Shloka 10

इन्द्रक्रोधः, संवर्तक-वर्षणम्, गोवर्धनधारण-लीला

Devanagari script

गावस् तु तेन पतता वर्षवातेन वेगिना धूताः प्राणाञ् जहुः सन्नत्रिकसक्थिशिरोधराः

Transliteration

gāvas tu tena patatā varṣavātena veginā dhūtāḥ prāṇāñ jahuḥ sannatrikasakthiśirodharāḥ

Translation

The cows, battered by that rushing storm of rain and wind, were shaken so violently that they gave up their lives—necks, thighs, and heads wrenched and broken.

Word by Word

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

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वय-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पतता: falling, rushing down
• पतता: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतत् (कृदन्त; √पत् धातु, शतृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; विशेषण—वर्षवातेन

• वर्ष-वातेन: by rain and wind
• वर्ष-वातेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• वेगिना: violent, swift
• वेगिना: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; विशेषण—वर्षवातेन

• धूताः: shaken, tossed about
• धूताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धूत (कृदन्त; √धू धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन; विशेषण—गावः

• प्राणान्: life-breaths
• प्राणान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• जहुः: abandoned, gave up
• जहुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• सन्नत्रिक-सक्थि-शिरोधराः: with necks, thighs, and heads (all) drooping/disabled
• सन्नत्रिक-सक्थि-शिरोधराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सन्नत्रिक (प्रातिपदिक) + सक्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + शिरोधर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन; विशेषण—गावः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: compassionate

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To intervene as the compassionate protector when the helpless (especially cows) are devastated by violent forces.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Go-raksha and the safeguarding of the dependent—central to Krishna’s Vraja dharma.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The suffering of the innocent exposes the urgency of protective dharma and compassionate action toward the vulnerable.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate active compassion—support animal welfare and protect dependents during disasters rather than remaining indifferent.

Vishishtadvaita: Souls and their bodies are real dependents (śeṣa) of the Lord; their vulnerability calls forth divine and human duty of protection within the same reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Cows
• Storm (rain and wind)

FAQs

What is the significance of calamity imagery like violent storms in the Vishnu Purana?

Such scenes underline impermanence and the vulnerability of beings within prakṛti, setting a contrast to Vishnu’s unchanging sovereignty beyond cyclical destruction.

How does Sage Parāśara explain suffering in this narrative context?

He depicts suffering concretely—through bodily devastation—to show how disorder overwhelms the world when destructive forces surge, reinforcing the Purana’s broader teaching on cycles of decline and restoration.

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

Even when the world is shaken by ruin, Vishnu remains the supreme ground of order and refuge; the destruction belongs to the mutable cosmos, not to the ultimate reality.