Shloka 26
अर्जुनस्य अन्त्येष्टि, द्वारकाप्लावनम्, कलिप्रवेशः, कालोपदेशः
मिषतः पाण्डुपुत्रस्य ततस् ताः प्रमदोत्तमाः आभीरैर् अपकृष्यन्त कामाच् चान्याः प्रवव्रजुः
miṣataḥ pāṇḍuputrasya tatas tāḥ pramadottamāḥ ābhīrair apakṛṣyanta kāmāc cānyāḥ pravavrajuḥ
Then, even as the son of Pāṇḍu looked on, those foremost women were dragged away by the Ābhīras; and some others, driven by their own desire, departed of their own accord.
Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: revealing
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: With Krishna’s earthly līlā concluded, the protective order around the Yādavas collapses, allowing adharma to surge and the women to be seized.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Implicitly shows dharma’s dependence on Bhagavān’s sustaining presence; signals transition toward withdrawal of protection
Concept: When dharma’s guardianship wanes, society becomes vulnerable to coercion and desire-driven collapse.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Strengthen personal and communal dharma—protect the vulnerable, restrain predatory impulses, and uphold accountability in crisis.
Vishishtadvaita: The world’s order is sustained by the Lord’s governance; when he withdraws his manifest protection, prakṛti’s turbulence becomes evident.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
They function as agents of disorder in the narrative—symbolizing a breakdown of protection and dharmic governance when the vulnerable can be seized even in the presence of a royal figure.
By depicting public wrongdoing (women being forcibly taken) alongside voluntary lapses (others leaving ‘from desire’), the narration shows both external violence and internal weakness as marks of social decline.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s historical frame assumes Vishnu as the ground of cosmic sovereignty—so episodes of adharma implicitly point to the need for restoration of order under the Supreme Lord’s overarching rule.