Shloka 12

पारिजातहरणम्, द्वारकाप्रवेशः, षोडशसहस्रविवाहः

Pārijāta, Return to Dvārakā, and the Lord’s Many Forms

Devanagari script

ततस् ते यादवाः सर्वे देहबन्धान् अमानुषान् ददृशुः पादपे तस्मिन् कुर्वतो मुखदर्शनम्

Transliteration

tatas te yādavāḥ sarve dehabandhān amānuṣān dadṛśuḥ pādape tasmin kurvato mukhadarśanam

Translation

Then all the Yādavas beheld upon that tree non-human forms bound to bodies, manifesting as if to show their faces.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Sambandha (Discourse adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय/तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/अनन्तरार्थे (thereupon/then)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• यादवाः: the Yādavas
• यादवाः: Karta (Apposition to ते)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यादव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (यादवाः)

• देहबन्धान्: bodily bonds/attachments
• देहबन्धान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (देहे बन्धाः/देहस्य बन्धाः)

• अमानुषान्: non-human/superhuman
• अमानुषान्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-मानुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (देहबन्धान्)

• ददृशुः: they saw
• ददृशुः: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• पादपे: on/in the tree
• पादपे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पादप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location-qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण/संबन्ध (referring to that tree)

• कुर्वतः: of (him) doing/making
• कुर्वतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (Present active participle), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सम्बन्धः (of one who was doing)

• मुखदर्शनम्: a showing/appearance of the face
• मुखदर्शनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (मुखस्य दर्शनम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To steer the Yādavas toward the ordained closure of his earthly līlā, revealing the inevitability of destiny under divine governance.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Recognition of cosmic order (niyati) and the limits of embodied power

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Embodied existence is bound by higher law; ominous signs remind even the mighty to detach and seek the imperishable refuge.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Treat life’s ‘portents’—instability, loss, reversals—as prompts for dispassion and deeper surrender rather than panic.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord governs karmic and cosmic order while remaining the compassionate refuge; destiny unfolds within his immanent sovereignty.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of ominous visions and portents in the Vishnu Purana?

They function as narrative markers of an approaching, divinely-governed transition—showing that even mighty clans like the Yādavas cannot escape the ordained course of time and karma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain fate and divine order in this episode?

Through the Yādavas’ uncanny sighting, Parāśara frames events as unfolding under daiva (higher ordinance), where human agency is real yet ultimately encompassed by cosmic law.

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

Even when not named in the verse, the episode sits within Viṣṇu’s cosmic governance: history, dynasties, and dissolution proceed under the Supreme Reality’s ordering power, reinforcing the Purāṇa’s Vaishnava vision of providence.