Shloka 15
नारदेन कंसबोधनम्, कंसस्योपायचिन्ता, अक्रूरप्रेषणम् (मथुरागमनप्रस्तावः)
धनुर्महो ममाप्य् अत्र चतुर्दश्यां भविष्यति आनेयौ भवता गत्वा मल्लयुद्धाय ताव् उभौ
dhanurmaho mamāpy atra caturdaśyāṃ bhaviṣyati āneyau bhavatā gatvā mallayuddhāya tāv ubhau
“Aquí, en el decimocuarto día, tendrá lugar mi gran Festival del Arco. Ve y tráeme a ambos, para que sean llevados al combate de luchadores.”
King Kaṃsa (issuing an order to his messenger/attendant to fetch Krishna and Balarama to Mathura)
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Krishna and Balarama are summoned to Mathurā under the pretext of the Dhanur-yajña festival to set the stage for Kaṃsa’s downfall.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Ending coercive spectacle and violence used to entrap the innocent; reestablishing righteous rule.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
In this verse it functions as Kaṃsa’s pretext for a public event at Mathurā, used to lure Krishna and Balarama into a controlled confrontation, setting the stage for the downfall of adharmic rule.
Though the larger work is relayed by Parāśara to Maitreya, this verse presents an embedded speech where Kaṃsa directly orders that both brothers be brought for a wrestling match, advancing the plot toward the climactic restoration of order.
Krishna—understood as Vishnu’s supreme manifestation—moves toward the arena not as a victim of Kaṃsa’s scheme but as the sovereign agent through whom dharma is re-established and tyranny is brought to an end.