Shloka 5
गर्भ-व्यवस्था, देवकी-गर्भ-स्तुति (गर्भस्तुतिः), जगदन्तर्गत-हरि-प्रतिपादनम्
न सेहे देवकीं द्रष्टुं कश्चिद् अप्य् अतितेजसा जाज्वल्यमानां तां दृष्ट्वा मनांसि क्षोभम् आययुः
na sehe devakīṃ draṣṭuṃ kaścid apy atitejasā jājvalyamānāṃ tāṃ dṛṣṭvā manāṃsi kṣobham āyayuḥ
None could bear to look upon Devakī, for she blazed with overpowering splendor; seeing her thus aflame with radiance, their minds were shaken and thrown into turmoil.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Signs and effects surrounding Devakī bearing Viṣṇu
Teaching: Historical
Quality: revealing
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Viṣṇu manifests as Kṛṣṇa within Devakī to remove the burden of adharma, beginning with Kaṃsa’s oppression.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Protection of the divine birth and the future restoration of righteous rule
Concept: Divine presence (tejas) is not merely seen but transforms and overwhelms ordinary perception, indicating the sacredness of the avatāra’s advent.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Approach the divine with humility and inner steadiness; cultivate purity so awe becomes devotion rather than agitation.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s glory is experienced through a real embodied locus (Devakī), affirming sanctified embodiment rather than world-negation.
Vishnu Form: Vasudeva (devotional)
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Vyuha Form: Vasudeva
Lakshmi Presence: Sri
FAQs
It signals the imminent descent of the Supreme Lord (Vishnu as Krishna), a visible omen that dharma is about to reassert itself against adharma.
Parāśara presents it as an effect of extraordinary divine tejas: her blazing splendor overwhelms ordinary perception, agitating even steady minds.
Even before birth, the avatāra’s presence is implied through Devakī’s superhuman brilliance—Vishnu’s sovereignty manifests as protective, world-ordering power.