Shloka 44

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

Devanagari script

उन्मत्तशिखिसारङ्गे तस्मिन् काले महावने कृष्णरामौ मुदा युक्तौ गोपालैश् चेरतुः सह

Transliteration

unmattaśikhisāraṅge tasmin kāle mahāvane kṛṣṇarāmau mudā yuktau gopālaiś ceratuḥ saha

Translation

At that time, in the great forest—alive with peacocks in rapture and deer roaming freely—Kṛṣṇa and Rāma (Balarāma), filled with joy, wandered together in the company of the cowherd boys.

Word by Word

• उन्मत्तशिखिसारङ्गे: in (a place) with frenzied peacocks and deer
• उन्मत्तशिखिसारङ्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्मत्त (प्रातिपदिक) + शिखि (प्रातिपदिक) + सारङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (शिखि-सारङ्ग) ‘peacocks and deer’, उन्मत्त इति विशेषणम्; Locative singular (in the forest where peacocks and deer were frenzied)

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Demonstrative pronoun; Locative singular

• काले: time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Locative singular

• महावने: in the great forest
• महावने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—महच्च तत् वनम्; Locative singular

• कृष्णरामौ: Krishna and Rama
• कृष्णरामौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वः; Nominative dual

• मुदा: with joy
• मुदा: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुद्/मुदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; Instrumental singular (with joy)

• युक्तौ: joined/engaged
• युक्तौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); Nominative dual; विशेषणम् (कृष्णरामौ)

• गोपालैः: with cowherds
• गोपालैः: Sahakari (Companion/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• चेरतुः: wandered
• चेरतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘wandered/moved about’

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahartha (Accompaniment marker/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सह-अव्ययम् (preposition/particle meaning ‘together with’)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To enact Vraja-līlā that nourishes bhakti and protects the cowherds while preparing for the defeat of oppressive forces.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Protection and flourishing of Vraja’s pastoral order (go-rakṣaṇa, communal joy).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Sakhya

Vyuha Form: Vasudeva

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Balarama (Rama)

FAQs

What is the significance of Krishna and Balarama roaming the forest in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames their līlā as a sacred, joy-filled divine presence within nature and among the gopas, emphasizing intimacy between the Supreme and devotees.

How does Sage Parāśara present Krishna’s divinity in this verse?

By depicting effortless joy and harmony—Krishna and Balarama moving freely with companions in a sanctified landscape—Parāśara signals divine play rather than ordinary wandering.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu’s supreme reality is expressed as Krishna’s accessible līlā: the transcendent Lord appears immanent, delighting with devotees and sustaining cosmic order through divine presence.