Shloka 64

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

भूमाव् आस्फोटितस् तेन चाणूरः शतधाव्रजत् रक्तस्रावमहापङ्कां चकार स तदा भुवम्

Transliteration

bhūmāv āsphoṭitas tena cāṇūraḥ śatadhāvrajat raktasrāvamahāpaṅkāṃ cakāra sa tadā bhuvam

Translation

Slammed down upon the earth by Him, Cāṇūra was shattered into a hundred fragments; and then, pouring out blood, he turned the ground into a vast mire of gore.

Word by Word

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• आस्फोटितः: having been dashed down
• आस्फोटितः: Karta (Grammatical subject in passive sense/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आस्-√स्फोट् (धातु) → आस्फोटित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावः ‘having been dashed’

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• चाणूरः: Cāṇūra
• चाणूरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाणूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• शतधा: into a hundred parts / a hundredfold
• शतधा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• अव्रजत्: went/became
• अव्रजत्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• रक्तस्रावमहापङ्काम्: a great mire of blood-flow
• रक्तस्रावमहापङ्काम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + स्राव (प्रातिपदिक) + महा (उपसर्गवत्/पूर्वपद) + पङ्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला (रक्तस्य स्रावः → रक्तस्रावः; रक्तस्रावस्य महापङ्का)

• चकार: made
• चकार: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-viseshana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• भुवम्: the earth/ground
• भुवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक: भुव्/भू)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To annihilate Kaṃsa’s violent champions and thereby clear the path for the removal of tyranny and the restoration of dharma in Mathurā.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Safety of the innocent and the moral order threatened by Kaṃsa’s regime

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Cāṇūra
• Earth (Bhūmi)

FAQs

What is the significance of Cāṇūra’s defeat in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks the decisive collapse of Kaṃsa’s oppressive power-structure: Kṛṣṇa, as the Lord’s avatāra, publicly overturns adharma by destroying its foremost champion.

How does Sage Parāśara frame Kṛṣṇa’s action here—human feat or divine act?

Although narrated in vivid physical detail, the episode functions theologically: Parāśara presents Kṛṣṇa’s victory as the Supreme Lord’s sovereign intervention in the world to re-establish dharma.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Kṛṣṇa’s effortless mastery over a feared wrestler underscores Viṣṇu’s supreme rulership—His avatāra acts within time and society while remaining the transcendent source of order and protection.