SB 10.50.23 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

गृह्णन् निशङ्गादथ सन्दधच्छरान् विकृष्य मुञ्चन् शितबाणपूगान् । निघ्नन् रथान् कुञ्जरवाजिपत्तीन् निरन्तरं यद्वदलातचक्रम् ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

gṛhṇan niśaṅgād atha sandadhac charān vikṛṣya muṣcan śita-bāṇa-pūgān nighnan rathān kuṣjara-vāji-pattīn nirantaraṁ yadvad alāta-cakram

Synonyms

gṛhṇan — taking ; niśaṅgāt — from His quiver ; atha — then ; sandadhat — fixing ; śarān — arrows ; vikṛṣya — pulling back ; muṣcan — releasing ; śita — sharp ; bāṇa — of arrows ; pūgān — floods ; nighnan — striking ; rathān — chariots ; kuṣjara — elephants ; vāji — horses ; pattīn — and infantrymen ; nirantaram — relentlessly ; yadvat — just like ; alāta — cakram — a burning torch whirled around to make a circle of fire .

Translation

Lord Kṛṣṇa took arrows from His quiver, fixed them on the bowstring, pulled back, and released endless torrents of sharp shafts, which struck the enemy’s chariots, elephants, horses and infantrymen. The Lord shooting His arrows resembled a blazing circle of fire.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Lord Kṛṣṇa took arrows from His quiver, fixed them on the bowstring, pulled back, and released endless torrents of sharp shafts, which struck the enemy's chariots, elephants, horses and infantrymen. The Lord shooting His arrows resembled a blazing circle of fire. KB 10.50.23 He took His arrows from their quiver, and one after another He set them on the bowstring and shot them toward the enemy. They were so accurate that the elephants, horses and infantry soldiers of Jarāsandha were quickly killed. The incessant arrows shot by Kṛṣṇa appeared like a whirlwind of blazing fire killing all the military strength of Jarāsandha.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Seeing his own army afflicted by the fierce shower of arrows from the cloud of the enemy troops, Krsna drew his bow. In what manner? Continuously drawing arrows from his quiver one by one, he fixed them on the string, drew the string and then released them, thereby destroying all the chariots and other things. The word continuously (nirantaram) modifies all the verbs: to take up the arrows the arrows, string them to the bow, shoot them and destroy the chariots. Though the actions were in sequence they appeared to the onlookers to be happening all continuously. That is, Krsna appeared to be doing millions of actions at once. Thus the bow releasing arrows against the enemy troops surrounding Mathura on all sides appeared just like a circle of a fire brand when whirled around.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Ah! Hear what amazing event happened next. Immediately (atha) he took arrows from his quiver. The sentence continues into the next verse. The arrows struck not only the chariots but everything attached to the chariots. This is understood from the next verse. His arrows created a circle all around, like a circle of a firebrand or Kṛṣṇa appeared everywhere, like a firebrand. He did this by releasing a host of sharp arrows.