Shloka 22

इन्द्र-प्रायश्चित्तं, कृष्णाभिषेकः, गोविन्द-नामप्राप्तिः

Devanagari script

हतेष्व् एतेषु देवेन्द्र भविष्यति महाहवः तत्र विद्धि सहस्राक्ष भारावतरणं कृतम्

Transliteration

hateṣv eteṣu devendra bhaviṣyati mahāhavaḥ tatra viddhi sahasrākṣa bhārāvataraṇaṃ kṛtam

Translation

When these have been slain, O Indra, a mighty war will arise. Know then, O thousand‑eyed one, that in that very conflict the Earth’s burden will be brought down.

Word by Word

• हतेषु: when (they are) slain
• हतेषु: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; ‘when these are slain’ (locative absolute sense with eteṣu)

• एतेषु: among these
• एतेषु: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• देवेन्द्र: O Devendra
• देवेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will be, will occur
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महाहवः: a great battle
• महाहवः: Karta/Topic (Subject/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अहव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महान् अहवः)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Deśa (Locative adverbial/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• विद्धि: know, understand
• विद्धि: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सहस्राक्ष: O thousand-eyed one (Indra)
• सहस्राक्ष: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (सहस्रम् अक्षाणि यस्य)

• भारावतरणम्: the removal/descent of the burden
• भारावतरणम्: Karma/Topic (Object or subject complement/कर्म-उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार (प्रातिपदिक) + अवतरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भारस्य अवतरणम्)

• कृतम्: accomplished, done
• कृतम्: Predicate (Vidheyā/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘done/accomplished’—predicate to bhārāvataraṇam

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; addressing Indra within the reported speech/context)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the slaying of specific foes leads to the great war wherein Bhūmi’s burden is finally removed.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: By the slaying of the burdening foes and the ensuing great war, Kṛṣṇa’s mission of relieving the Earth is fulfilled.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Rebalancing of power and dharma through the ordained conflict that removes the Earth’s oppressive load.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even vast historical upheavals can function as instruments of cosmic rebalancing when aligned with divine governance and dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Interpret crises through a dharmic lens: act rightly, reduce harm, and support justice rather than despairing at conflict’s scale.

Vishishtadvaita: History is meaningful because the Lord’s providence operates within the real world (cit-acit) as His body, directing it toward order.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Devendra)
• Earth (Bhūmi, implied by 'bhāra')

FAQs

What is the significance of bhārāvataraṇa (removal of Earth’s burden) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames the coming great war as a divinely purposed event meant to lighten the Earth’s oppressive burden—an act of restoring cosmic balance rather than mere political conflict.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the rise of a mahāhava (great war) in the dynastic narrative?

Parāśara presents the war as the inevitable culmination after certain rulers/warriors are slain, emphasizing an overarching providential design working through historical lineages and conflicts.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context, even though he is not named in the verse?

The verse implies a higher sovereignty guiding history: the restoration of dharma and the easing of Earth’s burden align with Vishnu’s role as the supreme regulator of cosmic order in Vaishnava theology.