Shloka 38
पौण्ड्रक-वधः, कृत्या-प्रशमनम्, वाराणसी-दाहः
चक्रप्रतापविध्वस्ता कृत्या माहेश्वरी तदा ननाश वेगिनी वेगात् तद् अप्य् अनुजगाम ताम्
cakrapratāpavidhvastā kṛtyā māheśvarī tadā nanāśa veginī vegāt tad apy anujagāma tām
चक्रप्रतापविध्वस्ता सा माहेश्वरी कृत्या तदा वेगिनी ननाश; तामपि तत् अनुजगाम।
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Krishna’s Sudarśana breaks the Śaiva kṛtyā’s force, driving it into flight and preventing its destructive intent.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Subordination of destructive, misdirected ritual power to the higher dharmic guardianship of Viṣṇu.
Concept: Power aligned with harm collapses before dharmic divine might; even ‘sanctioned’ forces (māheśvarī) cannot legitimize adharma.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Evaluate means as well as ends: religious or ideological power used for vengeance rebounds; choose dharmic restraint and protection.
Vishishtadvaita: All deities and their energies operate within the supreme ordination of Nārāyaṇa, who ensures the moral order of the cosmos.
Vishnu Form: Hari
FAQs
In this verse, the Chakra’s irresistible power breaks and drives away the Maheshvarī kṛtyā, showing Vishnu’s divine instrument as a force that restores order by neutralizing destructive powers.
Parāśara frames such forces as effective only until confronted by higher divine authority; here, the Chakra’s might overwhelms the kṛtyā, and the narrative emphasizes inevitable subordination to the supreme cosmic protector.
The episode underscores Vishnu’s sovereignty: even powers associated with other deities (the Maheshvarī kṛtyā) cannot stand against the divine order upheld through Vishnu’s supreme agency.