Viṣṇu-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 47

57 versesKaṃsa's Decree

Synopsis

The dark overture to Kṛṣṇa's birth. Terrified by the prophecy that Devakī's child will end him, Kaṃsa assembles his ministers. His order is absolute: kill every fetus from the very first, because where there is doubt there is disaster. Devakī is put under guard in her own house. By the chapter's close a divine arrangement is already moving in answer: Yoganidrā is instructed to carry the seventh garbha to Rohiṇī and to prepare the eighth. Kaṃsa believes he is setting the terms; the chapter shows that the terms were set above him, long before his fear began.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse commentary below

Kaṃsa's Decree: Verses 1, 2, 10, 55–57: the decree to destroy the seven garbhas, the prophecy of the eighth, the goddess's blessing of the devotee, and the arrangement of the descent. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

Verse 1

सो आज्ञापयत संरब्धः सचिवान् आत्मनो हितान् यत्ता भवत सर्वे वै देवक्या गरभकृन्तने

so ājñāpayata saṃrabdhaḥ sacivān ātmano hitān yattā bhavata sarve vai devakyā garabhakṛntane

He, tense with rage, commanded his well-disposed ministers: 'Be all of you intent on the destruction of Devakī's child in the womb.'

Verse 2

प्रथमाद् एव हन्तव्या गर्भास् ते सर्व एव हि मूलाद् एव हि हन्तव्यः सो ऽनर्थो यत्र संशयः

prathamād eva hantavyā garbhās te sarva eva hi mūlād eva hi hantavyaḥ so 'nartho yatra saṃśayaḥ

Verse 3

देवकी च गृहे गुप्ता प्रच्छन्नैर् अभिरक्षिता स्वैरं चरतु विस्रब्धा मद्बलैर् यत्नम् आस्थितैः

devakī ca gṛhe guptā pracchannair abhirakṣitā svairaṃ caratu visrabdhā madbalair yatnam āsthitaiḥ

Verse 4

मासान् वै पुष्पमासादीन् गणयन्तु मम स्त्रियः परिणामे तु गर्भस्य शेषं ज्ञास्यामहे वयम्

māsān vai puṣpamāsādīn gaṇayantu mama striyaḥ pariṇāme tu garbhasya śeṣaṃ jñāsyāmahe vayam

Verse 5

वसुदेवश् च संरक्ष्यः स्त्रीसनाथास्तु भूमिषु अप्रमत्तैर् मम हितै रात्राव् अहनि चैव ह स्त्रीभिर् वर्षवरैश् चैव वक्तव्यं न च कारणम्

vasudevaś ca saṃrakṣyaḥ strīsanāthāstu bhūmiṣu apramattair mama hitai rātrāv ahani caiva ha strībhir varṣavaraiś caiva vaktavyaṃ na ca kāraṇam

Verse 6

एष मानुषको यत्नो मानुषैर् एव साध्यते श्रूयतां येन दैवं हि मद्विधैः प्रतिहन्यते

eṣa mānuṣako yatno mānuṣair eva sādhyate śrūyatāṃ yena daivaṃ hi madvidhaiḥ pratihanyate

Verse 7

मन्त्रग्रामैः सुविहितैर् औषधैश् च सुयोजितैः यत्नेन चानुकूलेन दैवम् अप्य् अनुवर्तते

mantragrāmaiḥ suvihitair auṣadhaiś ca suyojitaiḥ yatnena cānukūlena daivam apy anuvartate

Verse 8

एवं स यत्नवान् कंसो देवकीगर्भकृन्तने भयेन मन्त्रयाम् आस श्रुतार्थो नारदात् स वै

evaṃ sa yatnavān kaṃso devakīgarbhakṛntane bhayena mantrayām āsa śrutārtho nāradāt sa vai

Verse 9

अथ ब्रह्मतनूजस् तु नारदो मुनिपुंगवः विष्णवे सर्वम् आचख्यौ यथा कंसविचेष्टितम् एवं श्रुत्वा प्रयत्नं वै कंसस्यारिष्टसंज्ञितम् श्रुत्वैव कंसराजस्य चेष्टितं जगतीपतिः अन्तर्धानं गतो विष्णुश् चिन्तयाम् आस वीर्यवान्

atha brahmatanūjas tu nārado munipuṃgavaḥ viṣṇave sarvam ācakhyau yathā kaṃsaviceṣṭitam evaṃ śrutvā prayatnaṃ vai kaṃsasyāriṣṭasaṃjñitam śrutvaiva kaṃsarājasya ceṣṭitaṃ jagatīpatiḥ antardhānaṃ gato viṣṇuś cintayām āsa vīryavān

Verse 10

सप्तेमान् देवकीगर्भान् भोजपुत्रो वधिष्यति अष्टमे च मया गर्भे कार्यम् आधानम् आत्मनः

saptemān devakīgarbhān bhojaputro vadhiṣyati aṣṭame ca mayā garbhe kāryam ādhānam ātmanaḥ

Verse 11

तस्य चिन्तयतस् त्व् एवं पातालम् अगमन् मनः यत्र ते गर्भशयनाः षद्गर्भा नाम दानवाः

tasya cintayatas tv evaṃ pātālam agaman manaḥ yatra te garbhaśayanāḥ ṣadgarbhā nāma dānavāḥ

Verse 12

विक्रान्तवपुषो दीप्तास् ते ऽमृतप्राशनोपमाः अमरप्रतिमा युद्धे पुत्रा वै कालनेमिनः

vikrāntavapuṣo dīptās te 'mṛtaprāśanopamāḥ amarapratimā yuddhe putrā vai kālaneminaḥ

Verse 13

आर्यकं वै परित्यज्य हिरण्यकशिपुं पुरा उपासां चक्रिरे दैत्याः पुरा लोकपितामहम् तप्यमानास् तपस् तीव्रं जटामण्डलधारिणः

āryakaṃ vai parityajya hiraṇyakaśipuṃ purā upāsāṃ cakrire daityāḥ purā lokapitāmaham tapyamānās tapas tīvraṃ jaṭāmaṇḍaladhāriṇaḥ

Verse 14

समाः सहस्रम् अयुतम् अम्बुवायुविचारिणः तेषां प्रीतो ऽभवद् ब्रह्मा षद्गर्भाणां वरं ददौ भो भो दानवशार्दूलास् तपसाहं सुतोषितः ब्रूत वो यस्य यः कामः को वरो वः प्रदीयतां

samāḥ sahasram ayutam ambuvāyuvicāriṇaḥ teṣāṃ prīto 'bhavad brahmā ṣadgarbhāṇāṃ varaṃ dadau bho bho dānavaśārdūlās tapasāhaṃ sutoṣitaḥ brūta vo yasya yaḥ kāmaḥ ko varo vaḥ pradīyatāṃ

Verse 15

ते तु सर्वे समानार्था दैत्या ब्रह्माणम् अब्रुवन् यदि नो भगवान् प्रीतः श्रूयतां नो वरो वरः

te tu sarve samānārthā daityā brahmāṇam abruvan yadi no bhagavān prītaḥ śrūyatāṃ no varo varaḥ

Verse 16

अवध्याः स्याम भगवन् दैवतैः समहौरगैः शापप्रहरणैश् चापि नियतैः परमर्षिभिः

avadhyāḥ syāma bhagavan daivataiḥ samahauragaiḥ śāpapraharaṇaiś cāpi niyataiḥ paramarṣibhiḥ

Verse 17

यक्षगन्धर्वपतिभिः सिद्धचारणमानवैः मा भूद् वधो नो भगवन् ददासि यदि नो वरम्

yakṣagandharvapatibhiḥ siddhacāraṇamānavaiḥ mā bhūd vadho no bhagavan dadāsi yadi no varam

Verse 18

तान् उवाच ततो ब्रह्मा सुप्रीतेनान्तरात्मना भवद्भिर् यद् इदं प्रोक्तं सर्वम् एतद् भविष्यति

tān uvāca tato brahmā suprītenāntarātmanā bhavadbhir yad idaṃ proktaṃ sarvam etad bhaviṣyati

Verse 19

षड्गर्भाणां वरं दस्त्त्वा स्वयंभूस् त्रिदिवं गतः ततो हिरण्यकशिपुः सरोषो वाक्यम् अब्रवीत्

ṣaḍgarbhāṇāṃ varaṃ dasttvā svayaṃbhūs tridivaṃ gataḥ tato hiraṇyakaśipuḥ saroṣo vākyam abravīt

Verse 20

माम् उत्सृज्य वरो यस्माद् वृतो वः पद्मसंभवात् तस्माद् वस् त्याजितः स्नेहः शत्रुभूतांस् त्यजाम्य् अहम्

mām utsṛjya varo yasmād vṛto vaḥ padmasaṃbhavāt tasmād vas tyājitaḥ snehaḥ śatrubhūtāṃs tyajāmy aham

Verse 21

षड्गर्भा इति यो यं वः शब्दः पित्राभिवर्धितः स एव वो गर्भगतान् पिता सर्वान् वधिष्यति

ṣaḍgarbhā iti yo yaṃ vaḥ śabdaḥ pitrābhivardhitaḥ sa eva vo garbhagatān pitā sarvān vadhiṣyati

Verse 22

षड् एव देवकीगर्भाः षद्गर्भा वै महासुराः भविष्यन्ति ततः कंसो गर्भस्थान् वो वधिष्यति

ṣaḍ eva devakīgarbhāḥ ṣadgarbhā vai mahāsurāḥ bhaviṣyanti tataḥ kaṃso garbhasthān vo vadhiṣyati

Verse 23

शप्त्वा चैवं ततो दैत्यान् दैत्येशो रोषमूर्च्छितः पाताले जलगर्भस्थांश् चकारामितविक्रमः ज्ञात्वा हरिस् तु तं शापं कंसस्य च विनिश्चयम् जगामाथ ततो विष्णुः पातालं यत्र ते शुराः षड्गर्भाः संयताः सन्ति जलगर्भगृहेशयाः

śaptvā caivaṃ tato daityān daityeśo roṣamūrcchitaḥ pātāle jalagarbhasthāṃś cakārāmitavikramaḥ jñātvā haris tu taṃ śāpaṃ kaṃsasya ca viniścayam jagāmātha tato viṣṇuḥ pātālaṃ yatra te śurāḥ ṣaḍgarbhāḥ saṃyatāḥ santi jalagarbhagṛheśayāḥ

Verse 24

स ददर्श जले सुप्तान् षड्गर्भान् गर्भसंस्थितान् निद्रया कालरूपिण्या सर्वान् अन्तर्हितान् इव

sa dadarśa jale suptān ṣaḍgarbhān garbhasaṃsthitān nidrayā kālarūpiṇyā sarvān antarhitān iva

Verse 25

स्वप्नरूपेण तेषां वै विष्णुर् देहान् अथाविशत् प्राणेश्वरांश् च निष्कृष्य निद्रायै प्रददौ तदा

svapnarūpeṇa teṣāṃ vai viṣṇur dehān athāviśat prāṇeśvarāṃś ca niṣkṛṣya nidrāyai pradadau tadā

Verse 26

तां चोवाच तदा निद्रां विष्णुः सत्यपराक्रमः गच्छ निद्रे मयोत्सृष्टा देवकीभवनान्तिकम्

tāṃ covāca tadā nidrāṃ viṣṇuḥ satyaparākramaḥ gaccha nidre mayotsṛṣṭā devakībhavanāntikam

Verse 27

इमान् प्राणेश्वरान् गृह्य षड्गर्भान् नाम देहिनः षड्गर्भान् दानवोत्तमान् सर्वप्राणेश्वरी चैव षट्सु गर्भेषु देवक्या योजयस्व यथाक्रमम्

imān prāṇeśvarān gṛhya ṣaḍgarbhān nāma dehinaḥ ṣaḍgarbhān dānavottamān sarvaprāṇeśvarī caiva ṣaṭsu garbheṣu devakyā yojayasva yathākramam

Verse 28

जातेष्व् एतेषु गर्भेषु नीतेषु च यमक्षयम् कंसस्य विफले यत्ने देवक्याः सफले श्रमे

jāteṣv eteṣu garbheṣu nīteṣu ca yamakṣayam kaṃsasya viphale yatne devakyāḥ saphale śrame

With these seven conceptions born and taken to Yama's realm, Kaṃsa's efforts empty, Devakī's labors fruitful…

Verse 29

प्रसादं ते करिष्यामि मत्प्रसादसमं भुवि येन सर्वस्य लोकस्य देवि देवी भवीष्यसि

prasādaṃ te kariṣyāmi matprasādasamaṃ bhuvi yena sarvasya lokasya devi devī bhavīṣyasi

Verse 30

भविष्यन्ति ममास्राणि तथा बाहुस्थितानि ते शार्ङ्गशङ्खगदाचक्र+ +मुसलं शूलम् एव च सप्तमो देवकीगर्भो यो ऽंशः सौम्यो ममाग्रजः स संक्रामयितव्यस् ते सप्तमे मासि रोहिणीम्

bhaviṣyanti mamāsrāṇi tathā bāhusthitāni te śārṅgaśaṅkhagadācakra+ +musalaṃ śūlam eva ca saptamo devakīgarbho yo 'ṃśaḥ saumyo mamāgrajaḥ sa saṃkrāmayitavyas te saptame māsi rohiṇīm

Verse 31

संकर्षणात् तु गर्भस्य स तु संकर्षणो युवा भविष्यत्य् अग्रजो भ्राता मम शीतांशुदर्शनः

saṃkarṣaṇāt tu garbhasya sa tu saṃkarṣaṇo yuvā bhaviṣyaty agrajo bhrātā mama śītāṃśudarśanaḥ

Verse 32

पतितो देवकीगर्भः सप्तमो ऽयं भयाद् इति अष्टमे मयि गर्भस्थे कंसो यत्नं करिष्यति

patito devakīgarbhaḥ saptamo 'yaṃ bhayād iti aṣṭame mayi garbhasthe kaṃso yatnaṃ kariṣyati

Verse 33

या तु सा नन्दगोपस्य दयिता कंसगोपतेः यशोदा नाम भद्रं ते भार्या गोपकुलोद्वहा

yā tu sā nandagopasya dayitā kaṃsagopateḥ yaśodā nāma bhadraṃ te bhāryā gopakulodvahā

Verse 34

तस्यास् त्वं नवमो ऽस्माकं कुले गर्भो भविष्यसि नवम्याम् एव संजातो कृष्णपक्षस्य वै तिथौ

tasyās tvaṃ navamo 'smākaṃ kule garbho bhaviṣyasi navamyām eva saṃjāto kṛṣṇapakṣasya vai tithau

Verse 35

अहं त्व् अभिजितो योगे निशाया यौवने गते अर्धरात्रे करिष्यामि गर्भमोक्षं यथासुखम्

ahaṃ tv abhijito yoge niśāyā yauvane gate ardharātre kariṣyāmi garbhamokṣaṃ yathāsukham

Verse 36

अष्टमस्य तु मासस्य जाताव् आवां ततः समम् प्राप्स्यावो गरभव्यत्यासं प्राप्ते कंसस्य शसने

aṣṭamasya tu māsasya jātāv āvāṃ tataḥ samam prāpsyāvo garabhavyatyāsaṃ prāpte kaṃsasya śasane

Verse 37

अहं यशोदां यास्यामि त्वं देवि भज देवकीम् आवयोर् गर्भव्यत्यासे कंसो गच्छतु मूढताम्

ahaṃ yaśodāṃ yāsyāmi tvaṃ devi bhaja devakīm āvayor garbhavyatyāse kaṃso gacchatu mūḍhatām

Verse 38

ततस् त्वां गृह्य चरणे शिलायां निरसिष्यति ततस् तद्धस्तविभ्रष्टा मद्योगाद् भविता शुभा निरस्यमाना गगने स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम्

tatas tvāṃ gṛhya caraṇe śilāyāṃ nirasiṣyati tatas taddhastavibhraṣṭā madyogād bhavitā śubhā nirasyamānā gagane sthānaṃ prāpsyasi śāśvatam

Verse 39

मच्छवीसदृशी कृष्णा संकर्षणसमानना बिभ्रती विपुलान् बाहून् मम बाहूपमान् भुवि

macchavīsadṛśī kṛṣṇā saṃkarṣaṇasamānanā bibhratī vipulān bāhūn mama bāhūpamān bhuvi

Verse 40

त्रिशिखं शूलम् उद्यम्य खड्गं च कनकत्सरुम् पात्रीं च पूर्णां मधुनः पङ्कजं च सुनिर्मलम्

triśikhaṃ śūlam udyamya khaḍgaṃ ca kanakatsarum pātrīṃ ca pūrṇāṃ madhunaḥ paṅkajaṃ ca sunirmalam

Verse 41

वसाना मेचकं क्षौमं पीतेनोत्तरवाससा शशिरश्मिप्रकाशेन हारेणोरसि राजता

vasānā mecakaṃ kṣaumaṃ pītenottaravāsasā śaśiraśmiprakāśena hāreṇorasi rājatā

Verse 42

दिव्यकुण्डलपूर्णाभ्यां श्रवणाभ्यां विभूषिता चन्द्रसापत्न्यभूतेन त्वं मुखेन विराजिता

divyakuṇḍalapūrṇābhyāṃ śravaṇābhyāṃ vibhūṣitā candrasāpatnyabhūtena tvaṃ mukhena virājitā

Verse 43

मुकुटेन त्रिचक्रेण केशबन्धेन शोभिता भुजगाभोगनिर्घोषैर् बाहुभिः परिघोपमैः

mukuṭena tricakreṇa keśabandhena śobhitā bhujagābhoganirghoṣair bāhubhiḥ parighopamaiḥ

Verse 44

भुजगाभैर् भुजैर् भीमैर् भूषयन्ती दिशो दश अष्टभिः शोभयन्त्य् उग्रैः शार्ङ्गचक्रासिधारिभिः ध्वजेन शिखिबर्हाणाम् उच्छ्रितेन समीपतः अङ्गजेन मयूराणाम् अङ्गदेन च भास्वता

bhujagābhair bhujair bhīmair bhūṣayantī diśo daśa aṣṭabhiḥ śobhayanty ugraiḥ śārṅgacakrāsidhāribhiḥ dhvajena śikhibarhāṇām ucchritena samīpataḥ aṅgajena mayūrāṇām aṅgadena ca bhāsvatā

Verse 45

कीर्णा भूतगणैर् घोरैर् मन्निदेशानुवर्तिनी कौमारं व्रतम् आस्थाय अत्रिदिवं त्वं गमिष्यसि

kīrṇā bhūtagaṇair ghorair mannideśānuvartinī kaumāraṃ vratam āsthāya atridivaṃ tvaṃ gamiṣyasi

Verse 46

तत्र त्वां शतदृक् शक्रो मत्प्रदिष्टेन कर्मणा अभिषेकेण दिव्येन दैवतैः सह योक्ष्यते

tatra tvāṃ śatadṛk śakro matpradiṣṭena karmaṇā abhiṣekeṇa divyena daivataiḥ saha yokṣyate

Verse 47

तत्रैव त्वां भगिन्यर्थे ग्रहिष्यति स वासवः कुशिकस्य तु गोत्रेण कौशिकी त्वं भविष्यसि

tatraiva tvāṃ bhaginyarthe grahiṣyati sa vāsavaḥ kuśikasya tu gotreṇa kauśikī tvaṃ bhaviṣyasi

Verse 48

स ते विन्ध्ये नगश्रेष्ठे स्थानं दास्यति शाश्वतम् ततः स्थानसहस्रेऐस् त्वं पृथिवीं शोभयिष्यसि

sa te vindhye nagaśreṣṭhe sthānaṃ dāsyati śāśvatam tataḥ sthānasahasreais tvaṃ pṛthivīṃ śobhayiṣyasi

Verse 49

ततः सुम्भनिसुम्भौ अ दानवौ नगचार्तिणौ तौ च कृत्वा मनसि मां सानुगौ नाशयिष्यसि

tataḥ sumbhanisumbhau a dānavau nagacārtiṇau tau ca kṛtvā manasi māṃ sānugau nāśayiṣyasi

Verse 50

त्रैलोक्यचारिणी सा त्वं भुवि सत्योपयाचिता भविष्यसि महाभागे वरदा कामरूपिणी

trailokyacāriṇī sā tvaṃ bhuvi satyopayācitā bhaviṣyasi mahābhāge varadā kāmarūpiṇī

Verse 51

कृतानुयात्रा भूतैस् त्वं नित्यं मांसबलिप्रिया तिथौ नवम्यां पूजां च प्राप्स्यसे सपशुक्रियाम्

kṛtānuyātrā bhūtais tvaṃ nityaṃ māṃsabalipriyā tithau navamyāṃ pūjāṃ ca prāpsyase sapaśukriyām

Verse 52

ये च त्वां मत्प्रभावज्ञाः प्रणमिष्यन्ति मानवाः न तेषां दुर्लभं किंचित् पुत्रतो धनतो ऽपि वा

ye ca tvāṃ matprabhāvajñāḥ praṇamiṣyanti mānavāḥ na teṣāṃ durlabhaṃ kiṃcit putrato dhanato 'pi vā

Verse 53

कान्तारेष्व् अवसन्नानां म्गनानां च महार्णवे दस्युभिर् वा निरुद्धानां त्वं गतिः परमा नृणाम्

kāntāreṣv avasannānāṃ mganānāṃ ca mahārṇave dasyubhir vā niruddhānāṃ tvaṃ gatiḥ paramā nṛṇām

Verse 54

त्वं सिद्धिः श्रीर् धृतिः कीर्तिर् ह्रीर् विद्या संनतिर् मतिः संध्या लक्ष्मीर् वपुर् मेधा कान्तिः श्रद्धा क्रिया गतिः संध्या रात्रिः प्रभा निद्रा कालरात्रिस् तथैव च

tvaṃ siddhiḥ śrīr dhṛtiḥ kīrtir hrīr vidyā saṃnatir matiḥ saṃdhyā lakṣmīr vapur medhā kāntiḥ śraddhā kriyā gatiḥ saṃdhyā rātriḥ prabhā nidrā kālarātris tathaiva ca

Verse 55

त्वां तु स्तोष्यन्ति ये भक्त्या स्तवेनानेन वै शुभे तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति आर्यास्तवं प्रवक्ष्यामि यथोक्तम् ऋषिभिः पुरा नारायणीं नमस्यामि देवीं त्रिभुवनेश्वरीम् नृणां बन्धं वधं घोरं पुत्रनाशं धनक्षयम् व्याधिमृत्युभयं चैव पूजिता शमयिष्यसि

tvāṃ tu stoṣyanti ye bhaktyā stavenānena vai śubhe tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati āryāstavaṃ pravakṣyāmi yathoktam ṛṣibhiḥ purā nārāyaṇīṃ namasyāmi devīṃ tribhuvaneśvarīm nṛṇāṃ bandhaṃ vadhaṃ ghoraṃ putranāśaṃ dhanakṣayam vyādhimṛtyubhayaṃ caiva pūjitā śamayiṣyasi

Verse 56

भविष्यसि महाभागे वरदा कामरूपिणी मोहयित्वा च तं कंसम् एका त्वं भोक्ष्यसे जगत् अहम् अप्य् आत्मनो वृत्तिं विधास्ये गोषु गोपवत् स्ववृद्ध्यर्थम् अहं चैव करिष्ये कंसघातनम्

bhaviṣyasi mahābhāge varadā kāmarūpiṇī mohayitvā ca taṃ kaṃsam ekā tvaṃ bhokṣyase jagat aham apy ātmano vṛttiṃ vidhāsye goṣu gopavat svavṛddhyartham ahaṃ caiva kariṣye kaṃsaghātanam

Verse 57

एवं तु तां समादिश्य गतो ऽन्तर्धानम् ईश्वरः सा चापि तं नमस्कृत्य तथास्त्व् इति विनिर्गता

evaṃ tu tāṃ samādiśya gato 'ntardhānam īśvaraḥ sā cāpi taṃ namaskṛtya tathāstv iti vinirgatā

Having thus instructed her, the Lord went into invisibility; and she, having bowed to him, said 'so be it' and departed.

Verse commentary

Kaṃsa's Decree

कंसस्यादेशः

Verses 1, 2, 10, 55–57: the decree to destroy the seven garbhas, the prophecy of the eighth, the goddess's blessing of the devotee, and the arrangement of the descent. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

The chapter opens the Kṛṣṇa-birth sequence in the Viṣṇu-parva. Kaṃsa, made frightened by the prophecy, issues a terrifying decree: kill every fetus of Devakī from the very beginning. The chapter builds slowly: the watchers are appointed, months are counted, nights and days patrolled, midwives warned to speak without asking why. Against that machinery the Harivaṃśa arranges a quiet counter-machinery. The goddess Yoganidrā is addressed, the seventh garbha is to be moved, the eighth will come as Viṣṇu himself. By the chapter's close the cosmic order has been set in motion without Kaṃsa knowing he has been outflanked. The chapter is a study in how fear calls into existence what it most wanted to prevent.

HV 47.1

सो आज्ञापयत संरब्धः सचिवान् आत्मनो हितान् । यत्ता भवत सर्वे वै देवक्या गरभकृन्तने ॥

so ājñāpayata saṃrabdhaḥ sacivān ātmano hitān | yattā bhavata sarve vai devakyā garabhakṛntane

He, tense with rage, commanded his well-disposed ministers: 'Be all of you intent on the destruction of Devakī's child in the womb.'

The Living Words

The verse's first word is its most accurate portrait of the speaker: *saṃrabdhaḥ*, tense, seized, gripped by an impulse that has already taken over the body. The command is not given, it is squeezed out. *Ātmano hitān*, 'his well-disposed', 'devoted to himself': Kaṃsa is not speaking to advisers, he is speaking to a circle he has already bound to his own fear. *Garabha-kṛntane*, 'in the cutting of the fetus': the word *kṛntana* is violent even for the Sanskrit register, and the chapter's opening leaves no doubt that what follows will be a systematic attempt at infant murder.

The Heart of It

The verse names the emotion that drives the chapter's machinery: *saṃrabdha*. Kaṃsa is not evil because he wills harm; he is evil because fear has taken him. The Harivaṃśa has a steady diagnostic eye here. Political violence, in this text as in many of its descendants, begins with a powerful man whose fear has overwhelmed his reason. *Ātmano hitān*, 'devoted to himself': the ministers who have survived in his court are those who have let their reason be bent to his. What the chapter begins to unfold is God's response to this particular form of disease. The answer is not counter-violence; it is a patient, almost domestic rearrangement. The eighth will be born. The seventh will be moved. A māyā-daughter will be set in his arms. Nothing the tyrant plans will hold.

HV 47.2

प्रथमाद् एव हन्तव्या गर्भास् ते सर्व एव हि । मूलाद् एव हि हन्तव्यः सो ऽनर्थो यत्र संशयः ॥

prathamād eva hantavyā garbhās te sarva eva hi | mūlād eva hi hantavyaḥ so 'nartho yatra saṃśayaḥ

All those children must be killed from the very first. For at the root itself must be killed that which, where it stays in doubt, becomes disaster.

The Living Words

The verse is a maxim, delivered in *aphoristic* Sanskrit. *Prathamād eva*, 'from the very first'; *mūlād eva hi*, 'from the very root'. The second line gives Kaṃsa's reasoning: *so 'nartho yatra saṃśayaḥ*, 'that is the disaster, where the doubt is.' The grammar is tight: 'there is the evil, where the doubt is.' Kaṃsa's moral calculus has been reduced to this principle — anywhere a threat is in doubt, treat it as certain. Kill in advance.

The Heart of It

The Harivaṃśa gives Kaṃsa a whole line to express his logic; the logic is preemptive violence in its purest form. The scripture lets the tyrant's reasoning stand without rebuttal, because the rebuttal is the entire rest of the Viṣṇu-parva. Everything that happens from this verse forward is the Harivaṃśa's answer to the doctrine of pre-emptive killing. Devakī's six dead sons, sad as they are, do not secure Kaṃsa's rule. The ruthless calculus fails. What the Purāṇa is doing here is sophisticated moral teaching. It lets the doctrine of *mūlād eva hantavyaḥ* speak for itself and then, for the next thirty chapters, shows it failing in every way it can fail.

HV 47.10

सप्तेमान् देवकीगर्भान् भोजपुत्रो वधिष्यति । अष्टमे च मया गर्भे कार्यम् आधानम् आत्मनः ॥

saptemān devakīgarbhān bhojaputro vadhiṣyati | aṣṭame ca mayā garbhe kāryam ādhānam ātmanaḥ

The son of Bhoja will kill these seven children of Devakī. And in the eighth conception I must establish myself.

The Living Words

The verse is the Lord's own line, set against Kaṃsa's. *Vadhiṣyati*, 'he will kill', is said without flinching; the first seven are not going to be spared. *Aṣṭame ca mayā garbhe kāryam ādhānam ātmanaḥ*, 'and in the eighth conception the placing of myself must be done.' The Sanskrit is unhurried, almost technical: *ādhāna*, 'placing, fixing,' is the word used for the Vedic installation of the sacred fire. Viṣṇu will place himself in Devakī as the sacrificer places fire in the hearth.

The Heart of It

The verse is the Harivaṃśa's quiet acknowledgment that the way God answers Kaṃsa is not by reversing his violence before it happens. The seven are going to die. The Purāṇa does not pretend otherwise. What God does is not undo the killing but lay down an arrival that exceeds it. *Ādhānam ātmanaḥ*, the self-placement, is the decisive act. The inner register of this verse for the reader is difficult and important: bhakti in the Harivaṃśa does not promise that evil's work in the world will be prevented. It promises that a greater arrival follows. The seventh garbha will be moved; the eighth will be the Lord himself; Kaṃsa will fall. The price — six dead infants — the text does not hide. It carries them through the chapter as the cost of the tyrant's fear, and lets the arrival of the eighth answer them.

HV 47.55

त्वां तु स्तोष्यन्ति ये भक्त्या स्तवेनानेन वै शुभे । तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥

tvāṃ tu stoṣyanti ye bhaktyā stavenānena vai śubhe | tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati

Those who praise you with devotion by this hymn, auspicious one — for him I do not perish, and he does not perish for me.

The Living Words

The verse is Viṣṇu speaking to the Goddess (Yoganidrā). The construction is beautifully doubled: *tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi*, 'for him I do not perish'; *sa ca me na praṇaśyati*, 'and he does not perish for me.' The Sanskrit *na praṇaśyati*, literally 'does not get destroyed, does not get lost,' means here: is not lost to my presence. The devotee does not fall away from Viṣṇu's view; Viṣṇu does not fall away from the devotee's view. The mutual non-disappearance is the whole definition of bhakti this chapter is setting out.

The Heart of It

The verse is an unexpected theological moment in a chapter otherwise concerned with a tyrant's cruelty. In the middle of arranging the descent, Viṣṇu pauses to tell the Goddess: whoever praises you by this hymn, I will not lose them and they will not lose me. It is almost a footnote. But the footnote is exactly the Harivaṃśa's final word to any devotee who reads it. In the Varkari tradition this principle becomes *hari-bhakta na muka paḍe*, 'the devotee of Hari is never alone.' Haripāṭh 11.4 renders Jñāneśvar's version: 'Jñāneśvara says, my Hari is strong; even the Upaniṣads cannot grasp his meaning.' The strength is exactly *na praṇaśyāmi, na praṇaśyati*: we do not lose each other.

HV 47.56

भविष्यसि महाभागे वरदा कामरूपिणी । मोहयित्वा च तं कंसम् एका त्वं भोक्ष्यसे जगत् । अहम् अप्य् आत्मनो वृत्तिं विधास्ये गोषु गोपवत् । स्ववृद्ध्यर्थम् अहं चैव करिष्ये कंसघातनम् ॥

bhaviṣyasi mahābhāge varadā kāmarūpiṇī | mohayitvā ca taṃ kaṃsam ekā tvaṃ bhokṣyase jagat | aham apy ātmano vṛttiṃ vidhāsye goṣu gopavat | svavṛddhyartham ahaṃ caiva kariṣye kaṃsaghātanam

You will be, great fortune, boon-giving, of desired forms. Having deluded Kaṃsa, you alone will enjoy the world. And I will fix my own mode of life among the cows as a cowherd; and for my own increase, I will accomplish the killing of Kaṃsa.

The Living Words

The Lord assigns roles. To the Goddess: *ekā tvaṃ bhokṣyase jagat*, 'you alone will enjoy the world' — the world will belong, in some enduring sense, to her. To himself: *goṣu gopavat*, 'among the cows, as a cowherd.' The choice of *gopavat*, 'cowherd-like', is precise. Viṣṇu does not say 'I will appear as a god among men.' He says 'I will be a cowherd among cows,' indicating in a single word the entire tone of the Viṣṇu-parva to come. And *svavṛddhyartham*, 'for my own increase': the verse refuses the usual language of altruism. The Lord's action is also for the Lord's own flourishing.

The Heart of It

This is the verse in which the Viṣṇu-parva's whole register is set. God chooses to be a cowherd. He is not coming down to impress; he is coming down to live a pastoral life, tending animals, and in that life accomplishing Kaṃsa's end. Devotion's mistake, always, is to imagine the Lord arriving in splendor. The verse corrects the mistake before the descent. The form is already prescribed: *gopavat*, cowherd-like. Jñāneśvar's choice of imagery in the Haripāṭh — speech of threshold, tongue, door, and village cannot make much sense outside this verse. The god it describes is the one who has already decided to live among cows.

HV 47.57

एवं तु तां समादिश्य गतो ऽन्तर्धानम् ईश्वरः । सा चापि तं नमस्कृत्य तथास्त्व् इति विनिर्गता ॥

evaṃ tu tāṃ samādiśya gato 'ntardhānam īśvaraḥ | sā cāpi taṃ namaskṛtya tathāstv iti vinirgatā

Having thus instructed her, the Lord went into unseen-ness. And she, having bowed to him, said 'so be it' and departed.

The Living Words

The closing verse is simply a pair of exits. The Lord disappears; the Goddess bows, assents, departs. *Antardhānam* is the specialized verb for a god's withdrawal from visibility. *Tathāstu*, 'so be it', is the standard accepting formula. The verse does not dramatize either departure; the two move off stage with the ceremonial economy of a setup whose execution will require forty chapters to unfold.

The Heart of It

The chapter ends on the quiet divine logistics that are now in place beneath Kaṃsa's fear. The reader is left holding the gap between what the tyrant thinks he has arranged (the killing of seven fetuses, the guarding of Devakī, the command to his ministers) and what has actually been arranged (the descent of Viṣṇu, the role of the Goddess, the rearrangement of the seventh and eighth conceptions). The Harivaṃśa's structural point in this closing verse is that divine work does not usually announce itself. It completes its instructions and disappears from view. The reader's work in the next several chapters will be to notice the arrangement quietly taking its effect.

Thread

Across these six verses a complete rhythm: fear's command (47.1), fear's doctrine (47.2), God's counter-plan (47.10), God's promise to the devotee (47.55), God's chosen form (47.56), and the quiet departure of both god and goddess (47.57). The chapter juxtaposes a tyrant's voice with God's voice without moralizing. The tyrant's voice is loud and preemptive; God's voice is low and patient and chooses to live among cows. Everything the Viṣṇu-parva will be is already present in this adjacency.

Echo in the saints

The image of the gopavat god — God-as-cowherd — is the root image the Varkari saints build on. Tukaram sings of Vitthal not as a ruler but as a cowherd standing on a brick, waiting. Jñāneśvar's opening abhanga of the Haripāṭh places the devotee at the door of God; the whole pastoral intimacy of the Marathi devotional tradition unfolds from the Sanskrit gopavat of HV 47.56. And the mutual-non-disappearance of 47.55 — the god and the devotee who do not lose each other — is the quiet logic of the Warkari's yearly walk to Pandharpur. They walk knowing the god has not moved from the brick. The god stands knowing the walker does not forget.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 12.14

He who worships me with devotion, I am dear to him and he is dear to me.

सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः । मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर् यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥

santuṣṭaḥ satataṃ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ | mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ

Ever content, the yogin self-controlled, firm in resolve, whose mind and intellect are surrendered to me — he who is my devotee is dear to me.

The Gītā's sa me priyaḥ is the same theology as HV 47.55's na praṇaśyāmi: a mutual belonging that does not fade.

EchoesHaripāṭh, Abhaṅga 11, verse 4

The god whom even the Upaniṣads cannot fully describe is the same god who lives among cows.

ज्ञानदेव म्हणे हरि माझा समर्थ । न करवे अर्थ उपनिषदां ॥

jñānadeva mhaṇe hari mājhā samartha | na karave artha upaniṣadāṃ

Jñāneśvara says: my Hari is powerful; the Upaniṣads cannot declare his meaning.

The verse in HV 47.56, 'I will be a cowherd among cows,' is exactly the kind of divine act the Upaniṣads would struggle to describe. Jñāneśvar's confession is descended from this kind of scriptural move.

Vulgate additions for this adhyāya

One section of Appendix I attaches here. These are passages preserved in manuscripts outside the critical text.

BORI critical edition, ed. P. L. Vaidya (1969). Digital text from the GRETIL Zurich constituted text. Distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.