Shloka 23

इन्द्रक्रोधः, संवर्तक-वर्षणम्, गोवर्धनधारण-लीला

Devanagari script

ततो धृते महाशैले परित्राते च गोकुले मिथ्याप्रतिज्ञो बलभिद् वारयाम् आस तान् घनान्

Transliteration

tato dhṛte mahāśaile paritrāte ca gokule mithyāpratijño balabhid vārayām āsa tān ghanān

Translation

Then, when the mighty mountain had been held aloft and Gokula had been protected, Indra—the breaker of Bala—found his vow made false and caused those storm-clouds to withdraw.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), उपपद-सम्बन्धे/क्रमे (then/thereafter)

• dhṛte: (when) held up
• dhṛte: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhṛ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे? सप्तमी-एकवचन (Locative singular) — ‘when/after (it was) held’

• mahāśaile: on the great mountain
• mahāśaile: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + śaila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — ‘in/on the great mountain’

• paritrāte: (when) protected
• paritrāte: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari√trā (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), सप्तमी-एकवचन — ‘when (it was) protected/saved’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction)

• gokule: in Gokula
• gokule: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gokula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — ‘in Gokula’

• mithyāpratijñaḥ: false to his vow
• mithyāpratijñaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mithyā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक) + pratijña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — विशेषण; ‘whose promise is false’

• balabhit: Indra (breaker of Bala)
• balabhit: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक) + bhid (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — इन्द्रस्य नाम (epithet)

• vārayām: warded off, tried to stop
• vārayām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (धातु; वारयति causative/णिच्)
• Form: णिजन्त (causative), लिट्? (periphrastic perfect with ‘āsa’), उत्तमपुरुष? न; अत्र ‘vārayām āsa’ = परस्मैपदी, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘caused to stop/warded off’

• āsa: did/was (auxiliary)
• āsa: Kriya (Auxiliary/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect) / परिप्रयोग-सहायक (auxiliary in periphrastic perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tān: those
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — सर्वनाम

• ghanān: clouds
• ghanān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — ‘clouds’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To protect the Vraja community and humble Indra’s pride, establishing bhakti over ritualistic dependence on devas.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Shelter and protection of devotees; reorientation of worship toward the Supreme rather than fear-driven propitiation of devas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even the highest devas are subordinate to the Lord, and their power is checked when it opposes the protection of His devotees.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Place ultimate refuge in the Divine rather than in fluctuating worldly powers; remain steady when ‘storms’ arise.

Vishishtadvaita: The Supreme personally safeguards embodied souls (śeṣa) who depend on Him, showing lordship over all celestial administrators.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Gokula
• Govardhana (the great mountain)
• Krishna (implied as the lifter of the mountain)

FAQs

What is the significance of Indra’s retreat in the Govardhana episode of the Vishnu Purana?

It marks the collapse of Indra’s pride and the recognition that cosmic powers like rain ultimately operate under the higher sovereignty of Vishnu manifest as Krishna.

How does Sage Parāśara frame Krishna’s protection of Gokula in this verse?

He presents it as a completed act of refuge—once the mountain is held and Gokula is saved, the hostile clouds are compelled to withdraw, showing divine guardianship as decisive and total.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu (Krishna) in this context?

The verse implies Vishnu’s supremacy: even Indra, famed for conquering demons, must abandon his resolve when confronted with the Lord’s protective power over His devotees.