Devanagari
अश्वपृष्ठे गजस्कन्धे रथोपस्थेऽस्त्र कोविदा: ।
मुमुचु: शरवर्षाणि मेघा अद्रिष्वपो यथा ॥ ३ ॥
Verse text
aśva-pṛṣṭhe gaja-skandhe
rathopasthe ’stra kovidāḥ
mumucuḥ śara-varṣāṇi
meghā adriṣv apo yathā
Synonyms
aśva
—
pṛṣṭhe — on horseback
;
gaja
—
of elephants
;
skandhe
—
on the shoulders
;
ratha
—
of chariots
;
upasthe
—
on the seats
;
astra
—
of weapons
;
kovidāḥ
—
those expert in the use
;
mumucuḥ
—
released
;
śara
—
of arrows
;
varṣāṇi
—
rains
;
meghāḥ
—
clouds
;
adriṣu
—
upon mountains
;
apaḥ
—
water
;
yathā
—
as .
Translation
Mounted on the backs of horses, the shoulders of elephants and the seats of chariots, the enemy kings, expert with weapons, rained down arrows upon the Yadus like clouds pouring rain on mountains.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Mounted on the backs of horses, the shoulders of elephants and the seats of chariots, the enemy kings, expert with weapons, rained down arrows upon the Yadus like clouds pouring rain on mountains.
KB 10.54.3
The princes opposing Kṛṣṇa, who were led by Jarāsandha and were all expert in fighting, shot their arrows at the Yadu soldiers just as a cloud splashes the face of a mountain with torrents of rain. Gathered on the face of a mountain, a cloud does not move very much, and therefore the force of rain is much more severe on a mountain than anywhere else.
The opposing princes were determined to defeat Kṛṣṇa and recapture Rukmiṇī from His custody, and they fought with Him as severely as possible.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The shower of Jarasandha’s arrows was like rain on a mountain, completely insignificant.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Seated in their chariots (rathopaṣṭhe), expert at war (kovidāḥ), the enemy headed by Jarāsandha released a shower of arrows.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Seated in their chariots (rathopaṣṭhe), expert at war (kovidāḥ), the enemy headed by Jarāsandha released a shower of arrows. The arrows were spread among the warriors. The showers from horses, elephants and chariots were progressively greater, because of their size. Because they were expert they released showers of arrows as if they were clouds.