SB 10.11.3 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

उलूखलं विकर्षन्तं दाम्ना बद्धं च बालकम् । कस्येदं कुत आश्चर्यमुत्पात इति कातरा: ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

ulūkhalaṁ vikarṣantaṁ dāmnā baddhaṁ ca bālakam kasyedaṁ kuta āścaryam utpāta iti kātarāḥ

Synonyms

ulūkhalam — the wooden mortar ; vikarṣantam — dragging ; dāmnā — with the rope ; baddham ca — and bound by the belly ; bālakam — Kṛṣṇa ; kasya — of whom ; idam — this ; kutaḥ — wherefrom ; āścaryam — these wonderful happenings ; utpātaḥ — disturbance ; iti — thus ; kātarāḥ — they were very much agitated .

Translation

Kṛṣṇa was bound by the rope to the ulūkhala, the mortar, which He was dragging. But how could He have pulled down the trees? Who had actually done it? Where was the source for this incident? Considering all these astounding things, the cowherd men were doubtful and bewildered.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Kṛṣṇa was bound by the rope to the ulūkhala, the mortar, which He was dragging. But how could He have pulled down the trees? Who had actually done it? Where was the source for this incident? Considering all these astounding things, the cowherd men were doubtful and bewildered. KB 10.11.3 When they saw child Kṛṣṇa bound up to the wooden mortar by the ropes of Mother Yaśodā, they thought that it must have been caused by some demon. Otherwise, how was it possible? At the same time, they were very much perturbed because such uncommon incidents were always happening to child Kṛṣṇa.

Purport

The cowherd men were very much agitated because the child Kṛṣṇa, after all, had been standing between the two trees, and if by chance the trees had fallen upon Him, He would have been smashed. But He was standing as He was, and still the things had happened, so who had done all this? How could these events have happened in such a wonderful way? These considerations were some of the reasons they were agitated and bewildered. They thought, however, that by chance Kṛṣṇa had been saved by God so that nothing had happened to Him.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Though they could understand from the situation that the boy had caused the two arjuna trees to fall, because of prema (avijnaya) they could not think that it was so. They doubted that such a small boy could do such a thing. They express their doubt in these verses. "Who has done this? For what reason has this amazing accident happened to the boy." Thinking in this way they were filled with pain. By our good fortune, the boy is protected by the Lord.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

How did these two trees, big as a cowherd’s house fall, without wind or rain, without being struck by lightning, without being attacked by elephants? What they understood is described. They saw the child there also, pulling the mortar vigorously (vikarṣaṇam). He was tied by a rope to the mortar. This description hides his power, with the understanding that he was not strong. The word ca indicates that they saw the marks of pulling the mortar between the two trees. They could not understand what happened because he was just a small boy (balakam). A small baby could not do this act. This will become clear later. This was astonishing. Who or what made the trees fall and why? If the devatās or demons did it, why did they do it? They concluded it was a disaster. They became disturbed, worrying about the safety of the child.