Shloka 21
Pauṇḍraka’s False Vāsudeva Claim, His Death, and the Burning of Vārāṇasī by Sudarśana
इति क्षिप्त्वा शितैर्बाणैर्विरथीकृत्य पौण्ड्रकम् । शिरोऽवृश्चद् रथाङ्गेन वज्रेणेन्द्रो यथा गिरे: ॥ २१ ॥
iti kṣiptvā śitair bāṇair virathī-kṛtya pauṇḍrakam śiro ’vṛścad rathāṅgena vajreṇendro yathā gireḥ
ഇങ്ങനെ പരിഹസിച്ച് ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണൻ മൂർച്ചയുള്ള ബാണങ്ങളാൽ പൗണ്ഡ്രകനെ രഥഹീനനാക്കി; പിന്നെ സുദർശനചക്രംകൊണ്ട് അവന്റെ ശിരസ് ഛേദിച്ചു—ഇന്ദ്രൻ വജ്രംകൊണ്ട് പർവ്വതശിഖരം മുറിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ।
FAQs
In this verse, Śukadeva describes how Kṛṣṇa defeated Pauṇḍraka in battle, disarmed him, and then severed his head with the Sudarśana cakra, showing the Lord’s protection of dharma and the futility of posing as God.
Pauṇḍraka was an arrogant imposter claiming divine identity; after disabling him in combat, Kṛṣṇa used His disc to decisively end the threat, likened here to Indra’s thunderbolt splitting a mountain.
It warns against ego-driven imitation and spiritual fraud, and it encourages discernment and humility—recognizing true divinity and aligning one’s actions with dharma rather than pride.