Shloka 38

अक्रूर-सत्कारः, मथुरायात्रा-विरहः, यमुनातटे दिव्यदर्शनम्, चतुर्व्यूह-नमस्कारः

Devanagari script

दधानम् असिते वस्त्रे चारुपद्मावतंसकम् चारुकुण्डलिनं मत्तम् अन्तर् जलतले स्थितम्

Transliteration

dadhānam asite vastre cārupadmāvataṃsakam cārukuṇḍalinaṃ mattam antar jalatale sthitam

Translation

There, within the watery depths, stood a wondrous divine being—clad in dark garments, crowned with a lovely lotus-crest, adorned with beautiful earrings, intoxicated with sacred power and rapture, and stationed beneath the surface of the water.

Word by Word

• दधानम्: bearing, wearing
• दधानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धा (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle, शतृ), परस्मैपदी; नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular neuter)

• असिते: in the two dark (garments)
• असिते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी द्विवचन (locative dual neuter); विशेषणम्

• वस्त्रे: in garments (two cloths)
• वस्त्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी द्विवचन (locative dual neuter)

• चारु-पद्म-अवतंसकम्: having a lovely lotus-ornament (as a head/ear ornament)
• चारु-पद्म-अवतंसकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चारु (प्रातिपदिक) + पद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अवतंसक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-समासभावः (ornament as a lotus, beautiful); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular neuter); विशेषणम्

• चारु-कुण्डलिनम्: beautifully ear-ringed
• चारु-कुण्डलिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चारु (प्रातिपदिक) + कुण्डलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः; पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular masculine); विशेषणम्

• मत्तम्: intoxicated/joyful
• मत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular masculine); विशेषणम्

• अन्तः: within
• अन्तः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्तः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग/अव्ययीभावार्थे अव्ययम् (adverb: ‘within’)

• जलतले: on/in the surface of the water
• जलतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘जलस्य तलम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचन (locative singular neuter)

• स्थितम्: standing, situated
• स्थितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular neuter)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To protect the righteous and re-establish dharma by subduing oppressive forces through divine līlā.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of cosmic and social order through the Lord’s manifest sovereignty.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (implied overarching divine agency in the Purana’s narrative frame)

FAQs

What is the significance of the cosmic waters (jala) in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, the waters function as a hidden realm where divine presence is revealed, suggesting that cosmic order and sovereignty operate even beneath ordinary perception.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine manifestation in narrative episodes like this?

Parāśara presents a vivid theophany—specific ornaments, color, and posture—to make the unseen intelligible, framing extraordinary events as purposeful interventions within the Manvantara order.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named directly in the line, the Purāṇic frame treats such epiphanies as expressions of the Supreme Reality that sustains and governs the cosmos and its cycles.