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

सञ्जय उवाच— निगृह्यमाणोऽपि तदा आदिदेवः आत्मयोगी भृशं सरोषोऽभवत्। स विष्णुः जिष्णुमादाय वेगेन जगाम, महावात इवैकवृक्षम्।

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.