Devanagari
तं नि:सरन्तं सलिलादनुद्रुतो
हिरण्यकेशो द्विरदं यथा झष: ।
करालदंष्ट्रोऽशनिनिस्वनोऽब्रवीद्
गतह्रियां किं त्वसतां विगर्हितम् ॥ ७ ॥
Verse text
taṁ niḥsarantaṁ salilād anudruto
hiraṇya-keśo dviradaṁ yathā jhaṣaḥ
karāla-daṁṣṭro ’śani-nisvano ’bravīd
gata-hriyāṁ kiṁ tv asatāṁ vigarhitam
Synonyms
tam
—
Him
;
niḥsarantam
—
coming out
;
salilāt
—
from the water
;
anudrutaḥ
—
chased
;
hiraṇya
—
keśaḥ — having golden hair
;
dviradam
—
an elephant
;
yathā
—
as
;
jhaṣaḥ
—
a crocodile
;
karāla
—
daṁṣṭraḥ — having fearful teeth
;
aśani
—
nisvanaḥ — roaring like thunder
;
abravīt
—
he said
;
gata
—
hriyām — for those who are shameless
;
kim
—
what
;
tu
—
indeed
;
asatām
—
for the wretches
;
vigarhitam
—
reproachable .
Translation
The demon, who had golden hair on his head and fearful tusks, gave chase to the Lord while He was rising from the water, even as an alligator would chase an elephant. Roaring like thunder, he said: Are You not ashamed of running away before a challenging adversary? There is nothing reproachable for shameless creatures!
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Hiraṇyākṣa, with golden hair and fierce teeth, chasing the Lord as he rose from the water, just like a crocodile pursuing an elephant, then spoke with the sound of thunder. “What censure is there for those without shame and bravery?”
Chasing the Lord, he said, “Is there criticism for those who without shame and are cowardly? There is not. But still, it is not unsuitable to criticize opponents who flee.” The other meaning is as follows. Can there be criticism of those who are merciful and modest. Those who, being merciful, flee for the purpose of protecting the earth who has taken shelter of your tusks should not be criticized. Or another meaning is as follows. Thinking that it was not proper to pursue the Lord who was lifting the earth for helping the populace, the demon criticizes himself. “Is there censure for me, a demon, dedicated to my own pleasure, devoid of shame? No, there is not. How unfortunate I am!”
Purport
When the Lord was coming out of the water, taking the earth in His arms to deliver it, the demon derided Him with insulting words, but the Lord did not care because He was very conscious of His duty. For a dutiful man there is nothing to fear. Similarly, those who are powerful have no fear of derision or unkind words from an enemy. The Lord had nothing to fear from anyone, yet He was merciful to His enemy by neglecting him. Although apparently He fled from the challenge, it was just to protect the earth from calamity that He tolerated Hiraṇyākṣa’s deriding words.