Shloka 31

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

अत्यर्थमधुरालापहृताशेषमनोधनम् न विना पुण्डरीकाक्षं यास्यामो नन्दगोकुलम्

Transliteration

atyarthamadhurālāpahṛtāśeṣamanodhanam na vinā puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ yāsyāmo nandagokulam

Translation

His exceedingly sweet words have stolen away the whole treasure of our minds; without Puṇḍarīkākṣa—the Lotus‑eyed Lord—we shall not go to Nanda’s Gokula.

Word by Word

• ati: exceedingly
• ati: Upapada (Preverb/उपसर्ग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ati (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; अधिक्यार्थक (intensifier: 'exceedingly')

• artha: greatly / very much
• artha: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (compound member), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; यहाँ 'अत्यर्थम्' इति अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग (idiomatic adverbial)

• madhura: sweet
• madhura: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (compound member), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन

• ālāpa: speech, talk
• ālāpa: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā-lāpa (प्रातिपदिक; आ + लाप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (compound member), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन

• hṛta: stolen, taken away
• hṛta: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hṛta (हृ-धातु से क्त; कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (compound member), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन

• aśeṣa: entire, all
• aśeṣa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (compound member), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन

• manodhanam: the wealth of the mind (heart), wholly stolen by exceedingly sweet speech
• manodhanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas-dhana (प्रातिपदिक; मनस् + धन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); समाससमूहः: ati-artha-madhura-ālāpa-hṛta-aśeṣa-mano-dhanam (बहुपद-तत्पुरुष)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• vinā: without
• vinā: Apādāna (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; 'without'

• puṇḍarīkākṣam: Puṇḍarīkākṣa (lotus-eyed one)
• puṇḍarīkākṣam: Apādāna (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇḍarīka-akṣa (प्रातिपदिक; पुण्डरीक + अक्ष)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); बहुव्रीहिः = 'whose eyes are like lotuses' (epithet of Kṛṣṇa)

• yāsyāmaḥ: we will go
• yāsyāmaḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन (Plural); परस्मैपद

• nanda: Nanda
• nanda: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (compound member)

• gokulam: Nanda's Gokula
• gokulam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go-kula (प्रातिपदिक; गो + कुल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); नन्दगोकुलम् = नन्दस्य गोकुलम् (genitive tatpuruṣa)

Speaker

The cowherd women of Vraja (Gopīs), as narrated by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To enchant and uplift the hearts of His devotees through sweet speech and presence, binding them to Him and protecting Vraja through His lordship.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Devotional order (bhakti-dharma) in which the mind’s ‘wealth’ is offered to the Lord as the highest good.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord’s guṇas—especially His madhura-vāk (sweet speech)—draw the mind’s entire ‘treasure’ into loving surrender.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Replace compulsive mental rumination with intentional śravaṇa (listening) and kīrtana; let divine qualities ‘steal’ the mind from lesser fascinations.

Vishishtadvaita: Grace operates through the Lord’s auspicious qualities and personal interaction; the jīva’s mind and love are real, offered to the real personal Brahman (Puṇḍarīkākṣa).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Vishnu (as Puṇḍarīkākṣa)
• Nanda
• Gokula

FAQs

What is the significance of calling Krishna “Puṇḍarīkākṣa” in the Vishnu Purana?

It explicitly frames Krishna as the same lotus-eyed Supreme Vishnu, linking Vraja’s intimate devotion to the Purana’s theology of Vishnu as the highest reality.

How does Sage Parāśara present the gopīs’ devotion in this verse?

Through the image of Krishna’s sweet speech ‘stealing’ their entire mental treasure, Parāśara depicts bhakti as total inner captivation that overrides ordinary social movement and choice.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu’s supremacy is shown not only through cosmic power but through intimate sovereignty over the heart—His presence becomes indispensable, and separation from Him becomes unthinkable.