SB 10.16.24 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तत्प्रथ्यमानवपुषा व्यथितात्मभोग- स्त्यक्त्वोन्नमय्य कुपित: स्वफणान् भुजङ्ग: । तस्थौ श्वसञ्छ्वसनरन्ध्रविषाम्बरीष- स्तब्धेक्षणोल्मुकमुखो हरिमीक्षमाण: ॥ २४ ॥

Verse text

tat-prathyamāna-vapuṣā vyathitātma-bhogas tyaktvonnamayya kupitaḥ sva-phaṇān bhujaṅgaḥ tasthau śvasaṣ chvasana-randhra-viṣāmbarīṣa- stabdhekṣaṇolmuka-mukho harim īkṣamāṇaḥ

Synonyms

tat — of Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa ; prathyamāna — expanding ; vapuṣā — by the transcendental body ; vyathita — pained ; ātma — his own ; bhogaḥ — serpent body ; tyaktvā — giving Him up ; unnamayya — raising high ; kupitaḥ — angered ; sva — phaṇān — his hoods ; bhujaṅga — the serpent ; tasthau — stood still ; śvasan — breathing heavily ; śvasana — randhra — his nostrils ; viṣa — ambarīṣa — like two vessels for cooking poison ; stabdha — fixed ; īkṣaṇa — his eyes ; ulmuka — like firebrands ; mukhaḥ — his face ; harim — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; īkṣamāṇaḥ — observing .

Translation

His coils tormented by the expanding body of the Lord, Kāliya released Him. In great anger the serpent then raised his hoods high and stood still, breathing heavily. His nostrils appeared like vessels for cooking poison, and the staring eyes in his face like firebrands. Thus the serpent looked at the Lord.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

His coils tormented by the expanding body of the Lord, Kāliya released Him. In great anger the serpent then raised his hoods high and stood still, breathing heavily. His nostrils appeared like vessels for cooking poison, and the staring eyes in his face like firebrands. Thus the serpent looked at the Lord. KB 10.16.24 He began to expand His body, and when the serpent tried to hold Him, he felt a great strain. On account of the strain, his coils slackened, and he had no alternative but to let loose the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, from his grasp. Kāliya then became very angry, and his great hoods expanded. He exhaled poisonous fumes from his nostrils, his eyes blazed like fire, and flames issued from his mouth. The great serpent remained still for some time, looking at Kṛṣṇa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This verse describes how Krsna got free of Kaliya and how Kaliya’s powers weakened. Kaliya let go of Krsna because he was pained (vyatthita) by the expanding body of Krsna (prathyamana vapusa), which had previously been much smaller. Freeing Krsna, the snake raised his huge hood, and breathing heavily stared at Krsna. His nostrils were full of poison, his glaring eyes were like flaming pots of poison, and his mouths emitted fire balls.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

This verse describes how he released himself. Kāliya became fatigued. By Kṛṣṇa slightly expanding his body the snake’s coils began to ache as if being torn. The word ātmā indicates that Kāliya identified with his body and thus felt extreme pain. He raised his hoods. The word sva indicates the hoods’ extraordinary nature (he had great regard for them). His nostrils were like fiery vessels. He glared at the Lord who would take away his false pride (harim) or who would take away his residence.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

This verse describes how he released himself. Kāliya became fatigued. By Kṛṣṇa slightly expanding his body, the snake’s coils began to ache as if being torn. The word ātmā indicates that Kāliya identified with his body and thus felt extreme pain. Kṛṣṇa’s body was bound tightly by the coils. When Kṛṣṇa expanded his body the snake began breathing loudly because of anger arising from pain inflicted on his coils. His nostrils were filled with poison and thus, by breathing heavily, he released more poison. His nostrils were like pots of poison. His glances were red, filled with poison. He released flames of poison from his mouth (ulmuka-mukhaḥ). The descriptions become more and more fearsome. The descriptions portray more poisonous aspects of the snake then previous ones. The snake glared at Kṛṣṇa who was eager to take away Kāliya’s residence (harim) or remove his bad qualities. The real meaning is that the snake did not feel pain (avyathita). He was angry out of affection because Kṛṣṇa quickly separated from his embrace. He looked at Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa was most attractive. His heavy breathing was a sāttvika-bhāva. His nostrils holding pots of poison and his mouth emitting flames are natural qualities of the snake.