Shloka 70

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

कंसो ऽपि कोपरक्ताक्षः प्राहोच्चैर् व्यापृतान् नरान् गोपाव् एतौ समाजौघान् निष्क्राम्येतां बलाद् इतः

Transliteration

kaṃso 'pi koparaktākṣaḥ prāhoccair vyāpṛtān narān gopāv etau samājaughān niṣkrāmyetāṃ balād itaḥ

Translation

Kamsa too—his eyes reddened with rage—shouted aloud to his attendants who stood ready for action: “Drive these two cowherd boys out from this gathered assembly at once, by force, from here!”

Word by Word

• कंसः: Kaṃsa
• कंसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• अपि: also; indeed
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — ‘also/indeed’

• कोपरक्ताक्षः: with eyes reddened by anger
• कोपरक्ताक्षः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोप (प्रातिपदिक) + रक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि/अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कोपेन रक्ते अक्षिणी यस्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• प्राह: said
• प्राह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आह्/अह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 3rd singular perfect

• उच्चैः: loudly
• उच्चैः: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (manner adverb)

• व्यापृतान्: engaged; employed; busy
• व्यापृतान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-आ-प्र-ऋत्/वृत् (धातु) → व्यापृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन — Accusative plural; qualifying नरान्

• नरान्: men
• नरान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन — Accusative plural

• गोपौ: (you) two cowherds
• गोपौ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — Nominative dual (used as vocative sense in address)

• एतौ: these two
• एतौ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन — here accusative dual as object of niṣkrāmyetām

• समाजौघान्: crowds/hosts of the assembly
• समाजौघान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समाज (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (समाजस्य ओघाः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन — Accusative plural (apposition/collective)

• निष्क्राम्येताम्: let them be driven out / let them go out
• निष्क्राम्येताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निस्-क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/लोट्), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन — 3rd dual imperative (injunctive command: ‘let them go out’)

• बलात्: forcibly
• बलात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय — ‘by force’

• इतः: from here
• इतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘from here’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya); within the narrative, the quoted command is spoken by Kaṁsa

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa appears to confront Kaṃsa’s tyranny and protect the Yādavas and cowherds from persecution.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Restraint of unrighteous royal violence and safeguarding of devotees in public assembly

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Kamsa
• Krishna
• Balarama
• Royal attendants

FAQs

What is the significance of Kaṁsa ordering Krishna and Balarama to be expelled in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks Kaṁsa’s open escalation from suspicion to public aggression, revealing the clash between tyrannical adharma and the inevitable triumph of Krishna’s divine order.

How does Sage Parāśara frame Kaṁsa’s reaction in this episode?

Parāśara highlights Kaṁsa’s anger and fear through vivid description (reddened eyes, loud command), contrasting transient royal power with the steady presence of the Lord’s avatāra.

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

Even when treated as a mere “cowherd boy,” Krishna embodies the Supreme Reality whose will governs outcomes; Kaṁsa’s command becomes a step toward the restoration of dharma rather than a true threat.