SB 10.16.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीराजोवाच कथमन्तर्जलेऽगाधे न्यगृह्णाद् भगवानहिम् । स वै बहुयुगावासं यथासीद् विप्र कथ्यताम् ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

śrī-rājovāca katham antar-jale ’gādhe nyagṛhṇād bhagavān ahim sa vai bahu-yugāvāsaṁ yathāsīd vipra kathyatām

Synonyms

śrī — rājā uvāca — King Parīkṣit said ; katham — how ; antaḥ — jale — within the water ; agādhe — unfathomable ; nyagṛhṇāt — subdued ; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; ahim — the serpent ; saḥ — he, Kāliya ; vai — indeed ; bahu — yuga — for many ages ; āvāsam — having residence ; yathā — how ; āsīt — so became ; vipra — O learned brāhmaṇa ; kathyatām — please explain .

Translation

King Parīkṣit inquired: O learned sage, please explain how the Supreme Personality of Godhead chastised the serpent Kāliya within the unfathomable waters of the Yamunā, and how it was that Kāliya had been living there for so many ages.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

King Parīkṣit inquired: O learned sage, please explain how the Supreme Personality of Godhead chastised the serpent Kāliya within the unfathomable waters of the Yamunā, and how it was that Kāliya had been living there for so many ages. KB 10.16.2-3 When this story was being narrated by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit became eager to hear more about Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes. He inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī how Kṛṣṇa chastised Kāliya, who had been living in the water for many years. Actually, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was becoming more and more enthusiastic to hear the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, and his inquiry was made with great interest.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Please tell (kathyatam) with great intensity (vipra), how Kaliya was able to live there for so many yugas (mabhu yugavasam yathasit).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

By what method (katham) did Bhagavān, who can act using all methods whatever, subdue the serpent? Vai means “and.” Please relate how he had been living (āvāsam) for many yugas there. Since this was a well-known fact, Parīkṣit mentioned it (though Śukadeva had not told him). O learned brāhmaṇa, expert in the highest knowledge (vipra)! Yājñavalkya says: janmanā brāhmaṇo jñeyaḥ saṁskārair dvija ucyate vidyayā yāti vipratvaṁ tribhiḥ śrotriya-lakṣaṇam A person is known as a brāhmaṇa by birth and as a dvija by saṁskāras. By knowledge he is becomes a vipra, and by knowledge of the three Vedas he becomes a śrotriya.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Vai means “and.” How was it that Kāliya lived so long in the lake contaminating it? This was well known, or if he had not been there a long time, it would not be so contaminated. O sage, master of persons like me (bhagavān)! He exclaims this out of bliss. He exclaims in this way in sorrow to express the suffering involved in punishing Kāliiya living deep in the water. Narrate this in detail, and excellently (vipra-kathyatām). Or narrate it to particularly (vi) satisfy all desires (pra). Or vipra is an address to Śukadeva, meaning “O person who can fulfill my desires!”