Shloka 14

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

आस्फोटयाम् आस तदा कृष्णो नागह्रदे भुजम् तच्छब्दश्रवणाच् चाशु नागराजो ऽभ्युपागमत्

Transliteration

āsphoṭayām āsa tadā kṛṣṇo nāgahrade bhujam tacchabdaśravaṇāc cāśu nāgarājo 'bhyupāgamat

Translation

Lalu Kṛṣṇa, di tepi telaga para naga, menepuk lengan-Nya hingga bergema seperti tantangan; mendengar bunyi itu, raja naga pun segera muncul.

Word by Word

आस्फोटयाम्to clap/strike (repeatedly)

आसdid/was (used to form periphrastic action)

तदाthen

कृष्णःKṛṣṇa

नागह्रदेin the serpent’s lake

भुजम्arm

तत्that

शब्दश्रवणात्from hearing that sound

चand

आशुquickly

नागराजःthe serpent-king

अभ्युपागमत्came near, approached

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Krishna

Kaliya (Nāgarāja)

Nāgas (serpents)

Yamunā (implied by context of the nāga-hrada)

FAQs

What is the significance of Krishna slapping His arm in this Vishnu Purana verse?

It is a deliberate summons and proclamation of divine authority—Krishna’s audible challenge draws out the serpent-king so that disorder in the sacred waters can be confronted and corrected.

How does Sage Parāśara frame this event within the dialogue of the Vishnu Purana?

Parāśara narrates it to Maitreya as a concrete instance of Bhagavān’s līlā: the Lord acts directly within the world to protect beings and re-establish dharma when it is threatened.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (as Krishna) in this context?

Krishna is presented not merely as a heroic figure but as the Supreme Reality exercising sovereignty over even the fiercest nāga powers—demonstrating that all forces submit to the Lord’s will in the maintenance of cosmic order.