Shloka 13
कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्
ते हि दुष्टविषज्वालातप्ताम्बुपवनोक्षिताः जज्वलुः पादपाः सद्यो ज्वालाव्याप्तदिगन्तराः
te hi duṣṭaviṣajvālātaptāmbupavanokṣitāḥ jajvaluḥ pādapāḥ sadyo jvālāvyāptadigantarāḥ
For those trees, struck by water and wind made scorching by the blaze of deadly poison, flared up at once, until the horizons in every direction were seized by flame.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Kṛṣṇa confronts Kāliya, whose venom turns even air and water into burning agents, threatening life around the lake.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Safeguarding beings and restoring the natural balance corrupted by toxic adharma.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
This verse depicts a cosmic crisis where even water and wind become instruments of burning—showing how malignant forces can invert the natural order and spread destruction across all directions.
Parāśara narrates that the poison’s blaze is so intense that wind and water, normally cooling and life-sustaining, turn scorching; the result is immediate ignition of the trees and flames filling the horizons.
By portraying the cosmos overwhelmed by a poison-born conflagration, the narrative implicitly frames the need for the Supreme Lord’s governance—Vishnu’s sovereignty as the principle that ultimately re-establishes stability and dharmic order.