Shloka 37

पौण्ड्रक-वधः, कृत्या-प्रशमनम्, वाराणसी-दाहः

Devanagari script

तदग्निमालाजटिलज्वालोद्गारातिभीषणाम् कृत्याम् अनुजगामाशु विष्णुचक्रं सुदर्शनम्

Transliteration

tadagnimālājaṭilajvālodgārātibhīṣaṇām kṛtyām anujagāmāśu viṣṇucakraṃ sudarśanam

Translation

At once, Sudarśana—the discus of Lord Viṣṇu—swiftly pursued that kṛtyā, terrifying with its tangled garlands of fire and its erupting tongues of flame.

Word by Word

• तदग्निमालाजटिलज्वालोद्गारातिभीषणाम्: very terrifying with bursts of flames tangled in a garland of fire
• तदग्निमालाजटिलज्वालोद्गारातिभीषणाम्: Karman (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक) + जटिल (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्वाला (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्गार (प्रातिपदिक) + अतिभीषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः—'तस्याः अग्निमालया जटिलैः ज्वालोद्गारैः अतिभीषणा' (very terrifying with flame-bursts tangled in a garland of fire); विशेषणम् (qualifying कृत्याम्)

• कृत्याम्: the kṛtyā
• कृत्याम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अनुजगाम: followed
• अनुजगाम: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• विष्णुचक्रम्: Viṣṇu's discus
• विष्णुचक्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + चक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—'विष्णोः चक्रम्'

• सुदर्शनम्: Sudarśana (of good appearance)
• सुदर्शनम्: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying विष्णुचक्रम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Through Sudarśana, Krishna actively hunts down the destructive kṛtyā so it cannot harm the world.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Restoration of safety and the demonstration that divine sovereignty overrides hostile rites.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sudarśana embodies Viṣṇu’s śāsana (sovereign command): dharmic divine power pursues and subdues violence until it is rendered harmless.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: When facing harmful forces (social or inner), align with dharma consistently; do not ‘bargain’ with harm—let disciplined right-action pursue it to cessation.

Vishishtadvaita: Divine instruments (like Sudarśana) are not independent powers but expressions of Bhagavān’s will within the world.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Sudarshana (Vishnu’s discus)
• Kṛtyā (sorcerous manifestation)

FAQs

What is the significance of Sudarśana pursuing the kṛtyā in the Vishnu Purana?

It symbolizes that hostile sorcery and adharma cannot stand before Viṣṇu’s supreme authority; Sudarśana represents the enforcing power of cosmic order that overtakes and neutralizes destructive forces.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the defeat of harmful rites like kṛtyā?

Through narrative demonstration: even when a terror-form spell appears overwhelming (fire-garlanded, flame-erupting), it is still subject to Viṣṇu’s higher reality, which acts swiftly to restore safety and dharma.

What is Lord Vishnu’s theological importance in this context?

Viṣṇu is shown as the Supreme Reality whose sovereignty governs all powers—natural, supernatural, and ritual—so divine protection is not merely force, but the reassertion of the rightful cosmic law.