Shloka 11

अक्रूरस्य यमुनादर्शनम्, मथुराप्रवेशः, रजकवधः, माल्यजीवकवरदानम्

Devanagari script

गन्तव्यं वसुदेवस्य न भवद्भ्यां तथा गृहम् युवयोर् हि कृते वृद्धः स कंसेन निरस्यते

Transliteration

gantavyaṃ vasudevasya na bhavadbhyāṃ tathā gṛham yuvayor hi kṛte vṛddhaḥ sa kaṃsena nirasyate

Translation

You must not go to Vasudeva’s house by the usual way. Because of you two, that aged man is being driven out and harried by Kaṃsa—his very home is no longer safe.

Word by Word

• गन्तव्यम्: should be gone / you should go
• गन्तव्यम्: विधेय (Obligation predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/obligative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘to be gone/should go’

• वसुदेवस्य: of Vasudeva
• वसुदेवस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• भवद्भ्याम्: by you two
• भवद्भ्याम्: कर्ता/करण (Agent/Instrument in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (आदरार्थ), तृतीया (Instrumental), द्विवचन; ‘by you two’

• तथा: thus / in that way
• तथा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय (adverb)

• गृहम्: home
• गृहम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• युवयोः: of you two
• युवयोः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), द्विवचन; ‘of you two/for you two’

• हि: indeed / for
• हि: निपातार्थ (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• कृते: for the sake (of)
• कृते: हेतु (Cause/purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; ‘in/for the sake of’ (कृते = हेतौ)

• वृद्धः: the old man (Vasudeva)
• वृद्धः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कंसेन: by Kaṃsa
• कंसेन: कर्ता/करण (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• निरस्यते: is expelled / driven out
• निरस्यते: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्-अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense): ‘is driven out’

Speaker

Narratorial voice (Sage Parāśara relating the events to Maitreya; the verse conveys a warning spoken within the Kamsa-Vasudeva episode)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa descends to end Kaṃsa’s oppression and relieve devotees like Vasudeva from fear and persecution.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Safety of the sat-kula (righteous family) and protection of devotees

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dharma includes prudent action: even the righteous should avoid needless exposure to tyranny while protecting the vulnerable.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice discernment—choose safe, skillful means when confronting injustice, especially to safeguard dependents.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān protects His devotees through both līlā and practical upāya (means), showing grace working within worldly causality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Vasudeva
• Kaṃsa

FAQs

What is the significance of Kaṃsa driving Vasudeva away in the Vishnu Purana?

It highlights adharma in rulership—Kaṃsa’s fear and cruelty destabilize family and society, setting the stage for Vishnu’s intervention through Krishna to re-establish righteous order.

How does Sage Parāśara frame danger and protection in this episode?

Through practical warnings embedded in the narrative: the threat is immediate and political (Kaṃsa’s surveillance and expulsions), while the larger arc implies providence—events move toward the divine resolution.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu here, even though the verse names Vasudeva and Kaṃsa?

The verse belongs to the Krishna-cycle where Vishnu’s sovereignty is expressed through history: tyranny intensifies, but that very pressure becomes the prelude to the avatāra’s restoration of dharma.