Shloka 35

शरद्वर्णनं, योगोपमा, तथा गोवर्धन-यज्ञप्रवर्तनम्

Devanagari script

यदा चैते ऽपराध्यन्ते तेषां ये काननौकसः तदा सिंहादिरूपैस् तान् घातयन्ति महीधराः

Transliteration

yadā caite 'parādhyante teṣāṃ ye kānanaukasaḥ tadā siṃhādirūpais tān ghātayanti mahīdharāḥ

Translation

അവിടെ വസിക്കുന്ന വനവാസികൾ അപരാധം ചെയ്യുമ്പോൾ, പർവ്വതാധിപന്മാർ സിംഹാദി രൂപങ്ങൾ ധരിച്ചു അവരെ വധിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• यदा: when
• यदा: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (when)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• अपराध्यन्ते: they offend, commit an offence
• अपराध्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अपराध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• काननौकसः: forest-dwellers
• काननौकसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कानन + ओकस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (कानने ओकः/वासः येषाम्), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• सिंहादिरूपैः: with forms such as lions, etc.
• सिंहादिरूपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह + आदि + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (सिंह-आदि-रूपैः = सिंहादीनां रूपैः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; करणवाचक

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• घातयन्ति: they kill, cause to be slain
• घातयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) → घातय (णिच् causative)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; णिच्-प्रत्ययान्त (causative)

• महीधराः: mountains (earth-bearers)
• महीधराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (महीं धरन्ति इति), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the forest/mountain region maintains moral order through its guardian powers.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: warning, norm-enforcing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Adharma in sacred spaces invites swift correction; nature itself, as guardian, becomes an instrument of moral order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat environments and communities with restraint—avoid exploitation; recognize that harmful actions generate consequences (social, ecological, karmic).

Vishishtadvaita: The world is not inert; it functions as a divinely ordered system where even ‘nature’ can serve as dharma’s instrument.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Mountains (Mahīdharas)
• Forest-dwellers (Kānanaukasaḥ)
• Lions (Siṃha)

FAQs

What is the significance of mountains and forests acting as guardians in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents mountains and forest realms as dharmic guardians: when boundaries are violated, corrective force manifests through nature itself, preserving sacred order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the punishment of transgressors here?

Parāśara frames punishment as an automatic response within the world’s moral ecology—mountain-lords and forest-dwellers take fierce forms (like lions) to eliminate those who offend.

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

Even without naming Vishnu directly, the verse reflects a Vaishnava worldview where the cosmos functions under Vishnu’s sovereignty: dharma is upheld through ordained agencies within creation.