Shloka 49

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

Devanagari script

इति नानाविधैर् भावैर् उत्तमप्रीतिसंयुतौ क्रीडन्तौ तौ वने तस्मिञ् चेरतुस् तुष्टमानसौ

Transliteration

iti nānāvidhair bhāvair uttamaprītisaṃyutau krīḍantau tau vane tasmiñ ceratus tuṣṭamānasau

Translation

Thus, bound together by the finest mutual affection and stirred by many changing moods of delight, the two of them sported in that forest—wandering there with hearts wholly satisfied.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वाक्यसमाप्त्यर्थक/उद्धरणसूचक (indeclinable particle: 'thus')

• नाना-विधैः: with various kinds of
• नाना-विधैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाना (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + विध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (नानाविध = नानाप्रकारः) (instr. plural; agreeing with भावैः)

• भावैः: with moods/expressions
• भावैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन (masc. instrumental plural)

• उत्तम-प्रीति-संयुतौ: endowed with excellent joy
• उत्तम-प्रीति-संयुतौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुत (कृदन्त-क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (उत्तमा प्रीतिः) + तत्पुरुषः (प्रीति-संयुत = प्रीत्या संयुत) (masc. nominative dual)

• क्रीडन्तौ: playing
• क्रीडन्तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रीड् (धातु) → क्रीडन्त् (कृदन्त-शतृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle: 'playing')

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun, nominative dual)

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (neut. locative singular)

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (locative singular: 'in that')

• चेरतुः: they roamed/moved about
• चेरतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपदम् (3rd person dual, perfect)

• तुष्ट-मानसौ: whose minds were satisfied
• तुष्ट-मानसौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुष्ट (कृदन्त-क्त; तुष् धातु) + मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (ययोः मानसं तुष्टं तौ) (masc. nominative dual)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna descends to reveal divine intimacy through shared joy, binding companions by love and thereby granting a foretaste of liberation in this life.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Establishing the primacy of loving communion (prīti) as a sustaining power of dharma in community.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When love for the Lord and his companions ripens, the mind rests in contentment even amid changing emotions.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate steady devotion through community (satsaṅga) and remembrance so that joy becomes stable rather than dependent on circumstances.

Vishishtadvaita: Bliss is relational and grace-filled: the self finds fulfillment in loving participation with the Lord, not in isolated identity.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Sakhya

FAQs

What is the significance of contentment (tuṣṭa-mānasa) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights inner satisfaction as a mark of harmonious living—joy that is steady and untroubled, supporting dharma within the broader sacred history.

How does Sage Parāśara explain changing emotions (nānāvidhair bhāvaiḥ) in narrative passages?

He uses vivid emotional description to make ethical and historical episodes feel lived and human, while still keeping them within a dharmic and purāṇic frame.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana’s worldview assumes a divinely ordered cosmos upheld by Vishnu; human joys and events unfold within that sustaining sovereignty.