Shloka 26
श्रीकृष्ण-जन्म, वसुदेव-यमुनातरण, बालिका-उत्क्षेपः, देवी-प्रादुर्भावः
चिक्षेप च शिलापृष्ठे सा क्षिप्ता वियति स्थितिम् अवाप रूपं च महत् सायुधाष्टमहाभुजम्
cikṣepa ca śilāpṛṣṭhe sā kṣiptā viyati sthitim avāpa rūpaṃ ca mahat sāyudhāṣṭamahābhujam
He cast her upon the surface of a rock; yet, when thus hurled, she rose and hung poised in the sky, assuming a vast and awe-inspiring form—armed, and endowed with eight mighty arms.
Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Kṛṣṇa’s descent and the events surrounding his birth amid Kaṃsa’s persecution.
Teaching: Historical
Quality: revealing
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: To remove the tyrant Kaṃsa and relieve the earth and the Yādavas from his oppression, enabling dharma to flourish.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Safeguarding the divine order by revealing Yogamāyā and thwarting Kaṃsa’s violence.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
It signals a theophany of divine power (śakti): the sudden assumption of a vast, weapon-bearing form conveys sovereignty, protection, and the capacity to restore order when challenged.
Through concise narrative action: an external act (being cast onto the rock) becomes the occasion for a revelatory manifestation, showing that divine potency can disclose itself instantly and overwhelmingly within the cosmic story.
Even when the verse foregrounds a powerful manifested form, the Vishnu Purana’s framework treats such might as operating within Vishnu’s supreme governance—divine energies appear to uphold dharma and cosmic stability under the Lord’s sovereignty.