Shloka 29

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

Devanagari script

ततस् तत्रातिरूक्षे ऽपि घर्मकाले द्विजोत्तम प्रावृट्काल इवोद्भूतं नवशष्पं समन्ततः

Transliteration

tatas tatrātirūkṣe 'pi gharmakāle dvijottama prāvṛṭkāla ivodbhūtaṃ navaśaṣpaṃ samantataḥ

Translation

Then, O best of Brahmins, though it was the scorching season and the land was exceedingly parched, fresh young grass sprang up everywhere, as if the monsoon rains had suddenly arrived.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = 'then/thereafter'

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = locative adverb 'there'

• अतिरूक्षे: in very dry (conditions)
• अतिरूक्षे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + रूक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; 'in (a) very dry (condition)'

• अपि: even/although
• अपि: Sambandha (Link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = particle 'even/although'

• घर्मकाले: in the hot season
• घर्मकाले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: घर्म-काल = 'time of heat/summer'); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तम: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: द्विजानाम् उत्तमः; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• प्रावृट्कालः: the rainy season
• प्रावृट्कालः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रावृट् (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: प्रावृट्-काल = 'rainy-season time'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इव: as if/like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमावाचक) = particle of comparison 'as if/like'

• उद्भूतम्: sprung up
• उद्भूतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भू (धातु) + उद् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'sprung up/arisen'

• नवशष्पम्: fresh grass
• नवशष्पम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक) + शष्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: नवम् शष्पम् = 'new grass'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• समन्ततः: everywhere
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = adverb 'on all sides/everywhere'

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To transform the harsh season into abundance for the herds, displaying divine mastery over nature for devotees’ welfare.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Sustenance and prosperity enabling go-sevā and settled dharmic life.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Where Bhagavān is present and pleased, scarcity turns to abundance—grace reshapes the conditions of prakṛti.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: In hardship, combine practical effort with devotion and trust; see well-being as ultimately sustained by divine order, not merely circumstances.

Vishishtadvaita: Jagat as real and divinely governed: the Lord, as inner controller, can reconfigure material conditions for the good of his dependents.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Dvija (Brahmin)

FAQs

What is the significance of sudden new grass in a parched summer in the Vishnu Purana?

It functions as an auspicious portent: nature reverses expected conditions to signal unseen divine ordering and the turning of events toward dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain extraordinary natural changes in the narrative?

Parāśara presents them as meaningful signs within the story—indicators that higher cosmic governance is at work behind worldly affairs.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s framework implies that such harmonizing, life-giving reversals occur under the Supreme’s sustaining sovereignty over time, seasons, and fate.