Devanagari
वृतौ गोपै: कतिपयैर्बलदेवजनार्दनौ
रङ्गं विविशतू राजन् गजदन्तवरायुधौ ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
vṛtau gopaiḥ katipayair
baladeva-janārdanau
raṅgaṁ viviśatū rājan
gaja-danta-varāyudhau
Synonyms
vṛtau
—
surrounded
;
gopaiḥ
—
by cowherd boys
;
katipayaiḥ
—
several
;
baladeva
—
janārdanau — Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa
;
raṅgam
—
the arena
;
viviśatuḥ
—
entered
;
rājan
—
O King (Parīkṣit)
;
gaja
—
danta — the elephant’s tusks
;
vara
—
chosen
;
āyudhau
—
whose weapons .
Translation
My dear King, Lord Baladeva and Lord Janārdana, each carrying one of the elephant’s tusks as His chosen weapon, entered the arena with several cowherd boys.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
My dear King, Lord Baladeva and Lord Janārdana, each carrying one of the elephant's tusks as His chosen weapon, entered the arena with several cowherd boys.
KB 10.43.16
Lord Balarāma took the other tusk of the elephant on His shoulder. Accompanied by Their cowherd boyfriends, They entered the arena.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
To reinforce the previous verse, further description is added. Some of Kṛṣṇa’s close friends from Gokula had come along with elders such as Nanda. Balarāma manifested special power at this moment to kill the wicked, out of affection for his younger brother. Devotees like Nārada (jana) had requested (ardana) that Kṛṣṇa kill Kaṁsa (janārdana). Śukadeva calls out to Parīkṣit in joy “O king!” They put the tusks on their shoulders as the best weapons to kill Kaṁsa and to instil fear in him. Or they put the best elephant tusks on their shoulders as weapons.