Shloka 11

इन्द्रक्रोधः, संवर्तक-वर्षणम्, गोवर्धनधारण-लीला

Devanagari script

क्रोडेन वत्सान् आक्रम्य तस्थुर् अन्या महामुने गावो विवत्साश् च कृता वारिपूरेण चापराः

Transliteration

kroḍena vatsān ākramya tasthur anyā mahāmune gāvo vivatsāś ca kṛtā vāripūreṇa cāparāḥ

Translation

大牟尼啊，有些母牛以腹胁压碎小牛而立；有些失去犊子而成无犊；还有些被涨满大地的洪水所淹没。

Word by Word

• क्रोडेन: with the lap/bosom (of the body)
• क्रोडेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रोड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• वत्सान्: calves
• वत्सान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• आक्रम्य: having seized/pressed (them)
• आक्रम्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √क्रम् (धातु) उपसर्गः आ-
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त/gerund), ‘having seized/pressed’

• तस्थुः: stood, remained
• तस्थुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• अन्याः: others (cows)
• अन्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• गावः: cows
• गावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन

• विवत्साः: without calves
• विवत्साः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन; विशेषण—गावः

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• कृताः: were made, became
• कृताः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ धातु, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) used predicatively; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘were made/became’

• वारि-पूरेण: by the flood of water
• वारि-पूरेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अपराः: others (cows)
• अपराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: compassionate

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To protect Vraja’s herds and young from destruction, ensuring the continuity of pastoral life and devotion.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Care for the young and preservation of community life centered on dharma and devotion.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Devotion is not abstract: it is bound to compassionate protection of those entrusted to one’s care, mirroring the Lord’s guardianship.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice bhakti with seva: protect children, animals, and dependents; translate prayer into responsible care.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s grace operates within embodied relations (cow-calf, community), affirming a real, meaningful world sustained by divine compassion.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• cows
• calves
• floodwaters

FAQs

What is the significance of calamity imagery (flooding and loss of cattle) in the Vishnu Purana?

It underscores how worldly life is vulnerable to periodic upheavals within cosmic cycles, highlighting impermanence and the need to align with dharma and the Supreme order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain human and animal suffering in this narrative flow?

By depicting concrete losses—calves crushed, cows bereft, waters inundating—he frames suffering as part of cyclical conditions of the world that rise and subside under cosmic regulation.

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

Even when the verse focuses on distress, the Purana’s broader teaching is that Vishnu remains the sovereign ground of order through which cycles unfold and restoration becomes possible.