Shloka 32

नरकासुरवधः, अदीतिकुण्डल-प्रत्यर्पणम्, तथा भारावतरण-लीला

Devanagari script

चतुर्दंष्ट्रान् गजांश् चोग्रान् षट्सहस्रान् स दृष्टवान् काम्बोजानां तथाश्वानां नियुतान्य् एकविंशतिम्

Transliteration

caturdaṃṣṭrān gajāṃś cogrān ṣaṭsahasrān sa dṛṣṭavān kāmbojānāṃ tathāśvānāṃ niyutāny ekaviṃśatim

Translation

He beheld six thousand fierce elephants, four-tusked and formidable; and among the Kāmbojas he also saw horses reckoned by niyutas—twenty-one in number—an immense store of martial wealth.

Word by Word

• चतुर्दंष्ट्रान्: four-tusked
• चतुर्दंष्ट्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् + दंष्ट्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (having four tusks)

• गजान्: elephants
• गजान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• उग्रान्: fierce
• उग्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• षट्सहस्रान्: six thousand (in number)
• षट्सहस्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् (six-thousand)

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

• दृष्टवान्: saw / had seen
• दृष्टवान्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + क्तवतु (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियार्थे (has seen)

• काम्बोजानाम्: of the Kāmbojas
• काम्बोजानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम्बोज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

• अश्वानाम्: of horses
• अश्वानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नियुतानि: niyutas (ten-thousands)
• नियुतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-नाम (a niyuta = ten-thousand)

• एकविंशतिम्: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिम्: Visheshaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + विंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् (twenty-one)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Krishna’s acts after the defeat of Naraka, including the seizure and redistribution/restoration of his hoarded treasures

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To relieve the earth of oppressive forces and re-establish dharma through the destruction of tyrants and restoration of divine property.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Protection of kingship under dharma and the return of unlawfully seized wealth and captives

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Kāmbojas
• Elephants (gaja)
• Horses (aśva)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing elephants and horses in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse uses precise numbers of elephants and horses to signal the scale of royal resources—an outward marker of sovereignty and the ability to uphold political order (rājadharma) within the Purāṇic historical narrative.

How does Sage Parāśara frame worldly power in the dynasty section of the Vishnu Purana?

Parāśara often presents kingship through concrete measures—armies, wealth, alliances, and lineages—so that Maitreya can see how dharma operates in history through rulers who maintain or disturb order.

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

Even when the verse focuses on worldly might, the Vishnu Purana’s broader frame treats such power as contingent and ordered within Vishnu’s supreme governance—political sovereignty is secondary to the sustaining cosmic sovereignty of the Supreme Reality.