Shloka 55
कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः
पादोद्धूतैः प्रमृष्टैश् च तयोर् युद्धम् अभून् महत्
pādoddhūtaiḥ pramṛṣṭaiś ca tayor yuddham abhūn mahat
With stamping feet and with limbs rubbing and grappling, a great battle arose between the two.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: descriptive
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: To defeat Kaṃsa’s champion publicly, demonstrating divine protection of the oppressed.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Public reassurance that adharma’s strength cannot prevail against the Lord.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
This verse uses vivid physical action to mark the escalation of conflict, a common Purana device that frames disorder as something that must be resolved for dharma and cosmic stability to prevail.
He narrates in concise, scene-setting lines—here emphasizing motion and contact—to transition the listener into a decisive phase of the encounter before its moral or cosmological outcome is stated.
Even when Vishnu is not named in a specific line, the Vishnu Purana’s narrative assumes that the restoration of order culminating from such conflicts ultimately rests under Vishnu’s sovereignty as the supreme preserver of dharma.