Shloka 26
वैष्णवीमायावितानम्, उग्रसेनाभिषेकः, सुधर्मासभा, सांदीपनिगमनम्, पाञ्चजन्य-प्राप्तिः, गुरुदक्षिणा
दैत्यः पञ्चजनो नाम शङ्खरूपः स बालकम् जग्राह सो ऽस्ति सलिले ममैवासुरसूदन
daityaḥ pañcajano nāma śaṅkharūpaḥ sa bālakam jagrāha so 'sti salile mamaivāsurasūdana
A Daitya named Pañcajana, who had taken the form of a conch, has seized the child. He is there within the waters, O slayer of the Asuras, and the boy is truly mine.
A grieving parent (the child’s father) addressing Sri Krishna (Asurasūdana) in the narrative relayed by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Kṛṣṇa acts to protect devotees by rescuing the seized child and subduing the daitya Pañcajana.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Protection of the innocent and reassertion of divine sovereignty over asuric violence
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
This verse frames Pañcajana as a Daitya who becomes “śaṅkharūpa” (conch-formed), setting up the episode in which Krishna overcomes him and the sacred conch Pañcajanya becomes associated with the Lord’s sovereign power and protection.
Through such narrated pleas addressed to Krishna, the text shows that the Supreme Lord is not distant: when adharma manifests as violent seizure, the Lord’s role as Asurasūdana is to restore order and safeguard the vulnerable.
The epithet asserts Krishna’s identity with Vishnu as the Supreme Reality who subdues demonic forces; it highlights divine sovereignty over all realms (even the waters) and the Lord’s protective grace within Vaishnava theology.