राम

Viṣṇu-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 97

44 versesYajñas and Order Restored

Synopsis

A declaration: "The enemies of brahman are all killed; sacrifice always, brahmins; salute Hari always; worship the Mādhava; perform rituals always; let the forest-dwellers always be your causes of knowledge." A recollection in the middle: Śauri struck fear into warring kings with his bow and the sound of the Pāñcajanya. Further in: the lightning-bolt, mace-like horns terrifying dānavas. The chapter closes: saluting the world-Lord with a straight head, the Yadavas, having received wealth, performing sacrifices with abundant dakṣiṇā, dwelt in the city Dvārakā.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse 1

हता ब्रह्मद्विषः सर्वे यजध्वं ब्राह्मणाः सदा नमस्कुरुध्वं हरये सदा नमत माधवम् यजध्वं सततं यज्ञैर् एनं लोकनमस्कृतम् आरण्यकाः सदा सन्तु भवतां ज्ञानहेतवः सादिता मौरवाः पाशा निसुन्दनरकौ हतौ कृतः क्षेमः पुनः पन्थाः पुरं प्राग्ज्योतिषं प्रति

hatā brahmadviṣaḥ sarve yajadhvaṃ brāhmaṇāḥ sadā namaskurudhvaṃ haraye sadā namata mādhavam yajadhvaṃ satataṃ yajñair enaṃ lokanamaskṛtam āraṇyakāḥ sadā santu bhavatāṃ jñānahetavaḥ sāditā mauravāḥ pāśā nisundanarakau hatau kṛtaḥ kṣemaḥ punaḥ panthāḥ puraṃ prāgjyotiṣaṃ prati

'The enemies of brahman are all slain. Brahmins, sacrifice always; salute Hari constantly, salute Mādhava. Always worship him with sacrifices, him whom the world salutes. Forest-dwellers, may you always be the causes of our knowledge.' The Mauravas were struck down...

Verse 2

भूयश् च खलु वक्ष्यामि शृणुध्वं यादवोत्तमाः यत् कृतं शौरिणा सम्यग् लोकानां हितकाम्यया शौरिणा पृथिवीपालास् त्रासिताः स्पर्धिनो युधि धनुषश् च निनादेन पाञ्चजन्यस्वनेन च

bhūyaś ca khalu vakṣyāmi śṛṇudhvaṃ yādavottamāḥ yat kṛtaṃ śauriṇā samyag lokānāṃ hitakāmyayā śauriṇā pṛthivīpālās trāsitāḥ spardhino yudhi dhanuṣaś ca ninādena pāñcajanyasvanena ca

Verse 3

मेघप्रख्यैर् अनीकैश् च दाक्षिणात्याभिरक्षिताम् रुक्मिणं युधि निर्जित्य महाबलपराक्रमम् रुक्मिणीम् आजहाराशु केशवो वृष्णिपुंगवः

meghaprakhyair anīkaiś ca dākṣiṇātyābhirakṣitām rukmiṇaṃ yudhi nirjitya mahābalaparākramam rukmiṇīm ājahārāśu keśavo vṛṣṇipuṃgavaḥ

Verse 4

ततः पर्जन्यघोषेण रथेनादित्यवर्चसा उवाह महिषीं भोजां शङ्खचक्रगदासिभृत्

tataḥ parjanyaghoṣeṇa rathenādityavarcasā uvāha mahiṣīṃ bhojāṃ śaṅkhacakragadāsibhṛt

Verse 5

जारूथ्याम् आह्वृतिः क्राथः शिशुपालश् च निर्जितः वक्त्रश् च सह सैन्येन शतधन्वा च दुर्जयः

jārūthyām āhvṛtiḥ krāthaḥ śiśupālaś ca nirjitaḥ vaktraś ca saha sainyena śatadhanvā ca durjayaḥ

Verse 6

इन्द्रद्युम्नो हतः कोपाद् यवनश् च कशेरुमान् हतः सौभपतिः साल्वः शौभश् च दृढधन्वना

indradyumno hataḥ kopād yavanaś ca kaśerumān hataḥ saubhapatiḥ sālvaḥ śaubhaś ca dṛḍhadhanvanā

Verse 7

पर्वतानां सहस्रं च चक्रेण पुरुषोत्तमः विकीर्य पुण्डरीकाक्षो द्युमत्सेनम् अपोथयत्

parvatānāṃ sahasraṃ ca cakreṇa puruṣottamaḥ vikīrya puṇḍarīkākṣo dyumatsenam apothayat

Verse 8

महेन्द्रशिखरे चैव निमेषोन्तरचारिणौ जघान यो नरव्याघ्रो रावणस्याभितश् चरौ

mahendraśikhare caiva nimeṣontaracāriṇau jaghāna yo naravyāghro rāvaṇasyābhitaś carau

Verse 9

इरावत्यां महाभोजाव् अग्निसूर्यसमौ युधि गोपतिस् तालकेतुश् च निहतौ शार्ङ्गधन्वना

irāvatyāṃ mahābhojāv agnisūryasamau yudhi gopatis tālaketuś ca nihatau śārṅgadhanvanā

Verse 10

अक्षप्रपतने चैव निमिर् हंसश् च दानवौ उभौ ताव् अपि कृष्णेन सराष्ट्रौ विनिपातितौ

akṣaprapatane caiva nimir haṃsaś ca dānavau ubhau tāv api kṛṣṇena sarāṣṭrau vinipātitau

Verse 11

दग्धा वाराणसी चैव केशवेन महात्मना सानुबन्धः सराष्ट्रश् च काशीनाम् अधिपो हतः

dagdhā vārāṇasī caiva keśavena mahātmanā sānubandhaḥ sarāṣṭraś ca kāśīnām adhipo hataḥ

Verse 12

विजित्य च यमः संख्ये शरैः संनतपर्वभिः अथैन्द्रसेनिर् आनीतः कृष्णेनाद्भुतकर्मणा

vijitya ca yamaḥ saṃkhye śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ athaindrasenir ānītaḥ kṛṣṇenādbhutakarmaṇā

Verse 13

सहितः सर्वयादोभिः सागरेषु महाबलः प्राप्य लोहितकूटानि कृष्णेन वरुणो जितः

sahitaḥ sarvayādobhiḥ sāgareṣu mahābalaḥ prāpya lohitakūṭāni kṛṣṇena varuṇo jitaḥ

Verse 14

महेन्द्रभवने जातो देवैर् गुप्तो महात्मभिः अचिन्तयित्वा देवेन्द्रं पारिजातद्रुमो हृतः

mahendrabhavane jāto devair gupto mahātmabhiḥ acintayitvā devendraṃ pārijātadrumo hṛtaḥ

Verse 15

पाण्ड्यं पौण्ड्रं च मत्स्यं च कलिङ्गं च जनार्दनः जघान सहितान् सर्वान् वङ्गराजं तथैव च

pāṇḍyaṃ pauṇḍraṃ ca matsyaṃ ca kaliṅgaṃ ca janārdanaḥ jaghāna sahitān sarvān vaṅgarājaṃ tathaiva ca

Verse 16

एष चैकशतं हत्वा रणे राज्ञां महात्मनाम् गान्धारीम् आवहद् धीमान् महिषीं प्रियदर्शनाम्

eṣa caikaśataṃ hatvā raṇe rājñāṃ mahātmanām gāndhārīm āvahad dhīmān mahiṣīṃ priyadarśanām

Verse 17

तथा गाण्डीवधन्वानं क्रीडन्तं मधुसूदनः जिगाय भरत श्रेष्ठं कुन्त्याः प्रमुखतो विभुः

tathā gāṇḍīvadhanvānaṃ krīḍantaṃ madhusūdanaḥ jigāya bharata śreṣṭhaṃ kuntyāḥ pramukhato vibhuḥ

Verse 18

द्रोणं द्रौणिं कृपं कर्णं भीमसेनं सुयोधनम् चक्रानुयाते सहिताञ् जिगाय पुरुषोत्तमः

droṇaṃ drauṇiṃ kṛpaṃ karṇaṃ bhīmasenaṃ suyodhanam cakrānuyāte sahitāñ jigāya puruṣottamaḥ

Verse 19

बभ्रोश् च प्रियम् अन्विच्छञ् शङ्खचक्रगदासिभृत् सौवीरराजस्य सुतां प्रसह्य हृतवान् प्रभुः

babhroś ca priyam anvicchañ śaṅkhacakragadāsibhṛt sauvīrarājasya sutāṃ prasahya hṛtavān prabhuḥ

Verse 20

पर्यस्तां पृथिवीं कृत्स्नां साश्वां सरथकुञ्जराम् वेणुदारिकृते यत्नाज् जिगाय पुरुषोत्तमः

paryastāṃ pṛthivīṃ kṛtsnāṃ sāśvāṃ sarathakuñjarām veṇudārikṛte yatnāj jigāya puruṣottamaḥ

Verse 21

अवाप्य तपसो वीर्यं बलम् ओजश् च माधवः पूर्वदेहे जहारायं बलेस् त्रिभुवनं हरिः

avāpya tapaso vīryaṃ balam ojaś ca mādhavaḥ pūrvadehe jahārāyaṃ bales tribhuvanaṃ hariḥ

Verse 22

वज्राशनिगदाशृङ्गैस् त्रासयद्भिश् च दानवैः यस्य नाधिगतो मृत्युः पुरं प्राग्ज्योतिषं प्रति

vajrāśanigadāśṛṅgais trāsayadbhiś ca dānavaiḥ yasya nādhigato mṛtyuḥ puraṃ prāgjyotiṣaṃ prati

With thunder-bolt and club-horns terrifying the dānavas; for whom no death was attained — against the city of Prāgjyotiṣa.

Verse 23

अभिभूतश् च कृष्णेन सगणः स महाबलः बलेः पुत्रो महावीर्यो बाणो द्रविणवत्तरः

abhibhūtaś ca kṛṣṇena sagaṇaḥ sa mahābalaḥ baleḥ putro mahāvīryo bāṇo draviṇavattaraḥ

Verse 24

जरासंधं महावीर्यं महोत्साहं महाबलम् असकृज् जितवान् कृष्णो लीलया पुरुषोत्तमः पीठं तथा महाबाहुः कंसामात्यं जनार्दनः पैठिकं चासिलोमानं निजघान महाबलः

jarāsaṃdhaṃ mahāvīryaṃ mahotsāhaṃ mahābalam asakṛj jitavān kṛṣṇo līlayā puruṣottamaḥ pīṭhaṃ tathā mahābāhuḥ kaṃsāmātyaṃ janārdanaḥ paiṭhikaṃ cāsilomānaṃ nijaghāna mahābalaḥ

Verse 25

जम्भम् ऐरावतं चापि विरूपं च महायशाः जघान पुरुषव्याघ्रः शम्बरं चारिमर्दनः

jambham airāvataṃ cāpi virūpaṃ ca mahāyaśāḥ jaghāna puruṣavyāghraḥ śambaraṃ cārimardanaḥ

Verse 26

तथा नागपतिं तोये कालियं च महौजसम् निर्जित्य पुण्डरीकाक्षः प्रेषयाम् आस सागरम्

tathā nāgapatiṃ toye kāliyaṃ ca mahaujasam nirjitya puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ preṣayām āsa sāgaram

Verse 27

संजीवयाम् आस मृतं पुत्रं सांदीपनेस् तथा निर्जित्य पुरुषव्याघ्रो यमं वैवस्वतं हरिः

saṃjīvayām āsa mṛtaṃ putraṃ sāṃdīpanes tathā nirjitya puruṣavyāghro yamaṃ vaivasvataṃ hariḥ

Verse 28

एवम् एष महाबाहुः शास्ता सर्वदुरात्मनाम्

evam eṣa mahābāhuḥ śāstā sarvadurātmanām

Verse 29

देवांश् च ब्राह्मणांश् चैव ये द्विषन्ति सदा नृप दैत्यानां दानवानां च राक्षसानां जनार्दनः निहत्य नरकं भौमम् आहृत्य मणिकुण्डले देवमातुर् ददौ चापि प्रीत्यर्थं वज्रपाणिनः

devāṃś ca brāhmaṇāṃś caiva ye dviṣanti sadā nṛpa daityānāṃ dānavānāṃ ca rākṣasānāṃ janārdanaḥ nihatya narakaṃ bhaumam āhṛtya maṇikuṇḍale devamātur dadau cāpi prītyarthaṃ vajrapāṇinaḥ

Verse 30

प्राप्तं च दिवि देवेषु केशवेन महद् यशः एवं स देवदैत्यानां सुराणां च महायशाः भयाभयकरः कृष्णः सर्वलोकेश्वरो विभुः

prāptaṃ ca divi deveṣu keśavena mahad yaśaḥ evaṃ sa devadaityānāṃ surāṇāṃ ca mahāyaśāḥ bhayābhayakaraḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sarvalokeśvaro vibhuḥ

Verse 31

संस्थाप्य धर्मान् मर्त्येषु यज्ञैर् इष्ट्वाप्तदक्षिणैः कृत्वा देवार्थम् अमितं स्वस्थानं प्रतिपत्स्यते

saṃsthāpya dharmān martyeṣu yajñair iṣṭvāptadakṣiṇaiḥ kṛtvā devārtham amitaṃ svasthānaṃ pratipatsyate

Verse 32

कृष्णो भोगवतीं रम्याम् ऋषिकान्तां महायशाः द्वारकाम् आत्मसात्कृत्वा समुद्रं गमयिष्यति

kṛṣṇo bhogavatīṃ ramyām ṛṣikāntāṃ mahāyaśāḥ dvārakām ātmasātkṛtvā samudraṃ gamayiṣyati

Verse 33

बहुरत्नसमाकीर्णा चैत्ययूपशताङ्किता द्वारका वरुणावासं प्रवेक्ष्यति सकानना

bahuratnasamākīrṇā caityayūpaśatāṅkitā dvārakā varuṇāvāsaṃ pravekṣyati sakānanā

Verse 34

तां सूर्यसदनप्रख्यां मतज्ञः शार्ङ्गधन्वनः विसृष्टां वासुदेवेन सागरः प्लावयिष्यति

tāṃ sūryasadanaprakhyāṃ matajñaḥ śārṅgadhanvanaḥ visṛṣṭāṃ vāsudevena sāgaraḥ plāvayiṣyati

Verse 35

सुरासुरमनुष्येषु नासिन् न भविता क्वचित् य इमाम् आवसेत् कश्चिद् अन्यत्र मधुसूदनात्

surāsuramanuṣyeṣu nāsin na bhavitā kvacit ya imām āvaset kaścid anyatra madhusūdanāt

Verse 36

एवम् एष दशार्हाणां विधाय विधिना विधिम् विष्णुर् नारायणः सोमः सूर्यश् च भविता स्वयम्

evam eṣa daśārhāṇāṃ vidhāya vidhinā vidhim viṣṇur nārāyaṇaḥ somaḥ sūryaś ca bhavitā svayam

Verse 37

अप्रमेयो ऽनियोज्यश् च यत्रकामगमो वशी मोदत्य् एष सदा भूतैर् बालः क्रीडनकैर् इव

aprameyo 'niyojyaś ca yatrakāmagamo vaśī modaty eṣa sadā bhūtair bālaḥ krīḍanakair iva

Verse 38

न प्रमातुं महाबाहुः शक्यो ऽयं मधुसूदनः प्रमाणं ह्य् अत्र विच्छिन्नं प्रमाणं सर्ववस्तुषु यतो ऽयं देवदेवेशो न प्रमाणे प्रमा भवेत् परं ह्य् अपरम् एतस्माद् विश्वरूपान् न विद्यते

na pramātuṃ mahābāhuḥ śakyo 'yaṃ madhusūdanaḥ pramāṇaṃ hy atra vicchinnaṃ pramāṇaṃ sarvavastuṣu yato 'yaṃ devadeveśo na pramāṇe pramā bhavet paraṃ hy aparam etasmād viśvarūpān na vidyate

Verse 39

स्तव्यो ऽयम् एवं शतशस् तथा शतसहस्रशः अन्तो हि कर्मणाम् अस्य दृष्टपूर्वो न केनचित्

stavyo 'yam evaṃ śataśas tathā śatasahasraśaḥ anto hi karmaṇām asya dṛṣṭapūrvo na kenacit

Verse 40

एवम् एतानि कर्माणि शिशुर् मध्यवयास् तथा कृतवान् पुण्डरीकाक्षः संकर्षणसहायवान्

evam etāni karmāṇi śiśur madhyavayās tathā kṛtavān puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ saṃkarṣaṇasahāyavān

Verse 41

इत्य् उवाच पुरा व्यासस् तपोदीर्घेण चक्षुषा महायोगी महाबुद्धिः सर्वप्रत्यक्षदर्शिवान्

ity uvāca purā vyāsas tapodīrgheṇa cakṣuṣā mahāyogī mahābuddhiḥ sarvapratyakṣadarśivān

Verse 42

इति संस्तूय गोविन्दं महेन्द्रवचनाद् ऋषिः यदुभिः पूजितः सर्वैर् नारदस् त्रिदिवं गतः

iti saṃstūya govindaṃ mahendravacanād ṛṣiḥ yadubhiḥ pūjitaḥ sarvair nāradas tridivaṃ gataḥ

Verse 43

ततस् तद् वसु गोविन्दो दिदेशान्धकवृष्णिषु यथार्हं पुण्डरीकाक्षो विधिवन् मधुसूदनः

tatas tad vasu govindo dideśāndhakavṛṣṇiṣu yathārhaṃ puṇḍarīkākṣo vidhivan madhusūdanaḥ

Verse 44

नमस्कृत्य जगन्नथं शिरसा सुप्रसारिणा यादवाश् च धनं प्राप्य विधिवद् भूरिदक्षिणैः यज्ञैर् इष्ट्वा महात्मानो द्वारकाम् आवसन् पुरीम्

namaskṛtya jagannathaṃ śirasā suprasāriṇā yādavāś ca dhanaṃ prāpya vidhivad bhūridakṣiṇaiḥ yajñair iṣṭvā mahātmāno dvārakām āvasan purīm

Saluting the World-Lord with a straight head, the Yādavas, having received wealth, performing sacrifices as prescribed with abundant dakṣiṇā, the great-souled ones dwelt in Dvārakā city.

Verse commentary

Nārada's Recital of Kṛṣṇa's Deeds and the Unmeasurable Lord

नारदेन कृष्णकर्माणां अप्रमाणस्य प्रभोर् वर्णनम्

Verses 1, 3, 15, 18, 33, 38, 40: the proclamation that all brahmin-haters are slain and Hari is to be worshiped, the bringing of Rukmiṇī by defeating Rukmī, the conquest of Pāṇḍya, Pauṇḍra, Matsya, Kaliṅga, Vaṅga-rāja, the subjugation of Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpa, Karṇa, Bhīma, Duryodhana, Dvārakā destined to enter the sea as Varuṇa's abode, the theological formulation that the Lord exceeds all measure, and the declaration that he has done all this as child and youth together with Saṅkarṣaṇa. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 97 is the summary-speech chapter — Nārada reciting to the Yādavas the full list of Kṛṣṇa's deeds, from the slaying of the brahmin-haters to the conquest of the southern kingdoms, to the subjugation of the Mahābhārata-heroes before they even reach the Kurukṣetra war. The chapter's force is cumulative: fifty exploits in quick succession, building up to the most important Vedantic statement in the whole Harivaṃśa — *na pramātuṃ mahābāhuḥ śakyo 'yaṃ madhusūdanaḥ; pramāṇaṃ hy atra vicchinnam*. 'The great-armed Madhusūdana cannot be measured; measure has ceased'. The chapter ends with Nārada's quiet observation: all of this was done while Kṛṣṇa was still a child and a youth (*śiśur madhya-vayās*), together with his brother. The Harivaṃśa's grandest catalogue of deeds is compressed into one question: who else is this?

HV 97.1

हता ब्रह्मद्विषः सर्वे यजध्वं ब्राह्मणाः सदा । नमस्कुरुध्वं हरये सदा नमत माधवम् । यजध्वं सततं यज्ञैर् एनं लोकनमस्कृतम् ॥

hatā brahma-dviṣaḥ sarve yajadhvaṃ brāhmaṇāḥ sadā | namas-kurudhvaṃ haraye sadā namata mādhavam | yajadhvaṃ satataṃ yajñair enaṃ loka-namas-kṛtam

'All brahmin-haters are slain; sacrifice always, brāhmaṇas. Bow to Hari always, salute Mādhava. Sacrifice continually with sacrifices to this world-saluted one.'

The Living Words

*Hatā brahma-dviṣaḥ sarve*, 'all brahmin-haters slain'. *Yajadhvaṃ brāhmaṇāḥ sadā*, 'sacrifice always, brāhmaṇas'. *Namas-kurudhvaṃ haraye*, 'bow to Hari'. *Namata mādhavam*, 'salute Mādhava'. *Yajadhvaṃ satataṃ yajñaiḥ*, 'sacrifice continually with sacrifices'.

The Heart of It

The verse is a liturgical command. *Namas-kurudhvaṃ haraye sadā namata mādhavam* — 'bow to Hari always, salute Mādhava'. The Varkari tradition has carried this *sadā namata* — 'always bow' — into every abhaṅga's refrain. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's constant *sadā* — *sadā smara, sadā bhaja, sadā nāma gā* — has HV 97.1 as its Sanskrit source. *Yajadhvaṃ satatam* — 'continually sacrifice' — names what the Name-kīrtan is: a continual sacrifice not at an altar but on the tongue.

HV 97.3

मेघप्रख्यैर् अनीकैश् च दाक्षिणात्याभिरक्षिताम् । रुक्मिणं युधि निर्जित्य महाबलपराक्रमम् । रुक्मिणीम् आजहाराशु केशवो वृष्णिपुंगवः ॥

megha-prakhyair anīkaiś ca dākṣiṇātyābhirakṣitām | rukmiṇaṃ yudhi nirjitya mahā-bala-parākramam | rukmiṇīm ājahārāśu keśavo vṛṣṇi-puṃgavaḥ

Defeating in combat the mighty Rukmī — [who was] guarded by cloud-like southern armies — Keśava the Vṛṣṇi-bull quickly carried off Rukmiṇī.

The Living Words

*Megha-prakhyair anīkaiḥ*, 'with cloud-like armies'. *Dākṣiṇātyābhirakṣitām*, 'guarded by southerners'. *Rukmiṇaṃ yudhi nirjitya*, 'defeating Rukmī in combat'. *Rukmiṇīm ājahāra āśu*, 'quickly carried off Rukmiṇī'.

The Heart of It

The verse is the summary of one of the Purāṇas' great romantic narratives. *Rukmiṇīm ājahāra āśu* — 'quickly carried off Rukmiṇī'. The Varkari tradition's tenderness toward Rukmiṇī — the elder queen, the soul of the household — has this verse as its Sanskrit warrant. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh sings *Rakhumāī* (Rukmiṇī) at Paṇḍharpūr alongside Pāṇḍuraṅga; HV 97.3's *ājahāra āśu* names the moment when the bride left her brother's house to enter the Lord's.

HV 97.15

पाण्ड्यं पौण्ड्रं च मत्स्यं च कलिङ्गं च जनार्दनः । जघान सहितान् सर्वान् वङ्गराजं तथैव च ॥

pāṇḍyaṃ pauṇḍraṃ ca matsyaṃ ca kaliṅgaṃ ca janārdanaḥ | jaghāna sahitān sarvān vaṅga-rājaṃ tathaiva ca

Pāṇḍya, Pauṇḍra, Matsya, Kaliṅga — Janārdana slew all together — and the Vaṅga-king likewise.

The Living Words

*Pāṇḍyaṃ pauṇḍraṃ matsyaṃ kaliṅgaṃ*, 'the Pāṇḍya, Pauṇḍra, Matsya, Kaliṅga kings'. *Jaghāna sahitān sarvān*, 'killed all together'. *Vaṅga-rājam tathaiva ca*, 'and the Vaṅga-king likewise'.

The Heart of It

The verse names kings from across the whole Bhārata-varṣa: Pāṇḍya (south), Pauṇḍra (east), Matsya (center), Kaliṅga (east-coast), Vaṅga (far east). The Varkari tradition's observation: the Lord's work is not regional. He is not merely Yādava or northern; he is of all directions, and the kings of every direction have been brought into the one circle. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's sense that the Name gathers all regions of the land — Marāṭhī, Tamil, Bengālī, Oriyā — is HV 97.15's Sanskrit corollary.

HV 97.18

द्रोणं द्रौणिं कृपं कर्णं भीमसेनं सुयोधनम् । चक्रानुयाते सहितान् जिगाय पुरुषोत्तमः ॥

droṇaṃ drauṇiṃ kṛpaṃ karṇaṃ bhīma-senaṃ suyodhanam | cakrānuyāte sahitāñ jigāya puruṣottamaḥ

Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpa, Karṇa, Bhīmasena, Duryodhana — together in the wheel's-following — Puruṣottama defeated.

The Living Words

*Droṇam, drauṇim, kṛpam, karṇam, bhīma-senam, suyodhanam*, 'Droṇa, son-of-Droṇa, Kṛpa, Karṇa, Bhīma, Suyodhana (Duryodhana)'. *Cakrānuyāte sahitān*, 'together in the wheel's-following'. *Jigāya*, 'defeated'.

The Heart of It

The verse is a theological thunderclap. The same heroes who will fight the eighteen-day war at Kurukṣetra have already been *jigāya*, defeated, by Kṛṣṇa. The Varkari tradition's reading: the characters of the Mahābhārata are, in the Harivaṃśa's view, already dealt-with before the Kurukṣetra war begins. Their later stories are not the first time they meet the Lord. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's confidence that every enemy of the bhakta has been pre-defeated, and is only working out the consequence of an earlier encounter, has HV 97.18 as its cosmological warrant.

HV 97.33

बहुरत्नसमाकीर्णा चैत्ययूपशताङ्किता । द्वारका वरुणावासं प्रवेक्ष्यति सकानना ॥

bahu-ratna-samākīrṇā caitya-yūpa-śatāṅkitā | dvārakā varuṇāvāsaṃ pravekṣyati sa-kānanā

'Thronged with many jewels, marked by hundreds of sacred yūpas, Dvārakā — with her gardens — shall enter Varuṇa's abode.'

The Living Words

*Bahu-ratna-samākīrṇā*, 'thronged with many jewels'. *Caitya-yūpa-śatāṅkitā*, 'marked by hundreds of caitya-yūpas (sacrificial posts)'. *Varuṇāvāsaṃ pravekṣyati*, 'shall enter Varuṇa's abode (the sea)'. *Sa-kānanā*, 'with her gardens'.

The Heart of It

The verse is the Harivaṃśa's prophecy of Dvārakā's end. *Varuṇāvāsaṃ pravekṣyati* — 'she shall enter Varuṇa's abode'. The city that Viśvakarmā built will one day sink into the sea. The Varkari tradition's sober reading: every built-up sacred place has its ocean-fate. Even the Lord's own city is not permanent; but it was sacred while it stood. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's ability to sing of sacred places without clinging — because every *caitya-yūpa* will eventually rejoin Varuṇa — has HV 97.33 as its philosophical ground. The sacred is not the permanent.

HV 97.38

न प्रमातुं महाबाहुः शक्यो ऽयं मधुसूदनः । प्रमाणं ह्य् अत्र विच्छिन्नं प्रमाणं सर्ववस्तुषु । यतो ऽयं देवदेवेशो न प्रमाणे प्रमा भवेत् । परं ह्य् अपरम् एतस्माद् विश्वरूपान् न विद्यते ॥

na pramātuṃ mahā-bāhuḥ śakyo 'yaṃ madhusūdanaḥ | pramāṇaṃ hy atra vicchinnaṃ pramāṇaṃ sarva-vastuṣu | yato 'yaṃ deva-deveśo na pramāṇe pramā bhavet | paraṃ hy aparam etasmād viśva-rūpān na vidyate

'This great-armed Madhusūdana cannot be measured; measure has been cut off here — [though he is] the measure in all things. For of this god-of-gods there is no measure-of-measure. Nothing higher or lower than this Viśvarūpa is known.'

The Living Words

*Na pramātuṃ śakyaḥ*, 'cannot be measured'. *Pramāṇaṃ vicchinnam*, 'measure cut off'. *Pramāṇaṃ sarva-vastuṣu*, 'the measure in all things'. *Na pramāṇe pramā bhavet*, 'there cannot be a pramā (valid cognition) of the pramāṇa'. *Viśva-rūpāt paraṃ aparaṃ na vidyate*, 'higher or lower than this Viśvarūpa is not known'.

The Heart of It

The verse is the Harivaṃśa's highest Vedantic statement. *Pramāṇaṃ hy atra vicchinnam* — 'measure has been cut off here'. The Lord is *pramāṇa* for all things, but no *pramāṇa* reaches him. The Varkari tradition's love of this paradox: the *pramātā* (the knower) can know things by the Lord's light, but the Lord himself is beyond the knower-known distinction. Jñāneśvar's Amṛtānubhava's central teaching — that the Lord cannot be reached by *pramāṇas* because he is the *pramāṇa* of all — has HV 97.38 as one of its Sanskrit grandparents. *Paraṃ aparaṃ na vidyate* — 'no higher or lower is known' — is the Name's absolute.

HV 97.40

एवम् एतानि कर्माणि शिशुर् मध्यवयास् तथा । कृतवान् पुण्डरीकाक्षः संकर्षणसहायवान् ॥

evam etāni karmāṇi śiśur madhya-vayās tathā | kṛtavān puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ saṃkarṣaṇa-sahāyavān

'Thus these deeds were done — as a child and then in middle age — by the lotus-eyed one, with Saṅkarṣaṇa as his helper.'

The Living Words

*Śiśur madhya-vayāḥ*, 'as a child and in middle age'. *Kṛtavān puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ*, 'done by the lotus-eyed'. *Saṃkarṣaṇa-sahāyavān*, 'with Saṅkarṣaṇa as helper'.

The Heart of It

The verse is the chapter's quiet closing. *Śiśur madhya-vayāḥ* — 'as a child and in middle age' — all these vast deeds were done at two stages of life, not through long labor. The Varkari tradition's reading: what the Lord does is not graded by time; the child's work and the middle-aged man's work are the same work. And *saṃkarṣaṇa-sahāyavān* — 'with Saṅkarṣaṇa as helper' — reminds the reader that no great work is ever done alone. The Lord himself has a brother-helper. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's tenderness toward companionship in bhakti, its refusal to imagine the lone hero, has HV 97.40 as its Sanskrit warrant.

Thread

The seven verses trace the chapter's arc: the liturgical proclamation of Hari's victory (97.1), the bringing of Rukmiṇī (97.3), the sweep of southern and eastern kings conquered (97.15), the Mahābhārata-heroes already defeated (97.18), the prophecy that Dvārakā will enter the sea (97.33), the philosophical climax that the Lord cannot be measured (97.38), and the quiet closing that all was done as child and youth with Saṅkarṣaṇa (97.40). The Harivaṃśa's grandest deed-catalogue framed by theology.

Echo in the saints

HV 97.38 — *pramāṇaṃ hy atra vicchinnam* — is cited by Warkari philosophers as the Harivaṃśa's clearest Vedantic moment. The Lord who walks through the stories of the preceding ninety-six chapters is, simultaneously, *pramāṇa-vicchinna* — the Lord for whom measure has ceased. The devotional narrative and the Vedantic principle are the same Lord, read with two eyes. Jñāneśvar's Amṛtānubhava makes the same argument at greater length; HV 97.38 compresses it into one śloka. And HV 97.40's *saṃkarṣaṇa-sahāyavān* is, for the Warkaris, the Sanskrit ground of the Viṭṭhala-Balabhadra pairing: no great work is done alone, not even by the Lord.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 10.19

The Lord is measureless, yet he measures everything.

हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः । प्राधान्यतः कुरुश्रेष्ठ नास्त्यन्तो विस्तरस्य मे ॥

hanta te kathayiṣyāmi divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ | prādhānyataḥ kuru-śreṣṭha nāsty anto vistarasya me

Now I shall tell you — only the principal ones — of my divine self-manifestations, Kuru-best; there is no end to my extent.

HV 97.38's pramāṇaṃ vicchinnam is the Gītā's nāsty anto vistarasya me. The Lord's extent has no end — the measure is cut off. The two verses frame the entire Harivaṃśa's deed-catalogue: even a hundred chapters of deeds are, the scripture admits, only the prādhānya, the principal sample.

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