Verse Text
adbhute preyo-vīra-hāsyānāṁ, yathā –
mitrāṇīka-vṛtaṁ gadāyudhi guruṁ-manyaṁ pralamba-dviṣaṁ
yaṣṭyā durbalayā vijitya purataḥ solluṇṭham udgāyataḥ |
śrīdāmnaḥ kila vīkṣya keli-samarāṭopotsave pāṭavaṁ
kṛṣṇaḥ phulla-kapolakaḥ pulakavān visphāra-dṛṣṭir babhau ||
atra gauṇe mukhyasya gauṇayoś ca | ||40||
Translation
Adbhuta-rasa (secondary) as aṅgī with sakhya (primary), vīra and hāsya (secondary) as aṅga: Seeing the skill of Śrīdāma swelling with pride in mock battle while uttering sarcastic words as he used a very small stick to defeat Balarāma--who thought himself the guru of club fighting and who was surrounded by his friends--Kṛṣṇa became joyful. His hairs stood on end and His eyes widened.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
These are the words of some friend. These are examples of that friend’s experience of rasas (adbhuta, sakhya, vīra and hāsya), not Kṛṣṇa’s experience of the rasas, since the subject of discussion is the devotee’s experience of bhakti-rasa. Śrīdāma, using a weak little stick to defeat Balarāma infers that he learned the art especially well. Since these actions are performed out of friendship, such things become possible. Instead of keli-samarāṭopotsave (with profuse pride while engaging in mock battle) sometimes keli-samarāṭopakrame (in the course of manifesting pride during mock battle) is seen.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
Once Kṛṣṇa was watching Śrīdāmā very expertly using his stick to fight with Balarāma, who was an expert club fighter and who had even killed the Pralambāsura demon with His club. When Kṛṣṇa saw Balarāma finally defeated by Śrīdāmā, who was using only a small stick, Kṛṣṇa became filled with pleasure and began to look upon Śrīdāmā with great wonder. In this instance there is a mixture of astonishment, fraternity and chivalry in devotional service. The fraternity and chivalry are considered the parts, and the astonishment is considered the whole.