Shloka 155

Devanagari script

तानि षोडश देवीनां सहस्राणि नराधिप । बभूवुर्मानुषे लोके वासुदेवपरिग्रह:,नरेश्वर! वे अप्सराएँ मनुष्यलोकमें सोलह हजार देवियोंके रूपमें उत्पन्न हुई थीं, जो सब-की-सब भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णकी पत्नियाँ हुईं

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tāni ṣoḍaśa devīnāṁ sahasrāṇi narādhipa | babhūvur mānuṣe loke vāsudeva-parigrahāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ô roi, ces seize mille jeunes filles célestes naquirent dans le monde des hommes sous la forme de seize mille femmes semblables à des princesses, et toutes devinrent les épouses de Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa), selon un décret du divin.

Word by Word

तानिthose

षोडशsixteen

देवीनाम्of the goddesses

सहस्राणिthousands

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

बभूवुःbecame / came to be

मानुषेin the human

लोकेworld

वासुदेवof Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

परिग्रहाःwives / consorts (lit. those taken/accepted)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Narādhipa (the king addressed, i.e., Janamejaya in the frame narrative)

Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)

Devīs / Apsarases (celestial maidens)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Kṛṣṇa’s many marriages as a divinely grounded arrangement rather than mere indulgence, implying that relationships and social bonds, when connected to dharma and divine purpose, carry responsibility and sacred meaning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells the king that certain celestial maidens (apsarases/devīs) took birth in the human realm as sixteen thousand women, and they all became consorts of Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa).