SB 10.45.44 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तदङ्गप्रभवं शङ्खमादाय रथमागमत् । तत: संयमनीं नाम यमस्य दयितां पुरीम् ॥ ४२ ॥ गत्वा जनार्दन: शङ्खं प्रदध्मौ सहलायुध: । शङ्खनिर्ह्रादमाकर्ण्य प्रजासंयमनो यम: ॥ ४३ ॥ तयो: सपर्यां महतीं चक्रे भक्त्युपबृंहिताम् । उवाचावनत: कृष्णं सर्वभूताशयालयम् । लीलामनुष्ययोर्विष्णो युवयो: करवाम किम् ॥ ४४ ॥

Verse text

tad-aṅga-prabhavaṁ śaṅkham ādāya ratham āgamat tataḥ saṁyamanīṁ nāma yamasya dayitāṁ purīm gatvā janārdanaḥ śaṅkhaṁ pradadhmau sa-halāyudhaḥ śaṅkha-nirhrādam ākarṇya prajā-saṁyamano yamaḥ tayoḥ saparyāṁ mahatīṁ cakre bhakty-upabṛṁhitām uvācāvanataḥ kṛṣṇaṁ sarva-bhūtāśayālayam līlā-manuṣyayor viṣṇo yuvayoḥ karavāma kim

Synonyms

tat — his (the demon’s) ; aṅga — from the body ; prabhavam — grown ; śaṅkham — the conchshell ; ādāya — taking ; ratham — to the chariot ; āgamat — He returned ; tataḥ — then ; saṁyamanīm nāma — known as Saṁyamanī ; yamasya — of Lord Yamarāja ; dayitām — beloved ; purīm — to the city ; gatvā — going ; jana — ardanaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa, the abode of all persons ; śaṅkham — the conchshell ; pradadhmau — blew loudly ; sa — accompanied by ; hala — āyudhaḥ — Lord Balarāma, whose weapon is a plow ; śaṅkha — of the conchshell ; nirhrādam — the resounding ; ākarṇya — hearing ; prajā — of those who take birth ; saṁyamanaḥ — the restrainer ; yamaḥ — Yamarāja ; tayoḥ — of Them ; saparyām — worship ; mahatīm — elaborate ; cakre — performed ; bhakti — with devotion ; upabṛṁhitām — overflowing ; uvāca — he said ; avanataḥ — bowing down humbly ; kṛṣṇam — to Lord Kṛṣṇa ; sarva — of all ; bhūta — living beings ; āśaya — the minds ; ālayam — whose residence ; līlā — as Your pastime ; manuṣyayoḥ — appearing as human beings ; viṣṇo — O Supreme Lord Viṣṇu ; yuvayoḥ — for the two of You ; karavāma — I should do ; kim — what .

Translation

Lord Janārdana took the conchshell that had grown around the demon’s body and went back to the chariot. Then He proceeded to Saṁyamanī, the beloved capital of Yamarāja, the lord of death. Upon arriving there with Lord Balarāma, He loudly blew His conchshell, and Yamarāja, who keeps the conditioned souls in check, came as soon as he heard the resounding vibration. Yamarāja elaborately worshiped the two Lords with great devotion, and then he addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa, who lives in everyone’s heart: “O Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, what shall I do for You and Lord Balarāma, who are playing the part of ordinary humans?”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Lord Janārdana took the conchshell that had grown around the demon's body and went back to the chariot. Then He proceeded to Saṁyamanī, the beloved capital of Yamarāja, the lord of death. Upon arriving there with Lord Balarāma, He loudly blew His conchshell, and Yamarāja, who keeps the conditioned souls in check, came as soon as he heard the resounding vibration. Yamarāja elaborately worshiped the two Lords with great devotion, and then he addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa, who lives in everyone's heart: "O Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, what shall I do for You and Lord Balarāma, who are playing the part of ordinary humans?" KB 10.45.42-44 Therefore He took the demon’s dead body (in the shape of a conchshell) and returned to His chariot on the beach of Prabhāsa-kṣetra. From there He started for Saṁyamanī, the residence of Yamarāja, the superintendent of death. Accompanied by His elder brother, Balarāma, who is also known as Halāyudha, Kṛṣṇa arrived there and blew on His conchshell. Hearing the vibration, Yamarāja appeared and received Śrī Kṛṣṇa with all respectful obeisances. Yamarāja could understand who Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were, and therefore he immediately offered his humble service to the Lord. Kṛṣṇa had appeared on the surface of the earth like an ordinary human being, but actually Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are the Supersoul living within the heart of every living entity. They are Viṣṇu Himself but were playing just like ordinary human boys.

Purport

The conchshell the Lord took from Paṣcajana, which is called Pāṣcajanya, is the same one He sounded at the beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā. According to the ācāryas, Paṣcajana had become a demon in a way similar to that of Jaya and Vijaya. In other words, though appearing in the form of a demon, he was actually a devotee of the Lord. The Skanda Purāṇa, Avanti-khaṇḍa, describes the wonderful things that happened when Lord Kṛṣṇa sounded His conchshell: asipatra-vanaṁ nāma śīrṇa-patram ajāyata rauravaṁ nāma narakam arauravam abhūt tada abhairavaṁ bhairavākhyaṁ kumbhī-pākam apācakam “The hell known as Asipatra-vana lost the sharp, swordlike leaves on its trees, and the hell named Raurava became free of its ruru beasts. The Bhairava hell lost its fearfulness, and all cooking stopped in the Kumbhīpāka hell.” The Skanda Purāṇa further states: pāpa-kṣayāt tataḥ sarve vimuktā nārakā narāḥ padam avyayam āsādya “Their sinful reactions eradicated, all the inhabitants of hell attained liberation and approached the spiritual world.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Krsna blew the conch and all the inhabitants of hell were delivered on hearing the sound. The Avanti Khanda says, "All the knife like leaves of the sword plant in hell dried up. Raurava lost is savage quality and Bhairava lost its frightful aspect. Kumbhipaka lost its power of cooking. All the inhabitants of hell were purified of their sins and attained prema bhakti." He also sent the inhabitants of hell to Vaikuntha. There are two readings: lila manusyoh visnvoh and lila manusya he visno. "What service can I do for you two forms of Visnu playing the roles of humans?" Or "O Visnu who plays the pastimes of a human, what service can I do for you two?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The conch is actually the eternal associate of the Lord. By a curse of a brāhmaṇa he took the role of a demon like Jaya and Vijaya. In the hand of Kṛṣṇa, by his will, the conch took on a delicate form with suitable sound. Avantī-khaṇḍa says:’ tataḥ pañca-janaṁ hatvā grāha-rūpaṁ mahāsuram | tan-madhyasthaṁ sa jagrāha śaṅkhaṁ grastaṁ hi yat purā || tasyodare yadā bālaṁ nāptavāmṣ tam janārdanaḥ yamālaya-gataṁ matvā tadā varuṇam abravīt bhagavan yādasām īśa ratho me dīyatāṁ mahān yenāhaṁ vihitātmā hi paśye haṁ saṅgare yaman purājire hatā daiyā dānavā bala-garvitāḥ tayā yena rathenādya mahyaṁ sa dīyatāṁ rathaḥ Killing Pañcajana, the great serpent demon who took possession of the conch as his house previously, Kṛṣṇa grasped him by his middle. Not obtaining the boy in the demon’s stomach, Kṛṣṇa thought the child had gone to Yama’s abode and then spoke to Varuṇa. “O lord of the aquatics! Give me a huge chariot by which I can face Yama in battle. Formerly with that chariot you killed demons who were proud of their strength. Today give me that chariot. The city of Yama is called dear (dayitām) since Kṛṣṇa had ascertained that the boy was there. Janardanaḥ means “he who fulfils all the desires of his devotees.” It is understood that at this time Balarāma manifested his plough since he is called halāyudha in this verse. The effect of blowing the conch is described in Avantī-khaṇḍa: tena śabdena vitrastāḥ kṛtāntālaya-vāsinaḥ | narakāntargatā martyāḥ pāpācāra-parāyaṇāḥ || sukham āpuḥ praśāntāś ca vahnayaḥ kṛṣṇa-darśanāt | śastrāṇi kuṇṭhatāṁ prāpur yantrāṇi vividhāni ca || vidīrṇāni tadā vyāsa vāsudevasya darśanāt | asi-patra-vanaṁ nāma śīrṇa-patram ajāyata || rauravaṁ nāma narakam arauravam abhūt tadā | abhairavaṁ bhairavākhyaṁ kumbhīpākam apācakam || śṛṅgāṭakam aśṛṅgāṭaṁ loha-sūcy apy asūcitām | jagāma jagatām īśe prāpte tatra janārdane || hasta-mātra-tarā jātā tadā vaitaraṇī nṛṇām | narakānte tadā yāte tatra viśveṣvare bibhau || pāpa-kṣayāt tataḥ sarve vimuktā nārakā narāḥ | padam avyayam āsādya dṛṣṭvā viṣṇuṁ tamopaham || vimānāyuta-sāhasrair ārūḍhās te samantataḥ | samīkṣya puṇḍarīkāksāṁ muktās te sarva-pātakāt || tataḥ śūnyaṁ mune jātaṁ sarvaṁ niraya-manḍalam | darśanāt tasya devasya viṣṇor viṣva-svarūpiṇaḥ || By the sound of the conch, the most sinful in hell gave up their fear and became happy. The fires of hell became peaceful on seeing Kṛṣṇa. All the swords became blunt on seeing him and all the torture machines fell apart on seeing him. O Vyāsa! The blades in Asipatra hell broke. Raurava lost its cruelty. The hell called Bhaivara lost its fearful nature. Kumbhipāka hell did not cook anyone. When Kṛṣṇa arrived, the hell in which sinners are thrown from a mountain gave up its terrible nature. The iron needles lost their power of stitching. The Vaitaranī River, hard to cross, became easy to cross. When the Lord of the universe arrived, everyone became liberated because their sins were destroyed. Seeing Kṛṣṇa, they attained the indestructible abode. Getting on millions of airplanes, they looked at the lotus-eyed Lord and became free of all sin. O sage! When everyone saw the Lord of lords, the form of the universe, hell became empty. Yama is described as prajā-saṁyamanaḥ: confining the citizens. This indicates his fearful nature. A battle is also indicated with Yama. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says jitvā vaivasvataṁ yamam: he defeated Yamarāja. This is also elaborately described in Avantī-khaṇḍa. Since Kṛṣṇa dwells in everyone’s heart, he knows if a person is telling the truth. He is called viṣṇu because he is the lord of the universe. Yama is therefore his servant. You two have forms of humans who perform significant pastimes. Līla-manuṣya he is an alternative version. Līlā-manuṣyayor viṣṇoḥ however is accepted by Śrīdhara Svāmī. Yama addresses only Kṛṣṇa. This will be explained in the commentary on verse 47. Please order me what I should do for you.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

The conch is actually the eternal associate of the Lord. By a curse of a brāhmaṇa he took the role of a demon like Jaya and Vijaya. Seeing Kṛsṇa coming from far off, Yama thought that death was approaching. The place was dear to Yama because he lived there with his associates. Balarāma manifested his club for fighting. As best of devotees and king of dharma, Yama was expected to worship the Lord in his house. (Janardanaḥ means he who has expectations from people). Kṛṣṇa blew the conch loudly (pra-dadhmau). The citizens were persons who had committed sins. Yama was their punisher (saṁyamanaḥ). He was thus fearsome. Or taking his authority from the Lord, he was defeated in battle. This is understood from Viṣṇu Purāṇa. taṁ pāñcajanyam āpūrya gatvā yamapuraṁ hariḥ / baladevaś ca balavāñ jitvā vaivasvataṁ yamam // taṁ bālaṁ yātanā-saṁsthaṁ yathā pūrva-śarīriṇam / pitre pradattavān kṛṣṇo balaś ca balināṁ varaḥ // Blowing the conch and going to Yama’s abode, strong Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma defeated strong Yama, whose abode was filled with painful torture. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, best of the strong, gave the boy, with his previous body, to his father. Tato vaivasvataṁ daivaṁ nirjitya puruṣottamaḥ Ānināya guroh putraṁ ciranaṣṭaṁ yamakṣayāt The Lord after defeating Yama took his guru’s son who had not died from Yama’s abode. Hari-vaṁśa Or he is the person who controls all beings, purifying them and establishing rules by giving results of dharma and adharma. He is thus completely proper in giving benefit to the people. Thus he worshipped the two with production or increase of bhakti. Kṛṣṇa dwells in everyone’s heart. The Lord will think, “He is my devotee. In order to see me he has brought the guru’s dead son here. He has committed no offense.” Thus Kṛṣṇa will be merciful to me. Yama speaks to Kṛṣṇa since he is the main person. O Lord who pervades everywhere (viṣṇo)! I am your servant. What can I do for you two? He recognizes Balarāma’ position as an elder brother. You have human forms full of pastimes or you are humans for performing pastimes. Please tell me what we can do for you. The plural is used to indicate his followers also. Or what can we do? Since you are complete, as the Lord, we can give you nothing. The plural is used to indicate his senses.