Shloka 3

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

तस्यां चातिमहाभीमं विषाग्निसृतवारिणम् ह्रदं कालियनागस्य ददृशे ऽतीव भीषणम्

Transliteration

tasyāṃ cātimahābhīmaṃ viṣāgnisṛtavāriṇam hradaṃ kāliyanāgasya dadṛśe 'tīva bhīṣaṇam

Translation

There he beheld the dread lake of the serpent Kāliya—an exceedingly fearsome pool whose waters were tainted by streams of venom, as though fire itself had mingled with them.

Word by Word

• तस्याम्: in her/in it (in the river)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (loc. sg.; refers to कालिन्दी)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अतिमहाभीमम्: exceedingly huge and dreadful
• अतिमहाभीमम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय-उपसर्गवत्) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + भीम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारय; 'अतिमहा च भीमः'—very great and terrible), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies ह्रदम्)

• विषाग्निसृतवारिणम्: whose water was pervaded by poisonous fire
• विषाग्निसृतवारिणम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + सृत (कृदन्त; √सृ 'to flow') + वारि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष; 'विष-अग्निना सृतं वारि यस्य'—whose water is flowed/tainted by poisonous fire), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies ह्रदम्)

• ह्रदम्: lake/pool
• ह्रदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (neut., acc. sg.)

• कालियनागस्य: of the serpent Kāliya
• कालियनागस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-संबन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिय (प्रातिपदिक) + नाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'कालियस्य नागः'), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (gen. sg.)

• ददृशे: saw
• ददृशे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद (3rd sg. perfect, Ā.)

• अतीव: very/exceedingly
• अतीव: Sambandha (Degree/intensifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव (अव्यय)
• Form: अतिशयार्थक-अव्यय (intensifier adverb: 'very')

• भीषणम्: terrifying
• भीषणम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies ह्रदम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To remove the lethal defilement caused by Kāliya and thereby protect beings of Vraja from a poison-made calamity.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Restoration of non-violent, life-sustaining waters and safety for humans, cattle, birds, and all creatures.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Adharma manifests as toxic harm to the shared world; the Lord’s protection restores conditions for life and worship.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat ecological harm and cruelty as dharmic crises; support purification and protection of common resources as service (seva).

Vishishtadvaita: The world is real and worthy of protection as the Lord’s body (śarīra), hence its purification is a divine act.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Kaliya (serpent)

FAQs

What is the significance of the poisoned lake of Kāliya in the Vishnu Purana?

It represents a localized collapse of natural order—water becoming destructive—setting the stage for Krishna’s restoration of balance by subduing and purifying the source of corruption.

How does Sage Parāśara frame this event within the Krishna narrative?

Parāśara describes the lake’s extreme terror and toxicity to emphasize the magnitude of disorder, so Krishna’s later intervention appears as the decisive act of the Supreme Lord protecting the world.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (as Krishna) in this context?

Krishna’s presence before the fearsome lake signals that even seemingly unconquerable poison and chaos fall under Bhagavan’s sovereignty, affirming Vishnu’s supremacy and protective grace.