विष्णुपुराणम् — पञ्चमांशः

Summary AI Kaṃsa drives the chariot of Vasudeva until a voice foretells his death by Devakī’s eighth child. At the Kṣīrasāgara, Viṣṇu plucks a white and a black hair to signal the descent of his portions. He commands Yoganidrā to transfer the seventh embryo to Rohiṇī and prepares to enter Devakī’s womb himself.

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पञ्चमांशे द्वितीयोऽध्यायः

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पञ्चमांशे तृतीयोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa is born and exchanged for a girl.

Summary AI Janārdana is born at midnight with four arms and the śrīvatsa mark before assuming a child’s form. Vasudeva carries the infant across the Yamunā, shielded by Śeṣa, and swaps him for the daughter of Yaśodā. When Kaṃsa hurls the girl, she rises into the sky warning him that his slayer is born.

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पञ्चमांशे चतुर्थोऽध्यायः

Kaṃsa orders the killing of children.

Summary AI Kaṃsa summons asura leaders like Pralamba to mock the gods. He orders his followers to slaughter anyone performing yajña or children displaying power. Believing his slayer is elsewhere, he liberates Vasudeva and Devakī from their chains and apologizes for the deaths of their earlier sons before retreating into his inner chambers.

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पञ्चमांशे पञ्चमोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa kills Pūtanā and Nanda performs rituals.

Summary AI The demoness Pūtanā attempts to nurse the infant Kṛṣṇa, who drains her life-force. Nanda recites a protection prayer, invoking the Varāha, Nṛsiṃha, and Vāmana forms to guard Kṛṣṇa’s limbs and senses from malevolent spirits. Yaśodā waves a cow-tail over the child to ward off evil.

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पञ्चमांशे षष्ठोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa's childhood and move to Vṛndāvana.

Summary AI The infant Kṛṣṇa kicks over a śakaṭa. Garga secretly names the brothers Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. When Yaśodā tethers Kṛṣṇa to an ulūkhala, he uproots two arjuna trees. This earns him the name Dāmodara. The cowherds relocate to Vṛndāvana, where the boys wear peacock feathers and play flutes in the forest.

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पञ्चमांशे सप्तमोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa subdues the serpent Kāliya.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa enters the Yamunā to confront the serpent Kāliya. He dances upon the serpent's hoods until it vomits blood. The nāgapatnī wives plead for mercy. Kṛṣṇa spares the serpent and banishes him to the ocean, restoring the river to its natural purity as he returns home to Vraja.

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पञ्चमांशे अष्टमोऽध्यायः

Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa defeat the demon Dhenuka.

Summary AI Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa lead cattle to a grove guarded by the ass-demon Dhenuka. When the brothers shake the trees, Dhenuka kicks Balarāma. Balarāma whirls the demon by the legs until dead and hurls the carcass into the trees. They defeat Dhenuka’s kin in the same manner, leaving the cows to graze.

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पञ्चमांशे नवमोऽध्यायः

Balarāma defeats Pralamba in the forest.

Summary AI The demon Pralamba joins the cowherds’ games disguised as a boy. During a match, the demon seizes Balarāma and expands into a mountain-like form. Recalling his strength as the eternal cause of the universe, Balarāma strikes the demon’s head with his fist, crushing his skull.

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पञ्चमांशे दशमोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa convinces cowherds to worship a mountain.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa challenges a festival for Indra, arguing that forest-dwellers depend on cattle and mountains. Following his counsel, the cowherds offer grain and curds to Govardhana hill. Kṛṣṇa assumes a massive form atop the peak to consume the offerings while his original self joins the people in worship.

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पञ्चमांशे एकादशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa lifts a mountain to shield the cowherds.

Summary AI Indra commands saṃvartaka clouds to destroy Gokula with rain. To protect the cattle, Kṛṣṇa uproots the Govardhana mountain and holds it aloft with one hand. The community shelters beneath the stone for seven nights. Once Indra admits defeat, the people return to their homes, and Kṛṣṇa restores the mountain.

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पञ्चमांशे द्वादशोऽध्यायः

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पञ्चमांशे त्रयोदशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa performs the rāsa dance.

Summary AI On an autumn night, Kṛṣṇa’s melody draws the gopīs into the forest. He leads the rāsa dance, multiplying his form so each woman holds his hand. Despite prohibitions, the gopīs sport with the youth who remains situated within every living being as the ātman.

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पञ्चमांशे चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa kills the bull-demon Ariṣṭa.

Summary AI The demon Ariṣṭa enters the settlement as a dark bull. Kṛṣṇa seizes the bull’s horns, strikes its belly with his knee, and wrings its neck. After tearing out a horn to kill the demon, Kṛṣṇa receives the praise of the cowherds.

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पञ्चमांशे पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः

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पञ्चमांशे षोडशोऽध्यायः

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पञ्चमांशे सप्तदशोऽध्यायः

Akrūra meets Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

Summary AI Akrūra arrives at Nanda's village at sunset. He finds Kṛṣṇa, skin the color of a blue lotus and chest marked with the śrīvatsa. Beside him stands Balarāma in blue robes. Akrūra descends from his chariot to offer respects, seeking refuge from the tyrant Kaṃsa.

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पञ्चमांशे अष्टादशोऽध्यायः

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पञ्चमांशे ऊनविंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa and Rāma enter Mathurā.

Summary AI Akrūra drives Kṛṣṇa and Rāma to Mathurā. Entering the city on foot, the brothers encounter a royal washerman. When he insults them, Kṛṣṇa kills him and dons his robes. A florist welcomes them with garlands. Kṛṣṇa grants the florist's lineage lasting wealth before exploring the streets.

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पञ्चमांशे विंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma kill the wrestlers and Kaṃsa.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa heals the hunchbacked Kubjā and breaks a royal bow. After slaying the elephant Kuvalayāpīḍa, the brothers enter the arena. Kṛṣṇa crushes Cāṇūra while Balarāma kills Muṣṭika. Kṛṣṇa leaps onto the dais, drags Kaṃsa by the hair, and kills him. Vasudeva and Devakī acknowledge Kṛṣṇa as the world's creator.

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पञ्चमांशे एकविंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa crowns Ugrasena and retrieves his teacher's dead son.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa uses māyā to convince his parents he is their child. After consoling the widows of Kaṃsa, he installs Ugrasena on the throne and secures the sudharmā assembly hall from Indra. Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa travel to Avantī to serve the teacher Sāndīpani, mastering the Vedas and dhanurveda in sixty-four days. Kṛṣṇa slays the demon Pañcajana to claim a conch and descends to the city of Yama to retrieve his teacher's deceased son as guru-dakṣiṇā.

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पञ्चमांशे द्वाविंशोऽध्यायः

Jarāsandha attacks Mathurā and Kṛṣṇa defeats him eighteen times.

Summary AI Jarāsandha leads twenty-three akṣauhiṇīs to besiege Mathurā. The Śārṅga bow, the Kaumodakī club, and a celestial plow descend from the sky to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. The brothers defeat the Magadhan army eighteen times, forcing Jarāsandha to retreat. Kṛṣṇa employs political strategies and retreats when necessary to fulfill a human role. Jarāsandha survives each encounter, retreating with a small remnant of his troops while Kṛṣṇa’s will sustains the world.

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पञ्चमांशे त्रयोविंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa builds Dvārakā and Mucukunda destroys Kālayavana.

Summary AI Gārgya fathers Kālayavana to destroy the Yādavas. To shield Mathurā, Kṛṣṇa builds the fortress of Dvārakā within the sea and leads the Yavana king into a cave. There, the warrior Mucukunda rests under a boon. Mistaking him for Kṛṣṇa, Kālayavana kicks the sleeper, whose waking gaze burns the invader to ashes. Recognizing Viṣṇu, Mucukunda abandons his royal pride and petitions for release from the cycle of saṃsāra.

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पञ्चमांशे चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः

Mucukunda leaves and Balarāma visits the cowherds in Gokula.

Summary AI Mucukunda receives Kṛṣṇa’s blessing and departs for Gandhamādana after observing the diminished humans of the Kaliyuga. Kṛṣṇa delivers the spoils of war to King Ugrasena. Balarāma returns to the village of Nanda to embrace his kinsmen. The gopīs voice their sense of abandonment by Kṛṣṇa, but Balarāma consoles them with messages before joining the cowherds in their daily play.

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पञ्चमांशे पञ्चविंशोऽध्यायः

Balarāma pulls the Yamunā river with his plow.

Summary AI Balarāma drinks wine from a kadamba tree among the cowherds. In his intoxication, he commands the river Yamunā to approach him. When the river ignores him, he hooks her with his hala and drags her, carving a new path. The personified river appears in fear to plead for mercy. After bathing, Balarāma receives blue garments and ornaments from Lakṣmī. He eventually returns to Dvārakā and marries Revatī, daughter of King Raivata.

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पञ्चमांशे षड्विंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa carries away Rukmiṇī and marries her.

Summary AI King Bhīṣmaka betrothes Rukmiṇī to Śiśupāla. Kṛṣṇa arrives in Kuṇḍina and abducts the princess on the eve of the ceremony. While Balarāma repels the pursuing kings, Kṛṣṇa defeats Rukmī in single combat. Kṛṣṇa marries Rukmiṇī through the rākṣasa rite. Their son, Pradyumna, is an incarnation of Madana who eventually slays the demon Śambara.

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पञ्चमांशे सप्तविंशोऽध्यायः

Pradyumna kills Śambara and returns to Dvāravatī.

Summary AI The demon Śambara casts the infant Pradyumna into the ocean. A fish swallows the child and is delivered to the demon’s palace. Māyāvatī discovers the boy within the fish and raises him. Once grown, Pradyumna employs magical powers to slay Śambara and returns to Dvāravatī. Nārada identifies the youth as the son of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī, revealing that Pradyumna and Māyāvatī are the earthly forms of Kāma and Rati.

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पञ्चमांशे अष्टाविंशोऽध्यायः

Balarāma kills Rukmin after a disputed dice game.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa begets many sons with his wives. For the marriage of Aniruddha, the Yādavas travel to Bhojakaṭa, where Rukmin challenges Balarāma to a game of dice. When Rukmin falsely claims victory and mocks Balarāma, a celestial voice confirms the Yādava win. Enraged, Balarāma kills Rukmin with the golden aṣṭāpada board and smashes the teeth of the King of Kaliṅga before departing for Dvārakā.

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पञ्चमांशे ऊनत्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa defeats Naraka and retrieves stolen divine items.

Summary AI Indra arrives at Dvāravatī on the elephant Airāvata to report the thefts of the demon Naraka. Kṛṣṇa mounts Garuḍa with Satyabhāmā and travels to Prāgjyotiṣa. He severs the defensive nooses of Mura with the Sudarśana discus and slays Naraka’s kin. After killing Naraka, Kṛṣṇa receives the earrings of Aditi from Pṛthivī. He sends sixteen thousand captive maidens to Dvārakā before departing for the celestial realm.

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पञ्चमांशे त्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa defeats Indra and takes the Pārijāta tree.

Summary AI Riding Garuḍa, Kṛṣṇa enters heaven to return the earrings of Aditi. Kṛṣṇa uproots the Pārijāta tree from the celestial gardens to please Satyabhāmā, provoking a battle with Indra. Kṛṣṇa shatters the weapons of the gods and catches the hurled vajra. Satyabhāmā mocks the retreating Indra, who recognizes Kṛṣṇa as the source of creation. Indra abandons the fight, and Kṛṣṇa departs with the tree.

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पञ्चमांशे एकत्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa plants the Pārijāta tree and marries many women.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa returns the thunderbolt to Indra and brings the Pārijāta tree to Dvārakā. He plants it in Satyabhāmā’s garden. Kṛṣṇa marries the sixteen thousand maidens rescued from Naraka. He assumes multiple forms to wed each woman simultaneously in her own residence, appearing individually to every bride as her sole husband.

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पञ्चमांशे द्वात्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Uṣā identifies Aniruddha as her husband after a dream.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa fathers over one hundred thousand sons. Uṣā, daughter of Bāṇa, receives a promise from Pārvatī that her husband will appear in a dream. After waking from a vision, she confides in Citralekhā. Citralekhā paints portraits of deities and mortals until Uṣā identifies Aniruddha among the Vṛṣṇi princes. Using her yoga powers, Citralekhā departs for Dvārakā to bring the prince to her friend.

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पञ्चमांशे त्रयस्त्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa defeats Bāṇa and rescues Aniruddha.

Summary AI Bāṇa captures Aniruddha with a pannagāstra. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma fly to Śoṇitapura on Garuḍa. Kṛṣṇa defeats the attendants of Śiva and induces a yawn in Śiva using the jṛmbhakāstra. He uses the Sudarśana discus to sever Bāṇa’s limbs. Upon Śiva’s plea, Kṛṣṇa spares the demon, declares his unity with Śiva, and returns to Dvārakā with Aniruddha and Uṣā.

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पञ्चमांशे चतुस्त्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Kṛṣṇa defeats Pauṇḍraka and destroys Vārāṇasī.

Summary AI Pauṇḍraka adopts the symbols of Vāsudeva and demands Kṛṣṇa relinquish his title. Kṛṣṇa kills the impostor and the King of Kāśī. The king’s son creates a kṛtyā to attack Dvāravatī. Kṛṣṇa releases the Sudarśana cakra while playing dice. The discus pursues the kṛtyā to Vārāṇasī, incinerating the city’s buildings and citizens. After consuming the city, the weapon returns to Kṛṣṇa.

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पञ्चमांशे पञ्चत्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Balarāma drags Hastināpura with his plow.

Summary AI Sāmba abducts Duryodhana's daughter and is captured by Kuru warriors. Balarāma travels to Hastināpura to demand his release. When the Kauravas refuse, Balarāma hooks the city walls with his plow and begins dragging the city toward the Bhāgīrathī river. The Kauravas surrender Sāmba and his bride, offering gifts and seeking forgiveness from Balarāma.

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पञ्चमांशे षट्त्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Balarāma kills the monkey Dvivida.

Summary AI The monkey Dvivida terrorizes the earth by flooding coastal cities. He interrupts Balarāma’s leisure in the Raivata garden, seizing his hala and smashing wine jars. When Dvivida hurls a boulder, Balarāma shatters it with his musala. Balarāma kills the monkey with a single blow to the head. Dvivida’s falling body splits a mountain peak, ending his disruption of the world's sacrifices.

५.३७

पञ्चमांशे सप्तत्रिंशोऽध्यायः

The Yadu clan perishes and Kṛṣṇa leaves the earth.

Summary AI Kṛṣṇa prepares to remove his clan from the earth. At Piṇḍāraka, Yadu youths provoke a curse from sages, causing Sāmba to produce an iron musala. During a feast at Prabhāsa, the kinsmen slaughter one another using erakā grass grown from the pulverized mace. After Balarāma departs in his serpent form, Kṛṣṇa rests under a tree. The hunter Jarā strikes Kṛṣṇa’s foot with an arrow, and Kṛṣṇa returns to his eternal station.

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पञ्चमांशे अष्टात्रिंशोऽध्यायः

Arjuna loses his power and the Pāṇḍavas retire.

Summary AI Arjuna performs funeral rites for Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa. As he leads survivors from Dvārakā, the ocean submerges the city. In the Pañcanada region, bandits attack the caravan. Arjuna fails to string the Gāṇḍīva bow and forgets his divine weapons. After the attackers seize the women, Arjuna seeks Vyāsa, who explains that time governs all strength. The Pāṇḍavas crown Parīkṣit and depart for the forest.

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