Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

गर्गश् च गोकुले तत्र वसुदेवप्रचोदितः प्रच्छन्न एव गोपानां संस्कारान् अकरोत् तयोः

Transliteration

gargaś ca gokule tatra vasudevapracoditaḥ pracchanna eva gopānāṃ saṃskārān akarot tayoḥ

Translation

There in Gokula, the sage Garga—urged by Vasudeva—performed, in secrecy from the cowherds, the consecratory rites for those two boys.

Word by Word

• गर्गः: Garga
• गर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — subject

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक)

• गोकुले: in Gokula
• गोकुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — अधिकरण (location)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Deictic/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — ‘there’

• वसुदेवप्रचोदितः: urged by Vasudeva
• वसुदेवप्रचोदितः: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वसुदेव-प्रचोदित (प्रातिपदिक; वसुदेव + प्रचोदित [√चुद्/चोद्, क्त])
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘गर्गः’)

• प्रच्छन्नः: in secret/hidden
• प्रच्छन्नः: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रच्छन्न (प्रातिपदिक; √छद्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘गर्गः’)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण) — ‘indeed/only’

• गोपानाम्: of the cowherds
• गोपानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन — सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• संस्कारान्: rites/ceremonies
• संस्कारान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संस्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — कर्म (object)

• अकरोत्: performed
• अकरोत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘अकरोत्’ (he performed/did)

• तयोः: of the two (boys)
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th) / सप्तमी (7th), द्विवचन — here: षष्ठी द्विवचन (of the two)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He appears to lighten the burden of the earth and protect devotees, while his divine identity is prudently veiled to preserve Vraja’s safety and intimacy.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Protection of dharmic rites (saṃskāras) and the child’s security under tyrannical surveillance.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even amid danger, dharmic life is maintained through proper saṃskāras, guided by wise counsel and prudent discretion.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Sustain core disciplines (study, worship, rites of passage) while adapting wisely to hostile environments—dharma with viveka.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān accepts embodied social-ritual order (saṃskāra) within the world he indwells, affirming the sacredness of qualified embodiment.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Garga
• Gokula
• Vasudeva
• Krishna
• Balarama

FAQs

What is the significance of Garga performing the saṃskāras secretly in the Vishnu Purana?

It shows protective dharma in action: Vasudeva safeguards the divine children by ensuring their rites are completed without drawing public attention that could invite danger.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the narrative purpose of these saṃskāras?

Parāśara presents them as a legitimate Vedic anchoring of the avatāra’s human-life stages—while keeping the children’s extraordinary identity veiled within the pastoral world of Gokula.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Even as the Supreme Reality descends as Krishna, the Purana emphasizes that dharma and sacred rites continue to operate—highlighting the Lord’s immanence within human order while remaining transcendent.