Shloka 10
Kālayavana’s Rise, Dvārakā’s Founding, and Muchukunda’s Awakening (Śaraṇāgati & Brahman-Stuti)
मागधेन बलं क्षीणं स कालयवनो बली हन्ता तद् इदम् आयातं यदूनां व्यसनं द्विधा
māgadhena balaṃ kṣīṇaṃ sa kālayavano balī hantā tad idam āyātaṃ yadūnāṃ vyasanaṃ dvidhā
Magadha’s power has waned, and the mighty Kālayavana—the slayer—has arrived. Thus the Yadus’ calamity has come upon them in a double form.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: To shield the Yādavas amid a twofold crisis by confronting or redirecting both Magadhan hostility and Kālayavana’s assault.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Protection of the Yadu clan from compounded adharma and preservation of social order
Concept: When adversities converge, discern their structure clearly (single vs. double threat) before acting, so protection is comprehensive rather than partial.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Map problems as interacting causes, then address root pressures and immediate dangers in a coordinated plan.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s līlā accommodates multiple causal streams without losing sovereignty, aligning worldly complexity with divine purpose.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
This verse frames the Yadus’ crisis as coming from two directions at once—Magadha’s hostility and the sudden arrival of Kālayavana—intensifying the narrative pressure that prompts Krishna’s decisive response.
Parāśara presents shifting royal power (Magadha’s weakening) and new threats (Kālayavana) as part of the unfolding order of events in which Krishna’s protection of the Yadu line serves the larger maintenance of dharma.
Even when not named in the verse, Krishna’s presence is the governing center: the rising chaos around the Yadus highlights the need for the Lord’s sovereign guidance, aligning history with divine purpose.