Devanagari
यदा मुकुन्दो भगवानिमां महीं
जहौ स्वतन्वा श्रवणीयसत्कथ: ।
तदाहरेवाप्रतिबुद्धचेतसा-
मभद्रहेतु: कलिरन्ववर्तत ॥ ३६ ॥
Verse text
yadā mukundo bhagavān imāṁ mahīṁ
jahau sva-tanvā śravaṇīya-sat-kathaḥ
tadāhar evāpratibuddha-cetasām
abhadra-hetuḥ kalir anvavartata
Synonyms
yadā
—
when
;
mukundaḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
bhagavān
—
the Personality of Godhead
;
imām
—
this
;
mahīm
—
earth
;
jahau
—
left
;
sva
—
tanvā — with His selfsame body
;
śravaṇīya
—
sat — kathaḥ — hearing about Him is worthwhile
;
tadā
—
at that time
;
ahaḥ eva
—
from the very day
;
aprati
—
buddha — cetasām — of those whose minds are not sufficiently developed
;
abhadra
—
hetuh — cause of all ill fortune
;
kaliḥ anvavartata
—
Kali fully manifested .
Translation
When the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, left this earthly planet in His selfsame form, from that very day Kali, who had already partially appeared, became fully manifest to create inauspicious conditions for those who are endowed with a poor fund of knowledge.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When Lord Mukunda, whose topics are worthy of hearing, left this earth by means of his spiritual body, from that day onwards Kali, the cause of inauspiciousness, entered those whose intelligence was sleeping.
Purport
The influence of Kali can be enforced only upon those who are not fully developed in God consciousness. One can neutralize the effects of Kali by keeping oneself fully under the supreme care of the Personality of Godhead. The Age of Kali ensued just after the Battle of Kurukṣetra, but it could not exert its influence because of the presence of the Lord. The Lord, however, left this earthly planet in His own transcendental body, and as soon as He left, the symptoms of the Kali-yuga, as were envisioned by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira prior to Arjuna’s arrival from Dvārakā, began to manifest, and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira rightly conjectured on the departure of the Lord from the earth. As we have already explained, the Lord left our sight just as when the sun sets it is out of our sight.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
This verse clarifies the condition of his giving up his body. “When he left with his body (sva-tanvā)” means according to Śrīdhara Svāmī “leaving to Vaikuṇṭha with his body.” He gave up the earth by means of his body. It does not mean “He gave the earth along with his body.” That is a wrong interpretation, because of the rule upapada-vibhakteḥ kāraka-vibhaktir balīyasī: instrumental meaning of inflection is stronger than the meaning “accompanying.”
pradarśyātapta-tapasām avitṛpta-dṛśāṁ nṛṇām
ādāyāntar adhād yas tu sva-bimbaṁ loka-locanam
The Lord, having shown his form, the center of attraction for all eyes, then took that form and disappeared from the men, who had not performed austerities but had attained the Lord's mercy, and were continually craving a vision of his form. SB 3.2.11
In this verse after showing his form (sva-bimbam) to the eyes of the world, he again withdrew it and disappeared. The verse does not say he gave up a body. The Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha makes this point. From that moment onwards (tadāhaḥ), Kali entered those with sleeping intelligence. Kali did not affect those who had discrimination. The thief steals wealth from a sleeping person, but is afraid to steal from someone awake.