Shloka 46

शरद्वर्णनं, योगोपमा, तथा गोवर्धन-यज्ञप्रवर्तनम्

Devanagari script

गावः शैलं ततश् चक्रुर् अर्चितास् ताः प्रदक्षिणम् ऋषभाश् चापि नर्दन्तः सतोया जलदा इव

Transliteration

gāvaḥ śailaṃ tataś cakrur arcitās tāḥ pradakṣiṇam ṛṣabhāś cāpi nardantaḥ satoyā jaladā iva

Translation

Then the cows, thus honoured, circumambulated the mountain in pradakṣiṇa; and the bulls too, bellowing loudly, seemed like rain-laden clouds.

Word by Word

• गावः: cows
• गावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• शैलम्: the mountain
• शैलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereupon)

• चक्रुः: they made; they performed
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• अर्चिताः: honoured; worshipped
• अर्चिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्च् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having been worshipped/honoured’ (agreeing with गावः)

• ताः: those (cows)
• ताः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• प्रदक्षिणम्: in circumambulation
• प्रदक्षिणम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रदक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययभाव)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (in circumambulation, keeping to the right)

• ऋषभाः: bulls
• ऋषभाः: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

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

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = also/even

• नर्दन्तः: roaring
• नर्दन्तः: Karta (Participial predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नर्द् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सतोयाः: water-laden
• सतोयाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; ‘toya-yuktāḥ’ (water-laden)

• जलदाः: clouds
• जलदाः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक (like/as)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The auspicious signs and communal participation in Govardhana-pūjā (cows’ pradakṣiṇā)

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He sanctifies Vraja’s life of cattle and hill by establishing Govardhana worship, which culminates in protection of the herd and people against Indra’s storm.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of go-sevā and pastoral dharma; honoring what sustains livelihood under divine order

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even animals partake in sacred order when honored and oriented around the divine—pradakṣiṇā embodies placing the sacred at the center of life.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Create devotional ‘circles’ in daily life: regular parikramā/temple-walks, gratitude to animals/nature, and reverent routines that center God.

Vishishtadvaita: All beings, including animals, belong to Bhagavān and can be integrated into dharmic worship; the Lord’s immanence sanctifies embodied life.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Govardhana (the mountain)
• Cows (gāvaḥ)
• Bulls (ṛṣabhāḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of pradakshina (circumambulation) in the Vishnu Purana?

Here, pradakshina is a bodily act of reverence that marks Govardhana as sacred; it expresses devotion through ritual movement, aligning the community (even the cattle) around dharma and worship.

How does Sage Parashara explain devotion through nature imagery in this context?

By portraying cows and bulls as active participants in worship—moving in pradakshina and roaring like rain-clouds—Parashara shows creation responding to sanctity, reinforcing a Vaishnava view of the world as oriented toward the Supreme.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Although Krishna is not named in this single verse, the scene belongs to his lila: the ordered, auspicious response of beings to sacred worship reflects Vishnu-Krishna’s supreme governance, where devotion harmonizes the natural and moral order.