Shloka 55

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

समस्तजगदाधारो भवान् अल्पबलः फणी त्वत्पादपीडितो जह्यान् मुहूर्तार्धेन जीवितम्

Transliteration

samastajagadādhāro bhavān alpabalaḥ phaṇī tvatpādapīḍito jahyān muhūrtārdhena jīvitam

Translation

You are the support of the entire universe; yet, O serpent, your strength is but slight. Crushed beneath His feet, you would abandon your life within half a muhūrta.

Word by Word

• samasta-jagad-ādhāraḥ: support of the entire world
• samasta-jagad-ādhāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samasta-jagat-ādhāra (प्रातिपदिक; समस्त + जगत् + आधार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (समस्तस्य जगतः आधारः)

• bhavān: you (honorific)
• bhavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; आदरार्थक-प्रयोग (honorific 'you')

• alpa-balaḥ: of little strength
• alpa-balaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alpa-bala (प्रातिपदिक; अल्प + बल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (अल्पं बलं यस्य/अल्पबलः), विशेषण (phaṇī-विशेषण)

• phaṇī: the serpent
• phaṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phaṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tvat-pāda-pīḍitaḥ: crushed by your foot
• tvat-pāda-pīḍitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvat-pāda-pīḍita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; त्वत् + पाद + पीडित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle) 'पीडित'; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/सम्बन्ध (त्वत्पादेन पीडितः)

• jahyāt: would abandon/should give up
• jahyāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hā (धातु; √हा त्यागे)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• muhūrta-ardhena: within half a muhūrta
• muhūrta-ardhena: Karana (Instrument/measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muhūrta-ardha (प्रातिपदिक; मुहूर्त + अर्ध)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मुहूर्तस्य अर्धम्)

• jīvitam: life
• jīvitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator voice within the Parasara–Maitreya frame (a descriptive admonition addressed to the serpent)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He demonstrates irresistible divine sovereignty by subduing Kāliya, protecting the community and purifying the Yamunā.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Safety of the land and waters; suppression of violent adharma.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The one who supports the entire cosmos can effortlessly end the life of the strongest foe; therefore surrender and humility are rational responses.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Replace pride with reverence—remember the disproportion between individual power and the Lord’s sovereignty.

Vishishtadvaita: Jagad-ādhāratva: all beings depend on Him, yet He can act within the world as Kṛṣṇa without losing transcendence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Serpent (Śeṣa/Ananta implied)

FAQs

What is the significance of calling someone 'samastajagadādhāra' in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks the Supreme principle as the sustaining ground of all worlds, reinforcing Vishnu’s role not merely as a deity among gods but as the cosmic support and controller.

How does Sage Parasara’s narrative frame convey hierarchy among cosmic beings here?

By contrasting the ‘support of the universe’ with the serpent’s limited power, the verse establishes a clear theological hierarchy: even mighty cosmic beings exist under the Lord’s overriding sovereignty.

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

The verse emphasizes Vishnu’s unsurpassed dominion and sustaining nature—key to Vaishnava thought—where all beings, however exalted, remain dependent on the Supreme Reality.