Shloka 43

पौण्ड्रक-वधः, कृत्या-प्रशमनम्, वाराणसी-दाहः

Devanagari script

ज्वालापरिष्कृताशेषगृहप्राकारचत्वराम् ददाह तद् धरेश् चक्रं सकलाम् एव तां पुरीम्

Transliteration

jvālāpariṣkṛtāśeṣagṛhaprākāracatvarām dadāha tad dhareś cakraṃ sakalām eva tāṃ purīm

Translation

Forged into a single purifying blaze—its houses, ramparts, and crossroads all aflame—the Cakra of the Lord of the earth burned that entire city.

Word by Word

• ज्वाला-परिष्कृत-अशेष-गृह-प्राकार-चत्वराम्: whose houses, ramparts, and squares were all wreathed in flames
• ज्वाला-परिष्कृत-अशेष-गृह-प्राकार-चत्वराम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वाला (प्रातिपदिक) + परिष्कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ (धातु) ‘to do’ with pari-; ‘adorned/covered’) + अशेष (प्रातिपदिक) + गृह (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक) + चत्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘ज्वालाभिः परिष्कृतानि अशेषगृहाणि प्राकाराः चत्वराणि यस्याः’ (whose houses, walls, squares were covered/adorned with flames)

• ददाह: burnt
• ददाह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘that’ (referring to chakra)

• धरेः: of the bearer (Vishnu)
• धरेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन = genitive singular; ‘of the bearer (Vishnu)’

• चक्रम्: the discus
• चक्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सकलाम्: entire
• सकलाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = emphatic particle

• ताम्: that
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पुरीम्: city
• पुरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa’s Sudarśana executes dharma by consuming the hostile city in a single purifying conflagration, ending the seat of abhicāra and aggression.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Removal of a fortified locus of oppression and sorcery; reassertion of divine law over civic power

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When adharma becomes systemic—embedded in structures and public spaces—divine correction may be comprehensive, not partial.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Address root causes of injustice (systems, not only individuals) while anchoring action in dharma and accountability.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān’s śakti functions as moral governance within history; the Lord is transcendent yet acts immanently through instruments like Sudarśana.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of Sudarshana Chakra in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, the Chakra functions as the Lord’s decisive power that purges adharma completely—so total that even the city’s walls and public squares are consumed.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine punishment in royal narratives?

Parāśara presents it as comprehensive and orderly: when correction is required, the divine act is not partial but all-encompassing, removing the conditions that sustain wrongdoing.

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

Vishnu’s supremacy appears as moral governance of the world—His will, through the Chakra, enforces cosmic justice and re-establishes dharma beyond human fortifications.