Shloka 54

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

संनिपातावधूतैस् तु चाणूरेण समं हरिः क्षेपणैर् मुष्टिभिश् चैव कीलवज्रनिपातनैः

Transliteration

saṃnipātāvadhūtais tu cāṇūreṇa samaṃ hariḥ kṣepaṇair muṣṭibhiś caiva kīlavajranipātanaiḥ

Translation

Then Hari, locked with Cāṇūra, was shaken by their mutual charges—hurled by powerful throws, hammered by fists, and felled again and again by blows like iron stakes and thunderbolts; yet the Supreme Lord’s resolve remained unshaken.

Word by Word

• संनिपातावधूतैः: with (blows) shaken by collisions
• संनिपातावधूतैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनिपात + अवधूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (means/description of blows)

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) — contrast/emphasis

• चाणूरेण: with Cāṇūra
• चाणूरेण: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (Associate/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाणूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समम्: together, equally
• समम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) — ‘together/equally’

• हरिः: Hari (Kṛṣṇa)
• हरिः: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• क्षेपणैः: with throws, castings
• क्षेपणैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेपण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• मुष्टिभिः: with fists
• मुष्टिभिः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• कीलवज्रनिपातनैः: with strikes like stakes and thunderbolts
• कीलवज्रनिपातनैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कील + वज्र + निपातन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; साधन (means)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: vivid, revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To subdue Kaṃsa’s violent champions and advance the liberation of Mathurā from adharma.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Reassertion of righteous sovereignty by breaking the instruments of tyranny.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Though appearing to struggle in the world, Hari remains unwavering, revealing divine sovereignty within human-like action.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Meet adversity with steadiness (dhairya) while remembering the Lord’s protecting presence behind events.

Vishishtadvaita: The Supreme (Hari) engages in embodied action without losing transcendence—immanence without diminution.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Sri Krishna/Vishnu)
• Cāṇūra

FAQs

What is the significance of the wrestling with Cāṇūra in the Vishnu Purana?

It dramatizes Krishna’s līlā: the Lord enters a public arena, meets adharma on its own ground, and demonstrates sovereign mastery while appearing to fight on equal terms.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Lord’s apparent struggle in combat?

Through vivid action-description rather than abstract doctrine—Parāśara narrates intense blows and throws to show the realism of the scene, while identifying Krishna as “Hari,” signaling divinity behind the human-like contest.

What is the theological importance of calling Krishna “Hari” here?

“Hari” frames the episode as the Supreme Vishnu’s intervention: even amid violent strikes, the Lord remains the ultimate controller who removes the burden of adharma and restores dharmic order.