Shloka 13

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

ते हि दुष्टविषज्वालातप्ताम्बुपवनोक्षिताः जज्वलुः पादपाः सद्यो ज्वालाव्याप्तदिगन्तराः

Transliteration

te hi duṣṭaviṣajvālātaptāmbupavanokṣitāḥ jajvaluḥ pādapāḥ sadyo jvālāvyāptadigantarāḥ

Translation

مہلک زہر کی لپٹوں سے تپے ہوئے پانی اور ہوا کے جھونکوں سے وہ درخت فوراً بھڑک اٹھے؛ اور شعلے ہر سمت کے افق تک پھیل گئے۔

Word by Word

तेthey

हिindeed

दुष्टविषज्वालातप्ताम्बुपवनोक्षिताःsprinkled by water and wind heated by the flames of vile poison

जज्वलुःblazed, burned

पादपाःtrees

सद्यःimmediately

ज्वालाव्याप्तदिगन्तराःwhose quarters were pervaded by flames

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa confronts Kāliya, whose venom turns even air and water into burning agents, threatening life around the lake.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Safeguarding beings and restoring the natural balance corrupted by toxic adharma.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

Poison (Hālāhala/Kālakūṭa context)

Trees

Wind

Water

Fire

FAQs

What is the significance of poisonous fire imagery in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse depicts a cosmic crisis where even water and wind become instruments of burning—showing how malignant forces can invert the natural order and spread destruction across all directions.

How does Sage Parāśara explain elemental imbalance in this passage?

Parāśara narrates that the poison’s blaze is so intense that wind and water, normally cooling and life-sustaining, turn scorching; the result is immediate ignition of the trees and flames filling the horizons.

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

By portraying the cosmos overwhelmed by a poison-born conflagration, the narrative implicitly frames the need for the Supreme Lord’s governance—Vishnu’s sovereignty as the principle that ultimately re-establishes stability and dharmic order.