Shloka 23

Śakaṭa-bhañjana, Naming by Garga, Dāmodara and Yamala-arjuna, and the Move to Vṛndāvana

Devanagari script

पूतनाया विनाशश् च शकटस्य विपर्ययः विना वातादिदोषेण द्रुमयोः पतनं तथा

Transliteration

pūtanāyā vināśaś ca śakaṭasya viparyayaḥ vinā vātādidoṣeṇa drumayoḥ patanaṃ tathā

Translation

There was the destruction of Pūtanā, the overturning of the cart, and likewise the falling of the twin trees—events that occurred not from any fault of wind or other natural causes.

Word by Word

• पूतनायाः: of Pūtanā
• पूतनायाः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूतना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• विनाशः: destruction
• विनाशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction: and)

• शकटस्य: of the cart
• शकटस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (शकटम्), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• विपर्ययः: overturning, mishap
• विपर्ययः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विपर्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-निपातः (preposition-like: without) — तृतीया-सम्बन्धः

• वातादिदोषेण: by wind and other faults
• वातादिदोषेण: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वात-आदि-दोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वातादयः दोषाः)

• द्रुमयोः: of the two trees
• द्रुमयोः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रुम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी (6th/7th), द्विवचन; (of the two trees / in the two trees) — अत्र षष्ठी (of) अधिकयुक्ता

• पतनम्: falling
• पतनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपमानार्थक (likewise/also)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The sequence of extraordinary events in Kṛṣṇa’s infancy and their meaning for the Vrajavāsins.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To reveal His sovereign divinity in child-form by destroying asuric forces and protecting Vraja, turning ‘omens’ into proofs of divine guardianship.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of innocent devotees and the reassertion of Bhagavān’s supremacy over adharma and ‘natural law’.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Events surpassing natural causality disclose Bhagavān’s aiśvarya: He is the sovereign Lord whose will overrides material determinants.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Read life’s ‘impossibilities’ through the lens of divine governance—cultivate trust (śraddhā) and remembrance rather than cynicism or panic.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān is both transcendent and the inner ruler of prakṛti; nature’s regularities operate under His sanction and can be suspended by His līlā for devotees’ protection.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Pūtanā
• Śakaṭa (cart)
• Twin trees (Yamala-Arjuna)
• Krishna (implied)

FAQs

What is the significance of these “non-natural” events in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse emphasizes that the happenings (Pūtanā’s end, the cart overturning, the trees falling) were not accidental or caused by weather, but were manifestations of the Lord’s direct sovereignty over nature.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine action versus natural causation here?

By explicitly denying “wind and other defects” as causes, Parāśara frames the events as līlā—acts of the Supreme that transcend ordinary material explanations while still occurring within the world.

What is Lord Vishnu/Krishna’s theological importance in this context?

Krishna is presented as Bhagavān whose supreme power protects devotees and overturns evil, revealing Vishnu’s supremacy not only cosmically but also intimately in earthly narrative.