through Devakī’s eighth birth.
Through the narrative device of an ākāśa-vāṇī, the text shows that events unfold under a higher sovereignty—human actions react to, but cannot cancel, the ordained turning of time.
The verse points to Vishnu’s supremacy indirectly: the coming child represents the irresistible divine intervention that restores dharma when tyranny peaks.