SB 10.16.31 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कृष्णस्य गर्भजगतोऽतिभरावसन्नं पार्ष्णिप्रहारपरिरुग्नफणातपत्रम् । द‍ृष्ट्वाहिमाद्यमुपसेदुरमुष्य पत्‍न्य आर्ता: श्लथद्वसनभूषणकेशबन्धा: ॥ ३१ ॥

Verse text

kṛṣṇasya garbha-jagato ’ti-bharāvasannaṁ pārṣṇi-prahāra-parirugna-phaṇātapatram dṛṣṭvāhim ādyam upasedur amuṣya patnya ārtāḥ ślathad-vasana-bhūṣaṇa-keśa-bandhāḥ

Synonyms

kṛṣṇasya — of Lord Kṛṣṇa ; garbha — in whose abdomen ; jagataḥ — is found the entire universe ; ati — bhara — by the extreme weight ; avasannam — fatigued ; pārṣṇi — of His heels ; prahāra — by the striking ; parirugna — shattered ; phaṇā — his hoods ; ātapatram — which were like umbrellas ; dṛṣṭvā — seeing ; ahim — the serpent ; ādyam — the primeval Lord ; upaseduḥ — approached ; amuṣya — of Kāliya ; patnyaḥ — the wives ; ārtāḥ — feeling distressed ; ślathat — disarrayed ; vasana — their clothing ; bhūṣaṇa — ornaments ; keśa — bandhāḥ — and the locks of their hair .

Translation

When Kāliya’s wives saw how the serpent had become so fatigued from the excessive weight of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who carries the entire universe in His abdomen, and how Kāliya’s umbrellalike hoods had been shattered by the striking of Kṛṣṇa’s heels, they felt great distress. With their clothing, ornaments and hair scattered in disarray, they then approached the eternal Personality of Godhead.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When Kāliya's wives saw how the serpent had become so fatigued from the excessive weight of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who carries the entire universe in His abdomen, and how Kāliya's umbrellalike hoods had been shattered by the striking of Kṛṣṇa's heels, they felt great distress. With their clothing, ornaments and hair scattered in disarray, they then approached the eternal Personality of Godhead. KB 10.16.31 The wives of the serpent, known as the Nāgapatnīs, saw that their husband had been subdued by the Lord’s kicking and that he was almost at the point of death due to bearing the heavy burden of the Lord, within whose abdomen the whole universe remains. Kāliya’s wives prepared to worship the Lord, and in their haste their clothes, hair and ornaments became disarrayed.

Purport

According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Kāliya’s wives had been disgusted with their husband because of his demoniac activities. They had been thinking, “If this atheist is killed by the punishment of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then let him be killed. We will become widows and engage in the worship of the Supreme Lord.” But then the ladies noticed Kāliya’s facial expression and other bodily features, and they understood that Kāliya had indeed taken shelter of the Lord within his mind. Seeing that he was manifesting symptoms of humility, remorse, regret and doubt, they thought, “Just see how fortunate we are! Our husband has now become a Vaiṣṇava. Therefore we must now endeavor to protect him.” They felt affection for their repentant husband and severe distress because of his miserable position, and thus all together they went into the presence of the Supreme Lord.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The wives approached Krsna, seeing how Kaliya was burdened with Krsna who, having the universe in his belly, had become most heavy. The wives until now had been indifferent towards their cruel husband, but now they were in sorrow (artah). They thought, "Let him die, and then as widows we can fully surrender to the Lord." But when they saw the symptoms of sancari bhava such as humility, regret, doubt, and indifference to his suffering condition manifest in his body, they thought, "He has become a vaisnava. This is good fortune for us. We should try to save him." With this in mind they came together with affection in their hearts, and with sorrow for his condition, approached Krsna.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Kāliya’s wives, devotees of Kṛṣṇa, were happy when he stopped beating Kāliya’s head with his feet after he surrendered. They had not come forward previously because of restrictions from their wicked husband. Now they surrendered to the Lord, who continued dancing on his head in order to induce his surrender further and to show that mercy to his wives. Two verses describe this. The universe is within him. This shows Kṛṣṇa’s power. It was said that he has no inside or outside (SB 10.9.13). The word garbha thus indicates everything is within him: he is spread everywhere. But he does not touch the universe: mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā | mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ ||4|| I pervade this whole universe by my form invisible to material senses, since I am the cause. All entities are situated in me, since I am their cause, but I am not in them, since I am completely detached. BG 9.4 Since he contains the universe, what weight he could produce on Kāliya! That he did not crush Kāliya completely depended on the appearance of his iccha-śakti. Thus it was possible that it could happen. Since his hoods which were like umbrellas were broken, Kāliya’s external beauty was destroyed. They came to the side of the Lord. In great distress their clothing and hair were disarrayed. This indicates their pitiful condition.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Though the Lord was pleased with his surrender, in order to show the greatness of his wives, in order to give special mercy to the wives of Kāliya, Kṛṣṇa did not give up his position on Kāliya. The wives showed complete surrender, more than their surrender to their husband, because they knew the true position of the Lord. That is expressed in two verse. Since his hoods which were like umbrellas were broken, Kāliya’s external beauty was destroyed. They came to the side of the Lord. In great distress, their clothing and hair were disarrayed. This indicates their pitiful condition.