Shloka 14

Kālayavana’s Rise, Dvārakā’s Founding, and Muchukunda’s Awakening (Śaraṇāgati & Brahman-Stuti)

Devanagari script

महोद्यानां महावप्रां तडागशतशोभिताम् प्राकारगृहसंबाधाम् इन्द्रस्येवामरावतीम्

Transliteration

mahodyānāṃ mahāvaprāṃ taḍāgaśataśobhitām prākāragṛhasaṃbādhām indrasyevāmarāvatīm

Translation

It was a city of vast pleasure-gardens and lofty ramparts, beautified by hundreds of lotus-ponds; dense with mansions and encircling walls—like Amarāvatī itself, Indra’s celestial capital.

Word by Word

• महोद्यानाम्: (having) great gardens
• महोद्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी); कर्मधारयः (महानि उद्यानानि यस्याः सा) — ‘अमरावतीम्/पुरीम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• महावप्राम्: having great ramparts
• महावप्राम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + वप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); कर्मधारयः (महान् वप्रः = great rampart/embankment) — विशेषणम्

• तडागशतशोभिताम्: adorned with hundreds of tanks/ponds
• तडागशतशोभिताम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तडाग (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक) + शोभित (कृदन्त; √शुभ्/शोभ् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); षष्ठी/तृतीया-तत्पुरुषसमासः (तडागशतेन शोभिता)

• प्राकारगृहसंबाधाम्: crowded with walls and houses
• प्राकारगृहसंबाधाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक) + गृह (प्रातिपदिक) + संबाध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); तत्पुरुषः (प्राकारैः गृहैश्च संबाधा/संकुला)

• इन्द्रस्य: of Indra
• इन्द्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी)

• इव: like
• इव: Upamana (Comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (particle of comparison: ‘like/as’)

• अमरावतीम्: Amarāvatī (Indra’s city)
• अमरावतीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमरावती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); उपमेय (object compared)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To manifest a splendid, secure capital for the Yādavas, reflecting divine order and prosperity.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Civic order, prosperity, and protected habitation for the devotee-people

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Amarāvatī

FAQs

What is the significance of comparing a city to Amarāvatī in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals unsurpassed prosperity, beauty, and ordered governance—an earthly kingdom portrayed as approaching the splendor and harmony of Indra’s celestial capital.

How does Sage Parāśara explain royal prosperity in this narrative context?

By concrete markers—gardens, fortifications, ponds, and dense habitation—Parāśara depicts prosperity as visible civic abundance and protective order, implying stable rule aligned with dharma.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana’s framework treats righteous sovereignty and flourishing realms as expressions of cosmic order ultimately sustained by Vishnu as the Supreme Reality.