Shloka 5

अरिष्टवृषभदैत्यवधः (गोव्रजत्राणम्)

Devanagari script

प्रलम्बकण्ठो ऽतिमुखस् तरुघाताङ्किताननः पातयन् स गवां गर्भान् दैत्यो वृषभरूपधृक्

Transliteration

pralambakaṇṭho 'timukhas tarughātāṅkitānanaḥ pātayan sa gavāṃ garbhān daityo vṛṣabharūpadhṛk

Translation

Assuming the form of a bull, that Daitya—long-throated, huge-mouthed, his face scarred by blows from trees—went about causing the cows to miscarry, casting down their unborn calves.

Word by Word

• प्रलम्बकण्ठः: long-necked
• प्रलम्बकण्ठः: कर्ता (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रलम्ब + कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (long-necked); विशेषणम्

• अतिमुखः: huge-mouthed
• अतिमुखः: कर्ता (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (very large-faced/mouthed); विशेषणम्

• तरुघाताङ्किताननः: whose face was marked by blows against trees
• तरुघाताङ्किताननः: कर्ता (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरु + घात + अङ्कित + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—"तरुघातेन अङ्कितम् आननं यस्य"; विशेषणम्

• पातयन्: causing to fall, making miscarry
• पातयन्: क्रिया-विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बद्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु; पतने) caus. पातय्
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्तः; शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; causative sense ("causing to fall")

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्ता (refers to Ariṣṭa)

• गवाम्: of the cows
• गवाम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• गर्भान्: fetuses, pregnancies
• गर्भान्: कर्म
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; कर्म (object of pātayan)

• दैत्यः: the demon
• दैत्यः: कर्ता (उपपद/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृ-सम्बन्धी विशेषण/उपाधि (appositional noun)

• वृषभरूपधृक्: bearing the form of a bull
• वृषभरूपधृक्: कर्ता (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषभ + रूप + धृ (धातु; धारणे)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—वृषभरूपं धृक् (धारयति) इति; धृ-धातोः क्विप्/क्विन्-प्रत्ययान्त (agent-noun)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa destroys Ariṣṭa to stop direct harm to Vraja’s cows and thereby preserve the community’s life, worship, and prosperity.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of motherhood and generativity in the herd (preventing miscarriages), and restoration of fear-free pastoral order.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: To injure the innocent—especially mothers and dependents—is a hallmark of daityic adharma; Bhagavān’s protection is aligned with compassion and preservation of life.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Stand against cruelty and protect the vulnerable; make one’s livelihood and worship non-exploitative and life-affirming.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān’s grace operates in concrete protection of embodied beings; the world is not dismissed but cared for as His śarīra (field of divine lordship).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Daitya (demon)
• Cows (gavām)
• Unborn calves/embryos (garbhān)

FAQs

What is the significance of cows in the Vishnu Purana in this verse?

Cows represent dharmic prosperity and social stability; the Daitya’s attack on pregnancies symbolizes adharma undermining the very continuity of livelihood and lineage.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the rise of disorder in royal narratives?

By showing adharma taking concrete forms—here, a demon harming cattle—Parāśara frames political decline as a moral-spiritual disruption that demands restoration through righteous power aligned with cosmic order.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the narrative presumes his overarching sovereignty: violations of dharma (like this cruelty) are ultimately corrected within Vishnu’s ordered cosmos through divinely supported righteousness.