Devanagari
मुक्त: कथञ्चिद्राक्षस्या बालघ्न्या बालको ह्यसौ ।
हरेरनुग्रहान्नूनमनश्चोपरि नापतत् ॥ २४ ॥
Verse text
muktaḥ kathaṣcid rākṣasyā
bāla-ghnyā bālako hy asau
harer anugrahān nūnam
anaś copari nāpatat
Synonyms
muktaḥ
—
was delivered
;
kathaṣcit
—
somehow or other
;
rākṣasyāḥ
—
from the hands of the Rākṣasī Pūtanā
;
bāla
—
ghnyāḥ — who was determined to kill small children
;
bālakaḥ
—
especially the child Kṛṣṇa
;
hi
—
because
;
asau
—
He
;
hareḥ anugrahāt
—
by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
nūnam
—
indeed
;
anaḥ ca
—
and the handcart
;
upari
—
on top of the child
;
na
—
not
;
apatat
—
did fall down .
Translation
The child Kṛṣṇa, simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was somehow or other rescued from the hands of the Rākṣasī Pūtanā, who was determined to kill Him. Then, again by the mercy of the Supreme Godhead, the handcart missed falling upon the child.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The child Kṛṣṇa, simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was somehow or other rescued from the hands of the Rākṣasī Pūtanā, who was determined to kill Him. Then, again by the mercy of the Supreme Godhead, the handcart missed falling upon the child.
KB 10.11.24
Just consider Pūtanā and Kṛṣṇa. It was simply by the grace of Lord Hari that Kṛṣṇa was saved from the hands of such a great demon.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
By mentioning Rākṣasas, Upananda hints that it is impossible for the people to counteract them. What to speak of children counteracting them. Somehow Kṛṣṇa was saved. We did not directly see the cause. By some inconceivable cause he was saved. The word hi that it was well know, experienced by all the people. He then explains the cause of Kṛṣṇa’s safety. It was because of the mercy of the Lord certainly (nūnam) (though we could not see it directly).
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The great dangers are described. By themselves they could not prevent these disasters. This is described in three verses. Since Kṛṣṇa was an infant (bālakaḥ) he could not by himself free himself.
We did not directly see the cause. By some inconceivable fortune he was saved. He is our very life (asau). The word hi that the elders (gopa-vṛddhāḥ verse 21) had experienced this. That meeting was suitable for the elders. The youngsters were not present.
Or asau indicates that Upananda brought him to the assembly so all could directly see him. Or Kṛṣṇa came there by himself out of curiosity. Nūnam indicates certainty. By the mercy of the Lord who removes all miseries and disasters (hareḥ) from him, he was saved from the cart. He escaped from the Rākṣaṣī, who could do nothing against the protection mantras of Yaśodā and others, while in the house of us devotees. That is our good fortune. When the cart fell on him while he was sleeping under it far off in a lonely place, the cart broke. By the mercy of the Lord, that miracle happened.