Shloka 42

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

सख्यः पश्यत कृष्णस्य मुखम् अत्यरुणेक्षणम् गजयुद्धकृतायासस्वेदाम्बुकणिकाचितम्

Transliteration

sakhyaḥ paśyata kṛṣṇasya mukham atyaruṇekṣaṇam gajayuddhakṛtāyāsasvedāmbukaṇikācitam

Translation

Friends, behold Kṛṣṇa’s face—his eyes intensely reddened, and his countenance speckled with tiny beads of sweat and water born of the exertion of battling the elephant.

Word by Word

• सख्यः: O friends
• सख्यः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), बहुवचन — Vocative plural

• पश्यत: see; behold
• पश्यत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — Imperative 2nd pl.

• कृष्णस्य: of Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• मुखम्: face
• मुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• अति-अरुण-ईक्षणम्: having very reddish eyes
• अति-अरुण-ईक्षणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय) + अरुण (प्रातिपदिक) + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः: उपपद-तत्पुरुष (अत्यरुणम् ईक्षणम् यस्य तत्)

• गज-युद्ध-कृत-आयास-स्वेद-अम्बु-कणिका-चितम्: strewn with sweat-water droplets caused by exertion from elephant-fight
• गज-युद्ध-कृत-आयास-स्वेद-अम्बु-कणिका-चितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक) + युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु; कृत-प्रत्यय) + आयास (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्बु (प्रातिपदिक) + कणिका (प्रातिपदिक) + चित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; कृदन्त: चित (√चि ‘to heap/collect’ क्त-प्रत्यय) ‘covered/strewn’; समासः बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (गज-युद्धेन कृतः आयासः, तस्मात् स्वेदः, तस्य अम्बु-कणिकाः, ताभिः चितम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; the line itself is voiced as an address—“O friends”—within the narrated scene)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa manifests to protect dharma by destroying tyrannical forces in Mathurā and liberating the oppressed.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Protection of the righteous and the re-establishment of just kingship and sacred order

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Krishna

FAQs

What is the significance of Krishna’s sweat and reddened eyes in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse highlights līlā: Kṛṣṇa appears to undergo exertion like a human warrior, yet the scene is meant to intensify devotion by showing the Supreme acting within the world without diminishing his lordship.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine action (līlā) through such physical details?

By narrating vivid bodily signs—fatigue, sweat, reddened eyes—Parāśara frames the episode as a devotional vision: the transcendent Lord becomes perceptible and emotionally accessible while still directing cosmic order.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (as Krishna) in this context?

Kṛṣṇa’s avataric form demonstrates that the Supreme Reality can enter history, protect dharma, and inspire bhakti—his apparent struggle is a deliberate manifestation, not a limitation of divinity.