Shloka 15
बाणयुद्धम्, हरिहरसंवादः, ज्वरप्रकरणम्, अनिरुद्धमोचनम्
Bāṇa’s War, the Jvara Episode, Hari–Hara Dialogue, and Aniruddha’s Release
तद्भस्मस्पर्शसंभूततापः कृष्णाङ्गसंगमात् अवाप बलदेवो ऽपि श्रमम् आमीलितेक्षणः
tadbhasmasparśasaṃbhūtatāpaḥ kṛṣṇāṅgasaṃgamāt avāpa baladevo 'pi śramam āmīlitekṣaṇaḥ
From the heat born of contact with those ashes—made fiercer by the nearness of Kṛṣṇa’s body—even Baladeva was overcome by weariness, his eyes growing heavy and half-closing.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Description of the battle’s intensity and its effects even on Baladeva
Teaching: Historical
Quality: vivid, revealing
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Krishna’s overwhelming tejas is shown as even Baladeva feels the heat in the clash with Māheśvara Jvara, underscoring the gravity of the divine contest protecting dharma.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Demonstration that even divine allies experience strain in cosmic battles, while Krishna remains the decisive protector
Concept: Power (tejas) has palpable consequences; even the mighty must act with restraint and rely on the Lord’s higher protection when forces become overwhelming.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Recognize limits, avoid pride in strength, and seek steadiness through remembrance of Bhagavān when circumstances ‘overheat’ the mind and body.
Vishishtadvaita: Embodied divinities (like Baladeva) participate in līlā with real experiential states, while still remaining dependent on the supreme will of Krishna-Nārāyaṇa.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
It highlights the Purana’s lila-style narration: even exalted figures move within embodied circumstances, making the episode vivid while the broader text still upholds Vishnu (as Krishna) as the supreme sovereign reality.
Through straightforward storytelling: Parāśara describes observable causes (contact with ashes, closeness to Krishna) to convey immediacy and dramatic texture, while the theological frame of Vishnu’s supremacy remains implicit in the larger Krishna-Charita.
Krishna’s presence is portrayed as powerfully affecting the scene, reinforcing that the avatāra’s lila unfolds in the world while the Vishnu Purana’s overarching doctrine continues to present Vishnu/Krishna as the ultimate ground of order and sovereignty.