Shloka 100

Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava

Devanagari script

निगृहमाणश्न तदा5<दिदेवो भृशं सरोष: किल चात्मयोगी । आदाय वेगेन जगाम विष्णु- जिंष्णुं महावात इवैकवृक्षम्‌

Transliteration

nigṛhyamāṇaś ca tadā ādidevo bhṛśaṃ saroṣaḥ kila cātmayogī | ādāya vegena jagāma viṣṇur jiṣṇuṃ mahāvāta ivaikavṛkṣam ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Même retenu alors, le Seigneur primordial—adepte du yoga intérieur—était, en vérité, saisi d’une colère farouche. S’emparant de Jiṣṇu (Arjuna), Viṣṇu s’élança en avant avec une vitesse immense, tel un vent violent qui emporte un arbre isolé.

Word by Word

• {'nigṛhyamāṇaḥ': 'being held back, being restrained', 'tadā': 'then, at that moment', 'ādidevaḥ': 'the primeval god

• the original divine lord', 'bhṛśam': 'exceedingly, greatly', 'saroṣaḥ': 'full of anger, wrathful', 'kila': 'indeed, as is said

• emphatic particle', 'ca': 'and', 'ātmayogī': 'one established in inner discipline/yoga

• self-controlled yogin', 'ādāya': 'having taken up, having seized/carrying along', 'vegena': 'with speed, forcefully', 'jagāma': 'went, moved forward', 'viṣṇuḥ': 'Viṣṇu

• here referring to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the divine protector', 'jiṣṇum': 'Jiṣṇu (Arjuna), ‘the victorious one’', 'mahāvātaḥ': 'a great wind, gale', 'iva': 'like, as', 'eka-vṛkṣam': 'a single tree'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Ādideva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu)
• Viṣṇu
• Jiṣṇu (Arjuna)
• mahāvāta (great wind)
• vṛkṣa (tree)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between restraint and necessary force: even a self-mastered divine agent (ātmayogī) may manifest fierce wrath when dharma is threatened, and once a righteous resolve is set in motion it can become unstoppable—like a gale—signaling the gravity of moral stakes in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Kṛṣṇa (as Viṣṇu/Ādideva) surging forward in great speed while Arjuna (Jiṣṇu) tries to restrain him; Kṛṣṇa cannot be held back and carries Arjuna along, compared to a powerful wind dragging a tree.