SB 10.66.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

मुखं तदपिधायाज्ञ कङ्कगृध्रवटैर्वृत: । शयिष्यसे हतस्तत्र भविता शरणं शुनाम् ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

mukhaṁ tad apidhāyājṣa kaṅka-gṛdhra-vaṭair vṛtaḥ śayiṣyase hatas tatra bhavitā śaraṇaṁ śunām

Synonyms

mukham — face ; tat — that ; apidhāya — being covered ; ajṣa — O ignorant man ; kaṅka — by herons ; gṛdhra — vultures ; vaṭaiḥ — and vaṭa birds ; vṛtaḥ — surrounded ; śayiṣyase — you will lie ; hataḥ — killed ; tatra — thereupon ; bhavitā — you will become ; śaraṇam — shelter ; śunām — for dogs .

Translation

“When you lie dead, O fool, your face covered by vultures, herons and vaṭa birds, you will become the shelter of dogs.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"When you lie dead, O fool, your face covered by vultures, herons and vaṭa birds, you will become the shelter of dogs." KB 10.66.9 “ ‘O foolish King, you will then have to conceal your face in disgrace, and when your head is severed from your body by My disc, it will be surrounded by meat-eating birds like vultures, hawks and eagles. At that time, instead of becoming My shelter, as you have demanded, you will be subject to the mercy of these lowborn birds. At that time your body will be thrown to the dogs, who will eat it with great pleasure.’ ”

Purport

Pauṇḍraka foolishly told the Supreme Lord to come to him for shelter, but here Lord Kṛṣṇa tells him, “You are not My shelter, but rather you will become the shelter of dogs when they happily feast on your dead body.” Śrīla Prabhupāda vividly describes this scene as follows: “[Lord Kṛṣṇa told Pauṇḍraka, “When I shall destroy you,] foolish King, you will then have to conceal your face in disgrace, and when your head is severed from your body by My disc, it will be surrounded by meat-eating birds like vultures, hawks and eagles. At that time, instead of becoming My shelter, as you have demanded, you will be subject to the mercy of these lowborn birds. At that time your body will be thrown to the dogs, who will eat it with great pleasure.’”

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

You said that you would surrender to me. That fate will be accomplished with surrender to dogs and not others. After speaking like this, after turning your face downwards when you fall, cover it with sand and lie down dead. Other people when sleeping cover their faces with cloth. The vultures and herons will be your assistants at that time. The vaṭa is a bird with a sharp beak that loves to eat meat. Another meaning by joining this verse with the previous verse is “I will throw my weapons at you and they will make you lie down dead. Those weapons about which you boasted will cover your face.”