Shloka 5

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

Devanagari script

सुवर्णाञ्जनचूर्णाभ्यां तौ तदा रुषिताम्बरौ महेन्द्रायुधसंयुक्तौ श्वेतकृष्णाव् इवाम्बुदौ

Transliteration

suvarṇāñjanacūrṇābhyāṃ tau tadā ruṣitāmbarau mahendrāyudhasaṃyuktau śvetakṛṣṇāv ivāmbudau

Translation

Then, their garments stained with golden powder and black collyrium, those two appeared in wrath—like a pair of clouds, one white and one dark, both yoked with Indra’s bow of lightning.

Word by Word

• सुवर्णाञ्जनचूर्णाभ्याम्: with powders of gold and collyrium
• सुवर्णाञ्जनचूर्णाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुवर्ण + अञ्जन + चूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), द्विवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सुवर्णस्य अञ्जनस्य च चूर्णम्)

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• रुषिताम्बरौ: having reddish garments
• रुषिताम्बरौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुषित + अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (रुषितम् अम्बरं यस्य)

• महेन्द्रायुधसंयुक्तौ: accompanied by Indra’s weapon (rainbow/lightning)
• महेन्द्रायुधसंयुक्तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महेन्द्र + आयुध + संयुक्त (कृदन्त; √युज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘संयुक्त’ = joined/associated; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (महेन्द्रस्य आयुधेन संयुक्तौ)

• श्वेतकृष्णौ: white and black
• श्वेतकृष्णौ: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वेत + कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (श्वेतश्च कृष्णश्च)

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha/Upamana-marker (Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय

• अम्बुदौ: two clouds
• अम्बुदौ: Upameya (Object compared/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बुद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kṛṣṇa’s and Balarāma’s Vraja-līlā and their striking appearances

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: poetic, imagistic

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa manifests to subdue rising adharma and to enact līlā that protects devotees while revealing divine power through humanlike forms.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Protection of Vraja and the cowherd community through deterrence of hostile forces.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Mahendra)

FAQs

What is the significance of the white-and-dark cloud simile in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys a vivid dual contrast—brightness and darkness, restraint and fury—while placing the scene under cosmic imagery (clouds and lightning), suggesting that even human conflict unfolds within the larger order of the world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the mood of the scene here?

By describing outward signs—powder-stained garments and a wrathful appearance—and then elevating it through a cosmic comparison to thunderclouds joined with Indra’s weapon, intensifying the narrative force.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic framework assumes divine sovereignty: events, power, and the forces of nature (like Indra’s lightning) operate within the dharmic order ultimately upheld by Vishnu as Supreme Reality.