Shloka 44

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

Devanagari script

कृष्णो ऽपि कुपितस् तेषाम् एरकामुष्टिम् आददे वधाय सो ऽपि मुसलं मुष्टिर् लोहम् अभूत् तदा

Transliteration

kṛṣṇo 'pi kupitas teṣām erakāmuṣṭim ādade vadhāya so 'pi musalaṃ muṣṭir loham abhūt tadā

Translation

Even Kṛṣṇa, angered with them, seized a fistful of eraka grass to bring about their destruction; and in that very moment, that handful itself became an iron club.

Word by Word

• कृष्णः: Krishna
• कृष्णः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ (also/even)

• कुपितः: angered
• कुपितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुपित (प्रातिपदिक; √कुप् + क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle used adjectivally); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (to कृष्णः)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• एरकामुष्टिम्: a clump/handful (knot) of eraka reeds
• एरकामुष्टिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एरका (प्रातिपदिक) + मुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (एरका-मुष्टिम् = एरकायाः मुष्टिम्/एरकाग्रन्थिम्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आददे: he took up
• आददे: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• वधाय: for killing
• वधाय: Sampradana/Prayojana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन; प्रयोजन (purpose)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ (also/even)

• मुसलम्: a club/pestle
• मुसलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुसल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• मुष्टिः: the clump/handful
• मुष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• लोहम्: iron
• लोहम्: Pratipadya (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (predicate nominative)

• अभूत्: became
• अभूत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala-adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The decisive moment by which the curse culminated and Kṛṣṇa’s role in it

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa personally triggers the final destruction by making the eraka become an iron club, sealing the curse’s fruition and ending the Yādava episode.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Restoration of balance through the ordained end of the clan and completion of avatāra-līlā

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhagavān’s will can instantaneously transform the material field, showing his lordship as both efficient and material cause within the world-process.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Recognize that outcomes can pivot suddenly; cultivate surrender and steadiness rather than clinging to control when karmic tides turn.

Vishishtadvaita: Kṛṣṇa as īśvara remains transcendent yet acts immanently upon prakṛti, supporting qualified non-dualism where the world is real and God-governed.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Key Kings: Kṛṣṇa

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Eraka grass
• Musala (iron club)

FAQs

What is the significance of the eraka-grass becoming an iron club in the Vishnu Purana?

It symbolizes the inescapable maturation of a destined consequence: what appears harmless (grass) becomes the very instrument of destruction when divine order brings a cycle to its close.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the collapse of the Yādavas in this episode?

Parāśara presents it as the unfolding of an ordained end—through anger, curse, and providential transformation—by which the Lord allows time (kāla) to complete its work within the dynasty.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (as Krishna) in this context?

Kṛṣṇa remains the sovereign controller even when acting within the world’s drama: the verse frames the event as divinely governed, where the Lord’s presence ensures that cosmic order and time’s decree are fulfilled.