Shloka 5

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

Devanagari script

स विप्रशापव्याजेन संजह्रे स्वकुलं कथम् कथं च मानुषं देहम् उत्ससर्ज जनार्दनः

Transliteration

sa vipraśāpavyājena saṃjahre svakulaṃ katham kathaṃ ca mānuṣaṃ deham utsasarja janārdanaḥ

Translation

How did Janārdana, using the brāhmaṇa’s curse only as a pretext, gather up and withdraw His own clan? And how thereafter did He relinquish the human body He had assumed?

Word by Word

सःhe

विप्रशापव्याजेनby the pretext of a brahmin’s curse

संजह्रेwithdrew/destroyed/removed

स्वकुलम्his own clan

कथम्how

चand

मानुषम्human

देहम्body

उत्ससर्जabandoned/let go

जनार्दनःJanārdana (Vishnu/Kṛṣṇa)

Speaker

Maitreya (questioning Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: How Kṛṣṇa withdrew the Yādavas under the pretext of a brāhmaṇa’s curse and how he abandoned the human body.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: inquisitive

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Janārdana uses the brāhmaṇa’s curse as a pretext to withdraw the Yādava clan and then relinquish the assumed human body, concluding the avatāra-līlā.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Reassertion that the Lord is not bound by karma; the avatāra’s withdrawal follows divine will and cosmic timing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Apparent causes (like curses) can be mere instruments, while the Lord remains the true agent who is never compelled by karma.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Discern instrumentality in events—act responsibly, but surrender outcomes to the higher governance of the Lord.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms īśvara-kartṛtva: the Lord is the inner ruler and ultimate cause, while worldly causality operates as his dependent mode.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Key Kings: Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa), Yādavas

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

Janardana (Vishnu/Krishna)

Brahmanas (vipra)

Yadava clan (implied by 'svakulam')

FAQs

What is the significance of the brāhmaṇa’s curse in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

The verse frames the curse as a “pretext” (vyāja), implying that the event serves the Lord’s intended conclusion of the Yādava episode rather than binding Him against His will.

How does the Parasara–Maitreya dialogue function in this passage?

Maitreya asks for a causal, theological explanation—how the clan’s end and the Lord’s departure occurred—prompting Parāśara to narrate the divinely ordered sequence behind historical-looking events.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (Janārdana) here?

Janārdana is presented as supremely sovereign: He can employ worldly instruments (like a curse) to complete His līlā and then withdraw the assumed human form without diminishing His transcendent nature.