Shloka 1

Jarāsandha’s Sieges and the Lord’s Human-Conforming Strategy

Rāja-dharma as Līlā

Devanagari script

जरासंधसुते कंस उपयेमे महाबलः अस्तिं प्राप्तिं च मैत्रेय तयोर् भर्तृहणं हरिम्

Transliteration

jarāsaṃdhasute kaṃsa upayeme mahābalaḥ astiṃ prāptiṃ ca maitreya tayor bhartṛhaṇaṃ harim

Translation

O Maitreya, the mighty Kaṃsa married Jarāsandha’s two daughters, Asti and Prāpti, seeking strength through alliance; yet for them, Hari—the slayer of their husband—became fate’s turning point.

Word by Word

• जरासंधसुते: in/with the daughter of Jarāsandha
• जरासंधसुते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरासंध + सुता (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जरासंधस्य सुता); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

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

• उपयेमे: married/took (as wife)
• उपयेमे: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु) उप-उपसर्ग
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; अर्थे 'विवाहं कृतवान्'

• महाबलः: mighty/very strong
• महाबलः: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् बलः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (कंसः विशेषणम्)

• अस्तिम्: Asti (name of a wife)
• अस्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्ति (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्तिम्: Prāpti (name of a wife)
• प्राप्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राप्ति (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्वयोः स्त्रियौ), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, द्विवचन

• भर्तृहणम्: slayer of (their) husbands
• भर्तृहणम्: Karma (Object-Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भर्तृ + हण (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भर्तॄणां हणः/हन्ता); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (हरिम् विशेषयति)

• हरिम्: Hari (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• हरिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Continuation of Kṛṣṇa’s Mathurā narrative and the causes leading to Jarāsandha’s hostility.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa’s slaying of Kaṃsa triggers the political-adharmic backlash of Jarāsandha, setting the stage for further protection of the Yādavas and dharma.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Removal of oppressive rule and re-centering of righteous sovereignty in Mathurā

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Power sought through worldly alliances cannot avert the moral consequence of adharma when confronted by Hari’s dharmic intervention.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Do not rely solely on status or alliances; align choices with dharma to avoid inevitable backlash of wrongdoing.

Vishishtadvaita: Hari acts within history as the moral governor, making dharma effective in the worldly sphere without ceasing to be supreme.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Vishnu/Krishna)
• Kamsa
• Jarasandha
• Asti
• Prapti
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of Kamsa marrying Jarasandha’s daughters in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals a strategic political alliance meant to strengthen Kamsa’s position, foreshadowing Magadha’s later hostility toward Krishna and the widening conflict around dharma.

How does Sage Parasara frame royal power in this verse?

Even when kings act through alliances and might, the narrative centers Hari as the decisive reality—human strategy remains subordinate to the divine ordering of events.

What is the theological importance of calling Krishna ‘Hari’ here?

“Hari” emphasizes Vishnu’s supreme agency: Krishna is not merely a heroic prince but the transcendent Lord who removes the burden of adharma and re-establishes dharma.