Shloka 20

द्विविद-वधः, यज्ञ-विध्वंस-निवारणम्, बलदेव-पराक्रम-समाहारः

Devanagari script

पतता तच्छरीरेण गिरेः शृङ्गम् अशीर्यत मैत्रेय शतधा वज्रिवज्रेणेव हि ताडितम्

Transliteration

patatā taccharīreṇa gireḥ śṛṅgam aśīryata maitreya śatadhā vajrivajreṇeva hi tāḍitam

Translation

As that body crashed down, O Maitreya, the mountain’s peak shattered into a hundred fragments—like a summit struck again and again by the vajra of the wielder of the vajra.

Word by Word

• पतता: by (him/it) falling
• पतता: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental singular), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (contextual) — 'by/with (one) falling'

• तत्-शरीरेण: with that body
• तत्-शरीरेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — 'with that body'

• गिरेः: of the mountain
• गिरेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• शृङ्गम्: peak, summit
• शृङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• अशीर्यत: was shattered
• अशीर्यत: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शॄ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: आ-; धात्वर्थ: 'to break, to shatter' — 'was shattered'

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• शतधा: into a hundred pieces
• शतधा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — 'into a hundred parts/ways'

• वज्रि-वज्रेण: with Indra’s thunderbolt
• वज्रि-वज्रेण: Upamāna-sādhana (Standard of comparison as instrument/उपमान-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + वज्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास (वज्रिणः वज्रः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• इव: as if, like
• इव: Upamā (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-वाचक अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• ताडितम्: struck, smitten
• ताडितम्: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ताड् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — agreeing with शृङ्गम्; 'struck'

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Indra (Vajrin)
• Mountain (giri/śṛṅga)

FAQs

What is the significance of the vajra (Indra’s thunderbolt) in the Vishnu Purana?

Here it functions as a benchmark for irresistible divine force—an image used to convey how utterly the mountain-peak is shattered by the impact.

How does Sage Parāśara explain catastrophic impacts in the cosmic narrative?

Parāśara uses vivid, comparative imagery—addressing Maitreya directly—to translate cosmic-scale violence into familiar symbols (like Indra’s vajra) that signal lawful, divinely ordered power.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purāṇic worldview assumes cosmic order and upheaval occur within the sovereignty of the Supreme—Vishnu as the ultimate ground of governance behind the world’s structure.