Shloka 14

नारदेन कंसबोधनम्, कंसस्योपायचिन्ता, अक्रूरप्रेषणम् (मथुरागमनप्रस्तावः)

Devanagari script

वसुदेवसुतौ तत्र विष्णोर् अंशसमुद्भवौ नाशाय किल संभूतौ मम दुष्टौ प्रवर्धतः

Transliteration

vasudevasutau tatra viṣṇor aṃśasamudbhavau nāśāya kila saṃbhūtau mama duṣṭau pravardhataḥ

Translation

“There, the two sons of Vasudeva—born as portions of Viṣṇu Himself—have, it seems, manifested for my destruction, even as my own wickedness continues to swell and grow.”

Word by Word

• वसुदेवसुतौ: the two sons of Vasudeva
• वसुदेवसुतौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुदेव (प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वसुदेवस्य सुतौ)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक adverb “there”)

• विष्णोः: of Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अंशसमुद्भवौ: born from (his) portion
• अंशसमुद्भवौ: Karta-viseshana (Qualifier of subject/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अंश (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अंशस्य समुद्भवौ = arising from a portion)

• नाशाय: for destruction
• नाशाय: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• किल: indeed
• किल: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किल (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात: खलु/इव—emphatic/indeed)

• संभूतौ: have arisen, were born
• संभूतौ: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्√भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• दुष्टौ: wicked (as I see them)
• दुष्टौ: Karta-viseshana (Qualifier of subject/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

• प्रवर्धतः: are growing
• प्रवर्धतः: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन

Speaker

Kamsa (as reported within Parasara’s narration to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Vishnu’s portions manifest as Balarama and Krishna to destroy Kaṃsa and curb escalating adharma.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Removal of oppressive rule and protection of dharma through divine intervention.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even the wicked recognize the Lord’s avatāra as the decisive force that checks swelling adharma and restores order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat moral degeneration as a call to turn toward the divine and align actions with dharma rather than intensify ego-driven harm.

Vishishtadvaita: Avatāra as the personal, purposive descent of the Supreme who governs history while remaining transcendent.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Vasudeva
• Balarama
• Krishna
• Kamsa

FAQs

What is the significance of calling Krishna and Balarama “aṃśa-samudbhava” of Vishnu in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames their appearance as a deliberate divine manifestation—Vishnu’s sovereign intervention to remove adharma and re-establish dharma.

How does the Vishnu Purana present the link between rising wickedness and divine descent?

This verse makes Kamsa’s growing evil the immediate narrative trigger: as adharma expands, Vishnu’s presence manifests to bring about its destruction.

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

Vishnu is shown as the supreme regulator of order, whose avatara arises not randomly but purposefully to protect the world and end oppressive rule.