Shloka 16

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

नागपत्न्यश् च शतशो हारिहारोपशोभिताः प्रकम्पिततनुक्षेपचलत्कुण्डलकान्तयः

Transliteration

nāgapatnyaś ca śataśo hārihāropaśobhitāḥ prakampitatanukṣepacalatkuṇḍalakāntayaḥ

Translation

The wives of the Nāgas—by the hundreds—were adorned with necklaces and jeweled ornaments; their bodies trembled and swayed, and their moving earrings flashed with shifting radiance.

Word by Word

• नागपत्न्यः: wives of the nāgas (serpents)
• नागपत्न्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागपत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नागस्य पत्न्यः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• शतशः: by hundreds
• शतशः: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकार/परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: by hundreds, in hundreds)

• हारि-हार-उपशोभिताः: adorned with charming garlands/necklaces
• हारि-हार-उपशोभिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हारि (प्रातिपदिक) + हार (प्रातिपदिक) + उपशोभित (उप-√शुभ्/शोभ्, क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग? (सामान्यतः बहुवचन-प्रथमा), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (हारिभिः हारैः उपशोभिताः)

• प्रकम्पित-तनु-क्षेप-चलत्-कुण्डल-कान्तयः: (they) whose earring-lusters were moving due to trembling and tossing of their bodies
• प्रकम्पित-तनु-क्षेप-चलत्-कुण्डल-कान्तयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकम्पित (प्र-√कम्प्, क्त, कृदन्त) + तनु (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेप (प्रातिपदिक) + चलत् (√चल्, शतृ, कृदन्त) + कुण्डल (प्रातिपदिक) + कान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—यासां कान्तयः (कुण्डलानां) चलन्ति (तनुक्षेपेण) प्रकम्पिते (तनौ)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Krishna’s deeds in Vraja and the subduing of Kāliya

Teaching: Historical

Quality: vivid, devotional narration

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna descends to protect the devotees of Vraja and subdue serpentine/āsuric threats that poison the world.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Safety of Vraja’s people and the purification of the poisoned waters/realm

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Nāgas
• Nāga-patnīs (wives of the Nāgas)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Nāga-patnīs being described with trembling bodies and flashing earrings in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse uses vivid bodily movement and ornament-radiance to convey a heightened, awe-filled scene and to mark the presence of powerful non-human beings within the ordered cosmos.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of such mythic beings within the Purāṇic universe?

Through descriptive cataloging, Parāśara situates various classes of beings—like the Nāgas—within a structured world where each group has a defined place in the larger cosmic order he narrates to Maitreya.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in a particular verse, the Vishnu Purana frames all beings and scenes as occurring within the sovereignty of Vishnu as the sustaining Supreme Reality who upholds cosmic order.