Shloka 40

यादवक्षयः, बलराम-निर्याणम्, कृष्णस्य उपसंहारः (प्रभासे विनाशः)

Devanagari script

एरका तु गृहीता तैर् वज्रभूतेव लक्ष्यते तया परस्परं जघ्नुः संप्रहारे सुदारुणे

Transliteration

erakā tu gṛhītā tair vajrabhūteva lakṣyate tayā parasparaṃ jaghnuḥ saṃprahāre sudāruṇe

Translation

उन्होंने एरका की सरकंडियाँ उठाईं; वे उन्हें वज्र के समान रूपांतरित प्रतीत हुईं। उन्हीं से वे भयंकर संग्राम में परस्पर एक-दूसरे को मारने लगे।

Word by Word

एरकाthe eraka reed

तुbut, indeed

गृहीताhaving been seized/taken

तैःby them

वज्रभूताbecome like a thunderbolt

इवas if, like

लक्ष्यतेis seen/appears

तयाwith it/thereby

परस्परम्each other, mutually

जघ्नुःthey struck/killed

संप्रहारेin the melee/battle

सुदारुणेvery dreadful

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Eraka grass (reed)

Vajra (thunderbolt)

FAQs

What is the significance of the eraka grass becoming a thunderbolt-like weapon in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals the irresistible fruition of destiny and curse: an ordinary reed is perceived as a vajra, showing how kāla and karma can turn the mundane into an instrument of inevitable destruction.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Yadavas’ mutual destruction in this episode?

Parāśara narrates it as a divinely-ordered unfolding where arrogance and prior causes culminate in a brutal, mutual slaughter—each striking the other in a close-quarters clash.

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

Even when the verse describes human action, the Purana’s frame implies Vishnu’s sovereign order operating through time (kāla): dynasties rise and fall under the Supreme’s governance, underscoring the transience of worldly power.