Shloka 22

इन्द्रक्रोधः, संवर्तक-वर्षणम्, गोवर्धनधारण-लीला

Devanagari script

सप्तरात्रं महामेघा ववर्षुर् नन्दगोकुले इन्द्रेण चोदिता विप्र गोपानां नाशकारिणः

Transliteration

saptarātraṃ mahāmeghā vavarṣur nandagokule indreṇa coditā vipra gopānāṃ nāśakāriṇaḥ

Translation

For seven nights, O brāhmaṇa, great thunderclouds—urged on by Indra—poured down upon Nanda’s cowherd-settlement, intent on the ruin of the gopas.

Word by Word

• सप्त-रात्रम्: for seven nights
• सप्त-रात्रम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + रात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्; समासः—द्विगु (सप्त रात्राः = सप्त-रात्रम्); कालावधि-अर्थे क्रियाविशेषणम्

• महा-मेघाः: great clouds
• महा-मेघाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘great clouds’)

• ववर्षुः: rained
• ववर्षुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• नन्द-गोकुले: in Nanda’s Gokula
• नन्द-गोकुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + गोकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘in Nanda’s Gokula’)

• इन्द्रेण: by Indra
• इन्द्रेण: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• चोदिताः: impelled/urged
• चोदिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चुद् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (‘having been impelled’)

• विप्र: O brāhmaṇa
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम्

• गोपानाम्: of the cowherds
• गोपानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम्

• नाश-कारिणः: bringing destruction
• नाश-कारिणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘causing destruction’); विशेषणम् महामेघाः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna counters Indra’s seven-night deluge and protects Nanda’s settlement, curbing the deva’s pride and preserving the devotees.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Devotee-protection (bhakta-rakṣaṇa) and the subordination of deva-power to the Supreme’s will.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Power driven by pride becomes destructive, while true sovereignty is protective and aligned with dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Check authority with humility; use influence to protect rather than punish, especially when challenged.

Vishishtadvaita: Even devas act within the Supreme’s governance; Krishna’s supremacy shows all cosmic administration is subordinate to the personal Brahman.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Nanda
• Gokula

FAQs

What is the significance of Indra’s seven-night storm in the Vishnu Purana?

It dramatizes deva-pride and misplaced sovereignty, setting the stage for the Supreme Lord’s higher protection of the Vraja devotees and the re-alignment of dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara frame this event in the dialogue with Maitreya?

Parāśara narrates it as a consequential act—Indra ‘commands’ the clouds—so the listener sees both the immediate peril to the gopas and the larger theological point that divine order is ultimately upheld by Vishnu.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu here, even though He is not named in the verse?

The verse highlights the limits of Indra’s power, implicitly pointing to Vishnu/Krishna as the Supreme Reality whose protective will supersedes even the might of the devas.