Shloka 27
कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्
दिवसः को विना सूर्यं विना चन्द्रेण का निशा विना वृषेण का गावो विना कृष्णेन को व्रजः
divasaḥ ko vinā sūryaṃ vinā candreṇa kā niśā vinā vṛṣeṇa kā gāvo vinā kṛṣṇena ko vrajaḥ
What is a day without the sun? What is night without the moon? What are cows without a bull? And what is Vraja without Krishna?
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; verse voiced as a proverbial lament/praise within the Vraja-Krishna narrative frame)
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: To be the sustaining center of Vraja’s life and to protect its order through His presence and acts of grace.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Vraja-dharma (cowherd life) sustained by Kṛṣṇa as its rightful ‘axis’ and protector.
Concept: As sun and moon order day and night, so Bhagavān is the ordering principle of life; without Him, the world loses coherence and meaning.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Identify the ‘center’ of your life—make devotion and remembrance the organizing axis rather than an accessory.
Vishishtadvaita: Kṛṣṇa is both beloved person and cosmic regulator: the personal Lord who also functions as the world’s sustaining principle.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
Bhakti Type: Madhurya
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
The verse uses cosmic necessities (Sun for day, Moon for night) to express Krishna as the indispensable center of Vraja—implying that divine presence is not ornamental but foundational to meaning and order.
By stacking “without X, what is Y?” analogies, the teaching becomes experiential: just as nature collapses into incoherence without its governing lights, the devotee’s world (Vraja) becomes empty without Krishna’s presence.
In the Vishnu Purana’s Vaishnava theology, Krishna is Vishnu manifest; the verse presents Him as the sustaining reality whose presence upholds both cosmic order and the inner life of devotees.