Shloka 3

नारदेन कंसबोधनम्, कंसस्योपायचिन्ता, अक्रूरप्रेषणम् (मथुरागमनप्रस्तावः)

Devanagari script

कंसाय नारदः प्राह यथावृत्तम् अनुक्रमात् यशोदादेवकीगर्भपरिवर्ताद्य् अशेषतः

Transliteration

kaṃsāya nāradaḥ prāha yathāvṛttam anukramāt yaśodādevakīgarbhaparivartādy aśeṣataḥ

Translation

Nārada then recounted to Kaṁsa, in due sequence and exactly as it had occurred, the entire course of events—beginning with the exchange of the infants in the wombs of Yaśodā and Devakī—leaving nothing untold.

Word by Word

• कंसाय: to Kaṃsa
• कंसाय: सम्प्रदान (Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• प्राह: said
• प्राह: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + अह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• यथावृत्तम्: as it happened
• यथावृत्तम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + वृत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable adverbial)

• अनुक्रमात्: in sequence, step by step
• अनुक्रमात्: हेतु/रीति (Manner/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे (adverbial ablative: 'in order/stepwise')

• यशोदा-देवकी-गर्भ-परिवर्त-आदि: the exchange of the womb/infant between Yaśodā and Devakī, etc.
• यशोदा-देवकी-गर्भ-परिवर्त-आदि: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यशोदा (प्रातिपदिक) + देवकी (प्रातिपदिक) + गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + परिवर्त (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; 'यशोदायाः देवक्याः गर्भपरिवर्तः' इत्यादि); नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• अशेषतः: completely, without remainder
• अशेषतः: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (तद्धितान्त-अव्यय, adverb)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya); within the narrative, Nārada addresses Kaṁsa

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Kaṃsa came to know the truth of Kṛṣṇa’s birth and why he intensified hostility.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To bring about the fall of Kaṃsa and relieve the earth of oppressive adharma by revealing His true identity and history.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Rightful protection of the Yādava line and the safeguarding of divine birth against adharma-driven infanticide.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Truth, when disclosed by a divine seer, becomes the instrument by which hidden adharma is forced into the open and made to meet its consequence.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate satya and discernment; accept that truthful counsel may disturb power but ultimately aligns events toward dharma.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān’s līlā unfolds through empowered devotees (like Nārada) as real instruments within the world, not illusory appearances.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Kaṁsa
• Yaśodā
• Devakī
• Krishna (implied)

FAQs

What is the significance of Nārada telling Kaṁsa the truth in the Vishnu Purana?

It functions as the catalytic disclosure that turns Kaṁsa’s latent fear into immediate hostility, showing how divine providence can use even a sage’s revelation to advance the avatāra’s ordained course.

How does Sage Parāśara structure the episode of Krishna’s birth in this chapter?

He frames it as a sequential report (“anukramāt”) delivered by Nārada to Kaṁsa, emphasizing an ordered unfolding of events rather than random chance—suggesting a higher governance behind the narrative.

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

Though not named in this verse, the episode presupposes Vishnu’s avatāra as Krishna and highlights the supremacy of the divine will: the Lord’s descent is protected and disclosed in ways that ultimately fulfill dharma despite tyrannical opposition.