Shloka 3

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

Rāja-dharma as Līlā

Devanagari script

उपेत्य मथुरां सो ऽथ रुरोध मगधेश्वरः अक्षौहिणीभिः सैन्यस्य त्रयोविंशतिभिर् वृतः

Transliteration

upetya mathurāṃ so 'tha rurodha magadheśvaraḥ akṣauhiṇībhiḥ sainyasya trayoviṃśatibhir vṛtaḥ

Translation

Then the lord of Magadha advanced upon Mathurā and laid it under siege, encircled by an army of twenty-three akṣauhiṇīs.

Word by Word

• उपेत्य: having approached/reached
• उपेत्य: Kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उपेत्य (कृदन्त; √इ (धातु) उप-उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• मथुराम्: Mathurā
• मथुराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (particle/adverb: then)

• रुरोध: besieged/blockaded
• रुरोध: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √रुध् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• मगधेश्वरः: lord of Magadha
• मगधेश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मगध + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मगधस्य ईश्वरः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अक्षौहिणीभिः: with akṣauhiṇīs (army divisions)
• अक्षौहिणीभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षौहिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• सैन्यस्य: of the army
• सैन्यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्रयोविंशतिभिः: with twenty-three
• त्रयोविंशतिभिः: Karana (Instrument-Qualifier/करणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रयोविंशति (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (त्रयः + विंशतिः = 23); तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (अक्षौहिणीभिः विशेषणम्)

• वृतः: surrounded
• वृतः: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत (कृदन्त; √वृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (क्त), कर्मणि/भावे; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (मगधेश्वरः विशेषणम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa’s earthly seat at Mathurā becomes the focal point of Jarāsandha’s siege, prompting the Lord’s strategic protection of the Yādavas.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Defense of the dharmic polity and safeguarding of the Lord’s devotees

Characters & Entities

• Mathura
• Magadha
• Jarasandha (Magadheśvara)
• Akshauhini (battle-division)

FAQs

What is the significance of Jarasandha bringing twenty-three akṣauhiṇīs in the Vishnu Purana?

It emphasizes the extreme scale of worldly power amassed against Mathurā, heightening the contrast between human sovereignty (Magadha’s might) and the ultimately decisive, divinely ordered outcome surrounding Krishna’s presence.

How does Sage Parāśara frame the conflict around Mathurā in this episode?

Parāśara presents it as a historical-political siege within the Krishna narrative, where kings and armies move by ambition and enmity, yet events unfold within the larger Purāṇic vision of dharma protected through Vishnu’s avatāra.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when not named directly in the verse, the setting belongs to Vishnu’s avatāra story: immense martial force gathers, but the Purāṇa’s underlying teaching is that supreme reality and protection of cosmic order rest with Vishnu, not with transient imperial power.