Shloka 4

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

कान्त कस्मान् न जानासि कंसेनाभिनियोजिताम् नैकवक्रेति विख्याताम् अनुलेपनकर्मणि

Transliteration

kānta kasmān na jānāsi kaṃsenābhiniyojitām naikavakreti vikhyātām anulepanakarmaṇi

Translation

Beloved, how do You not know her—commissioned by Kaṁsa, famed as ‘Naikavakrā’, and skilled in the art of anointing with unguents?

Word by Word

• कान्त: O beloved
• कान्त: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• कस्मात्: why
• कस्मात्: Hetu (Cause-question/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्राय (interrogative adverb from ablative); ‘why/from what reason’

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• जानासि: do you know
• जानासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

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

• अभिनियोजिताम्: appointed
• अभिनियोजिताम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभि + नि + युज् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; माम्/अहम् (understood) विशेषणम् = ‘appointed/assigned’

• नैकवक्रा: (as) ‘many-bent’
• नैकवक्रा: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: न (अव्यय) + एक (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः = ‘not having one bend’ (i.e., having many bends); अहम् (understood) विशेषणम्

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-निपात (quotative particle)

• विख्याताम्: well-known
• विख्याताम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + ख्या (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अहम् (understood) विशेषणम् = ‘well-known’

• अनुलेपनकर्मणि: in the task of applying ointment
• अनुलेपनकर्मणि: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुलेपन (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अनुलेपनस्य कर्मणि = ‘in the work of anointing’

Speaker

A companion/associate addressing another person in the Mathura narrative (within Parāśara’s narration to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He moves within Kaṁsa’s city to bring down the tyrant, while drawing even Kaṁsa’s attendants into contact with divinity.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Undermining tyrannical power and preparing the righteous restoration of rule in Mathurā

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Kaṁsa
• Naikavakrā (Trivakrā/Kubjā, the anointer)

FAQs

What is the significance of Naikavakrā (Trivakrā/Kubjā) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse identifies her as Kaṁsa’s appointed anointer, placing her within the royal machinery of Mathura—an everyday role that becomes a key touchpoint in Krishna’s unfolding līlā.

How does the Vishnu Purana frame Kaṁsa’s authority in this episode?

By stressing that she is ‘commissioned by Kaṁsa,’ the verse highlights Kaṁsa’s administrative reach—yet the broader narrative presents such control as ultimately subordinate to Vishnu’s higher sovereignty.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu/Krishna in this context?

Even mundane descriptions (a court anointer, royal appointment) function as narrative links in Krishna’s divinely ordered plan, reinforcing Vishnu as the Supreme Reality whose purpose works through ordinary social structures.