Shloka 29

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

वाद्यमानेषु तूर्येषु चाणूरे चातिवल्गति हाहाकारपरे लोके आस्फोटयति मुष्टिके

Transliteration

vādyamāneṣu tūryeṣu cāṇūre cātivalgati hāhākārapare loke āsphoṭayati muṣṭike

Translation

As the trumpets and instruments blared, Chāṇūra leapt about with fierce agility; and amid the people’s alarmed cries, Muṣṭika cracked his fists, flaunting his brutal strength.

Word by Word

• वाद्यमानेषु: while being played
• वाद्यमानेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाद्य (प्रातिपदिक) / वद् (धातु) → वाद्यमान (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (तूर्येषु)

• तूर्येषु: in/among the musical instruments
• तूर्येषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• चाणूरे: (when) Chāṇūra (is)
• चाणूरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाणूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरणे (locative absolute-like with vādyamāneṣu)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• अतिवल्गति: leaps about violently
• अतिवल्गति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति + वल्ग् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• हाहाकारपरे: in a world absorbed in cries of alarm
• हाहाकारपरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाहाकार (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—हाहाकार + पर (तत्पुरुष: ‘intent on cries’) ; विशेषणम् (लोके)

• लोके: in the crowd/world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• आस्फोटयति: claps/snaps (his arms)
• आस्फोटयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + स्फोट् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• मुष्टिके: (when) Muṣṭika (is there)
• मुष्टिके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: vivid

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna comes to subdue the violent wrestlers and end the terror they spread under Kamsa’s command.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Public safety and the moral order threatened by brute force

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Chāṇūra
• Muṣṭika
• People of Mathurā (the assembly)

FAQs

What is the significance of the wrestling arena scene in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse heightens the public tension: the blaring instruments, the crowd’s alarm, and the wrestlers’ aggressive displays frame the arena as the stage where adharma’s spectacle confronts Vishnu’s incarnate sovereignty as Krishna.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the mood of the assembly here?

Through vivid action—Chāṇūra’s violent leaping and Muṣṭika’s fist-cracking—Parāśara depicts a crowd overwhelmed by dread (hāhākāra), signaling that brute force dominates the scene just before dharma overturns it.

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

Even without naming Vishnu directly in this verse, the narrative serves Vaishnava theology: Krishna, as Vishnu’s avatāra, enters an arena of intimidation to restore cosmic and social order, showing that divine sovereignty surpasses manufactured power.