Shloka 20

भाण्डीरवट-क्रीडा: प्रलम्बासुरवधः, मानुष्यलीला, एक-कारण-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

कृष्ण कृष्ण ह्रियाम्य् एष पर्वतोदग्रमूर्तिना केनापि पश्य दैत्येन गोपालछद्मरूपिणा

Transliteration

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hriyāmy eṣa parvatodagramūrtinā kenāpi paśya daityena gopālachadmarūpiṇā

Translation

“Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! I am being carried away—look!—by some demon who has assumed the guise of a cowherd, towering with a form as vast and steep as a mountain-peak.”

Word by Word

• कृष्ण: O Krishna
• कृष्ण: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कृष्ण: O Krishna
• कृष्ण: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ह्रियामि: I am being carried away / I am seized
• ह्रियामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ह्री (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — Present Indicative, 1st person, Singular

• एषः: this (one)
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पर्वत-उदग्र-मूर्तिना: by/with (one) of towering mountain-like form
• पर्वत-उदग्र-मूर्तिना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक) + उदग्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3), एकवचन; (मूर्तिना) पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-सम्भव, करण/हेतु-भाव — Instrumental, Singular; 'with/by (one) having a lofty mountain-like form'

• केन: by whom
• केन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Instrumental, Singular

• अपि: even; somehow; (with interrogative) 'by someone'
• अपि: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — enclitic/indefinite marker

• पश्य: see! look!
• पश्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — Imperative, 2nd person, Singular

• दैत्येन: by a demon
• दैत्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• गोपाल-छद्म-रूपिणा: by one disguised as a cowherd
• गोपाल-छद्म-रूपिणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपाल (प्रातिपदिक) + छद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Singular; 'by one having the guise/form of a cowherd'

Speaker

A distressed voice calling out to Krishna (a Vraja associate being abducted); narrated within Parasara’s discourse to Maitreya

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To protect the Vraja community and uphold dharma by destroying demonic threats while enacting divine līlā among the cowherds.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of the innocent in Vraja and the sanctity of Krishna’s pastoral community against asuric intrusion.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Sakhya

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Daitya (demon)
• Gopala (cowherd guise)

FAQs

What is the significance of a Daitya appearing in a cowherd disguise in the Vishnu Purana?

It dramatizes how adharma hides behind familiar forms, while Krishna’s discernment and protection reveal Vishnu’s sovereign mastery over deception and fear.

How does the Vishnu Purana portray Krishna’s role when devotees cry out for help?

The verse presents the urgent call to Krishna as an appeal to the Supreme Refuge, implying that the Lord’s protective grace is invoked through direct remembrance and surrender.

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

Krishna is shown as the Supreme Reality active within history—protecting the vulnerable and subduing demonic forces—uniting līlā (divine play) with cosmic guardianship.