Shloka 40

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

Devanagari script

पीते वसानं वसने चित्रमाल्यविभूषणम् शक्रचापतडिन्मालाविचित्रम् इव तोयदम्

Transliteration

pīte vasānaṃ vasane citramālyavibhūṣaṇam śakracāpataḍinmālāvicitram iva toyadam

Translation

Clad in yellow garments and adorned with variegated garlands and ornaments, he shone like a rain-cloud made wondrous with Indra’s rainbow and with chains of lightning.

Word by Word

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

• वसानम्: wearing
• वसानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present middle participle, शानच्); परस्मै/आत्मनेपदभावः; पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular masculine)

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

• चित्र-माल्य-विभूषणम्: adorned with variegated garlands and ornaments
• चित्र-माल्य-विभूषणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्र (प्रातिपदिक) + माल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + विभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘चित्रं माल्यं विभूषणं यस्य/येन’); पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular masculine); विशेषणम्

• शक्र-चाप-तडित्-माला-विचित्रम्: variegated with rainbow-and-lightning garlands
• शक्र-चाप-तडित्-माला-विचित्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + चाप (प्रातिपदिक) + तडित् (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक) + विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘शक्रचापतडिन्मालाभिः विचित्रम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular neuter); उपमानवर्णनार्थे

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Upamana-marker (Comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानसूचक (particle of comparison)

• तोयदम्: a rain-cloud
• तोयदम्: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोयद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular masculine)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: poetic-revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To reveal His divine beauty and supremacy, captivating devotees and reinforcing dharma through awe-inspiring manifestation.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Strengthening of bhakti-centered dharma through direct vision (darśana) of the Lord’s auspicious form.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord’s beauty is not merely aesthetic; it is a salvific revelation that draws the mind into single-pointed devotion.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Use vivid form-meditation (rūpa-dhyāna) on the Lord’s yellow garments and radiant ornaments to replace distraction with remembrance.

Vishishtadvaita: Liberation is grounded in grace through loving contemplation of the personal Lord endowed with infinite auspicious qualities.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Śakra)
• Rain-cloud (toyadā)

FAQs

What is the significance of the rainbow-and-lightning simile in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys overwhelming majesty: as a monsoon cloud becomes magnificent with rainbow and lightning, so the described figure’s yellow raiment, garlands, and ornaments express sovereign splendour and auspicious power.

How does Sage Parāśara explain kingship and authority in such descriptions?

Through vivid, cosmic similes, Parāśara frames worldly sovereignty as a reflection of universal order—royal brilliance is portrayed as harmonized with the grandeur of nature and dharma.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse is descriptive rather than explicitly doctrinal, the Purāṇic narrative style implies that true splendour and rightful rule ultimately rest upon Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty over the cosmos.