Shloka 29

यादवक्षयः, बलराम-निर्याणम्, कृष्णस्य उपसंहारः (प्रभासे विनाशः)

Devanagari script

तान् दृष्ट्वा यादवान् आह पश्यध्वम् अतिदारुणान् महोत्पाताञ् छमायैषां प्रभासं याम मा चिरम्

Transliteration

tān dṛṣṭvā yādavān āha paśyadhvam atidāruṇān mahotpātāñ chamāyaiṣāṃ prabhāsaṃ yāma mā ciram

Translation

Seeing those dreadful signs, he spoke to the Yādavas: “Behold these exceedingly terrible, great portents. To avert their consequence and seek expiation, let us go at once—without delay—to Prabhāsa.”

Word by Word

• तान्: those (portents)
• तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म) बहुवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Absolutive/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) (क्त्वान्त/gerund)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘having seen’

• यादवान्: the Yādavas
• यादवान्: Karma (Addressee as object of speech/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यादव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म) बहुवचन; ‘the Yādavas’

• आह: said
• आह: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अह्/√ब्रू (धातु; ‘to say’)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• पश्यध्वम्: see, behold
• पश्यध्वम्: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद

• अति-दारुणान्: exceedingly dreadful
• अति-दारुणान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + दारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन; विशेषण ‘महोत्पातान्’ (or implied ‘उत्पातान्’) इत्यस्य

• महा-उत्पातान्: great portents
• महा-उत्पातान्: Karma (Object of ‘see’/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्पात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन; ‘great portents’

• क्षमाय: for the sake of (seeking) peace/forbearance
• क्षमाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान) एकवचन; प्रयोजन/हितार्थे ‘for the welfare/forbearance’

• एषाम्: of these
• एषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध) बहुवचन

• प्रभासम्: to Prabhāsa
• प्रभासम्: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म) एकवचन; तीर्थ/स्थाननाम

• याम: let us go
• याम: Kriya (Exhortation/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘let us go’

• मा: do not
• मा: Sambandha (Prohibition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (prohibitive particle/निषेध): ‘do not’

• चिरम्: long (delay)
• चिरम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/कालवाचक): ‘for long’

Speaker

Sri Krishna (addressing the Yādavas; narrated within Parasara’s account to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He leads the Yādavas toward Prabhāsa for expiatory rites in response to ominous portents preceding the closing of his earthly līlā.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Ritual expiation (śānti/prāyaścitta) and orderly transition at the end of avatāra-līlā

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When ominous signs arise, dharma counsels śānti and prāyaścitta—turning to sacred rites and tīrthas rather than denial or arrogance.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: In times of collective anxiety, respond with ethical repair: confession, restitution, disciplined practice, and seeking sanctifying spaces/communities.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma (including ritual and communal order) is upheld as a real mode of serving the Lord within the world, not dismissed as mere illusion.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Dharma Exemplar: Dharma (ritual propriety and atonement in crisis)

Key Kings: Yādavas (collective)

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Prabhasa

FAQs

What is the significance of Prabhāsa in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, Prabhāsa is presented as the immediate sacred destination for expiation in response to terrifying omens, marking the Yādavas’ decisive turn toward a divinely-ordered culmination.

How does Sage Parāśara frame the meaning of omens in this episode?

Through the narration of Krishna’s instruction, the text treats great portents as indicators of an approaching, unavoidable turn of time (kāla), to be met with dharmic action—pilgrimage and atonement—rather than denial.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu (Krishna) in this context?

Krishna’s command reveals supreme sovereignty: even the clan dearest to him moves according to cosmic order, and the Lord directs the proper dharmic response while guiding history toward its destined resolution.