Shloka 31
पौण्ड्रक-वधः, कृत्या-प्रशमनम्, वाराणसी-दाहः
स वव्रे भगवन् कृत्या पितृहन्तुर् वधाय मे समुत्तिष्ठतु कृष्णस्य त्वत्प्रसादान् महेश्वर
sa vavre bhagavan kṛtyā pitṛhantur vadhāya me samuttiṣṭhatu kṛṣṇasya tvatprasādān maheśvara
He implored: “O Lord, let that kṛtyā rise up to slay Kṛṣṇa, the killer of my father. By your favor, O Maheśvara, let it be accomplished.”
An unnamed antagonist of Krishna (a vengeful son) addressing Maheśvara (Śiva) while seeking a kṛtyā-rite against Krishna
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: revealing
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Kṛṣṇa, as the protector of cosmic order, becomes the object of an adharma-driven assassination attempt through abhicāra.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Safeguarding Bhagavān’s līlā and the protection of the world from destructive sorcery
Concept: Misused religious power (vara and mantra) driven by vengeance becomes adharma and rebounds upon the doer.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat spiritual practices as disciplines for purification, not as instruments for harming opponents or gratifying anger.
Vishishtadvaita: Even when other deities are propitiated, outcomes remain under the overarching sovereignty of Bhagavān’s order; divine powers are not independent of the Supreme’s moral governance.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
In this verse kṛtyā represents a harmful, conjured rite invoked from vengeance; it highlights how adharma-driven ritual power is sought to oppose Krishna, setting up the Purana’s contrast between occult force and divine sovereignty.
The request shows Śiva approached as a powerful deity for boons, yet the broader Vishnu Purana narrative typically maintains that outcomes ultimately unfold under the supreme order of Vishnu, especially when Krishna is the target.
Krishna is portrayed as the protected center of cosmic order—hostile rites are invoked against him precisely because he embodies the avatāric presence of the Supreme, against whom vengeance-based acts cannot finally prevail.