Shloka 8

Devanagari script

याम् एनां वहसे मूढ सह भर्त्रा रथे स्थिताम् अस्यास् तवाष्टमो गर्भः प्राणान् अपहरिष्यति

Transliteration

yām enāṃ vahase mūḍha saha bhartrā rathe sthitām asyās tavāṣṭamo garbhaḥ prāṇān apahariṣyati

Translation

Hỡi kẻ ngu! Người đàn bà mà ngươi đang chở trên xe, ngồi cùng chồng nàng đó—đứa con thứ tám của nàng sẽ cướp lấy sinh khí của ngươi. Trong dòng chảy thời gian, không quyền lực, không vương miện, không bạo ngược nào vượt qua được định mệnh; khi ý chỉ của Śrī Viṣṇu chín muồi, nó đến như chính số phận.

Word by Word

• याम्: whom
• याम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• एनाम्: this woman (her)
• एनाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद्/इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; एनद्-प्रयोग)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वहसे: you carry/drive
• वहसे: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• मूढ: O fool/deluded one
• मूढ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूढ (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative/Nominative form used as address), एकवचन; भू-धातोः क्त (मूढ = deluded)

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakaraka (सहकारक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सह-योगे तृतीया-सहचर (with)

• भर्त्रा: with (her) husband
• भर्त्रा: Sahakaraka (सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• रथे: in the chariot
• रथे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• स्थिताम्: standing/situated
• स्थिताम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past Passive Participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अस्याः: of her
• अस्याः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अष्टमः: eighth
• अष्टमः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (ordinal)

• गर्भः: embryo/child in the womb
• गर्भः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्राणान्: life-breaths; lives
• प्राणान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अपहरिष्यति: will take away
• अपहरिष्यति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अप-हृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

A celestial voice (ākāśa-vāṇī) warning Kaṁsa about Devakī’s eighth child

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Bhagavān will be born as Devakī’s eighth child to destroy Kaṃsa and re-establish dharma in Mathurā and beyond.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Deliverance of the oppressed and the rebalancing of righteous rule

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Tyrannical power cannot outrun the ripening of karmic consequence; destiny aligned with dharma arrives inexorably.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Avoid harming the innocent out of fear; respond to threatening news with restraint and ethical clarity.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s purposeful descent works through time (kāla) as His instrument, harmonizing cosmic justice with historical events.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Kamsa
• Devaki
• Vasudeva

FAQs

What is the significance of the prophecy about Devaki’s eighth child in the Vishnu Purana?

It establishes divine inevitability: Kaṁsa’s political power cannot override the cosmic order, and the Lord’s saving purpose will manifest through Devakī’s eighth birth.

How does Sage Parāśara frame destiny and divine will in this episode?

Through the narrative device of an ākāśa-vāṇī, the text shows that events unfold under a higher sovereignty—human actions react to, but cannot cancel, the ordained turning of time.

What is Lord Vishnu’s theological importance in this context?

The verse points to Vishnu’s supremacy indirectly: the coming child represents the irresistible divine intervention that restores dharma when tyranny peaks.