Shloka 71

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

नन्दो ऽपि गृह्यतां पापो निगडैर् आयसैर् इह अवृद्धार्हेण दण्डेन वसुदेवो ऽपि हन्यताम्

Transliteration

nando 'pi gṛhyatāṃ pāpo nigaḍair āyasair iha avṛddhārheṇa daṇḍena vasudevo 'pi hanyatām

Translation

“Seize that sinner Nanda as well—bind him here with iron fetters. And let Vasudeva too be put to death with a punishment unfit for the aged.”

Word by Word

• नन्दः: Nanda
• नन्दः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• गृह्यताम्: let (him) be arrested/seized
• गृह्यताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/लोट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive imperative) — ‘let (him) be seized’

• पापः: sinful; wicked
• पापः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; qualifying नन्दः

• निगडैः: with fetters
• निगडैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निगड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

• आयसैः: iron
• आयसैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आयस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural; qualifying निगडैः

• इह: here
• इह: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• अवृद्धार्हेण: fit for a non-elder (i.e., not due to elders)
• अवृद्धार्हेण: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्ह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अवृद्धाय अर्हः), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Instrumental singular; qualifying दण्डेन

• दण्डेन: with punishment; by penalty
• दण्डेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• वसुदेवः: Vasudeva
• वसुदेवः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• हन्यताम्: let (him) be slain
• हन्यताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/लोट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive imperative) — ‘let (him) be killed’

Speaker

Kamsa (issuing a tyrannical command to his attendants/guards)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa incarnates to end Kaṃsa’s persecution of the righteous, protecting elders like Nanda and Vasudeva and restoring just rule.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of elders, hospitality and kinship obligations, and the ethical limits of punishment

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Adharma is marked by disproportionate punishment and violence against the innocent and the aged, which inevitably summons divine and societal correction.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Resist systems that normalize cruelty; uphold proportional justice and protection of vulnerable elders in family and society.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s protection extends concretely to embodied persons (śarīra) who belong to Him, affirming the sacredness of relational duties.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Nanda
• Vasudeva
• Kamsa

FAQs

What is the significance of Kamsa ordering Nanda’s arrest in the Vishnu Purana?

It shows the spread of adharma under Kamsa—his fear-driven tyranny expands from Vasudeva’s family to Krishna’s foster household, heightening the narrative need for Vishnu’s restoring power through Krishna.

How does the Vishnu Purana frame unjust punishment in this scene?

By explicitly calling the penalty “unfit for the aged,” the text marks Kamsa’s command as morally disordered—an abuse of kingship that violates dharma and foreshadows divine correction.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the episode belongs to Krishna’s divine mission: the Supreme Reality allows adharma to peak so that dharma is re-established through avatara action and protection of the righteous.