Devanagari
कृष्ण कृष्ण महाभाग हे रामामितविक्रम ।
एष घोरतमो वह्निस्तावकान् ग्रसते हि न: ॥ २३ ॥
Verse text
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahā-bhaga
he rāmāmita-vikrama
eṣa ghoratamo vahnis
tāvakān grasate hi naḥ
Synonyms
kṛṣṇa
—
O Kṛṣṇa
;
kṛṣṇa
—
O Kṛṣṇa
;
mahā
—
bhāga — O Lord of all opulence
;
he rāma
—
O Lord Balarāma, source of all happiness
;
amita
—
vikrama — You whose power is unlimited
;
eṣaḥ
—
this
;
ghora
—
tamaḥ — most terrible
;
vahniḥ
—
fire
;
tāvakān
—
who are Yours
;
grasate
—
is devouring
;
hi
—
indeed
;
naḥ
—
us .
Translation
[Vṛndāvana’s residents said:] Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, O Lord of all opulence! O Rāma, possessor of unlimited power! This most terrible fire is about to devour us, Your devotees!
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
[Vṛndāvana's residents said:] Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, O Lord of all opulence! O Rāma, possessor of unlimited power! This most terrible fire is about to devour us, Your devotees!
KB 10.17.23-24
They began to say, “Our dear Kṛṣṇa! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! Our dear Balarāma, reservoir of all strength! Please try to save us from this all-devouring and devastating fire. We have no shelter other than You. This devastating fire will swallow us all!” Thus they prayed to Kṛṣṇa, saying that they could not take any shelter other than His lotus feet.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The inhabitants called out the Balarama as well, because he had also show that he was omniscient. They inferred that he as well was invested with the power of some deva.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Their method of surrender is described. In excitement or out of natural affection they call to Kṛṣṇa twice. O Kṛṣṇa from whom our good fortunate arises (mahā-bhaga)! In your presence we have no fear. O Balarāma with unlimited prowess! By your power the fire will extinguished. Recognition of their great powers appeared, but not knowledge of their powers as the Lord. This fire is visible to us and swift (eṣaḥ), and terrifying because it is coming near and we have no escape. It will destroy us completely (grasate). We are yours. They say this to invoke his mercy or to make him understand that they should not be destroyed. By adding the word hi (certainly), both boys are indicated, since they are both addressed at the beginning of the verse. Because Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are non-different, the word tāvakān indicating “yours” in the singular (Pāṇini 4.3.3) is used to denote both of them.