SB 10.1.64 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एतत् कंसाय भगवाञ्छशंसाभ्येत्य नारद: भूमेर्भारायमाणानां दैत्यानां च वधोद्यमम् ॥ ६४ ॥

Verse text

etat kaṁsāya bhagavāṣ chaśaṁsābhyetya nāradaḥ bhūmer bhārāyamāṇānāṁ daityānāṁ ca vadhodyamam

Synonyms

etat — all these words about the Yadu family and Vṛṣṇi family ; kaṁsāya — unto King Kaṁsa ; bhagavān — the most powerful representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; śaśaṁsa — informed (Kaṁsa, who was in doubt) ; abhyetya — after approaching him ; nāradaḥ — the great sage Nārada ; bhūmeḥ — on the surface of the earth ; bhārāyamāṇānām — of those who were a burden ; daityānām ca — and of the demons ; vadha — udyamam — the endeavor to kill .

Translation

Once the great saint Nārada approached Kaṁsa and informed him of how the demoniac persons who were a great burden on the earth were going to be killed. Thus Kaṁsa was placed into great fear and doubt.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Once the great saint Nārada approached Kaṁsa and informed him of how the demoniac persons who were a great burden on the earth were going to be killed. Thus Kaṁsa was placed into great fear and doubt.

Purport

It has already been discussed that mother earth implored Lord Brahmā to give her relief from the distress created by the burdensome demons and that Lord Brahmā informed her that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself was going to appear. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8) : paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge Whenever there is a burden created by the demons and whenever the innocent devotees are distressed by demoniac rulers, the Lord appears in due course of time to kill the demons with the assistance of His real representatives, who are technically called demigods. In the Upaniṣads it is stated that the demigods are different parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is the duty of the parts of the body to serve the whole, it is the duty of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees to serve Kṛṣṇa as He wants. Kṛṣṇa’s business is to kill the demons, and therefore this should be a devotee’s business also. Because the people of Kali-yuga are fallen, however, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, out of kindness for them, did not bring any weapon to kill them. Rather, by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, love of Kṛṣṇa, He wanted to kill their nefarious, demoniac activities. This is the purpose of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Unless the demoniac activities on the surface of the world are diminished or vanquished, no one can be happy. The program for the conditioned soul is fully described in Bhagavad-gītā, and one simply has to follow these instructions to become happy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has therefore prescribed: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā Let people chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra constantly. Then their demoniac tendencies will be killed, and they will become first-class devotees, happy in this life and in the next.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Narada informed Kamsa (samsayam asa) how the devatas were appearing in the various families.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Nārada had all knowledge (bhagavān) and thus knew that Kaṁsa had become peaceful, thinking that the Lord would not appear. Or bhagavān indicates Nārada’s most merciful nature. He was acting for the benefit of the world by hastening the appearance of the Lord through speaking with Kaṁsa. He spoke to Kaṁsa: tripiṣṭapād āpatito mathuropavane sthitaḥ preṣayām āsa kaṁsāya sa dūtaṁ muni-puṅgavaḥ sa dūtaḥ kathanām āsa nāradāgamana nṛpe sa nāradasyāgamanaṁ śrutvā tvarita vikraṁaḥ nirgajāmāsuraḥ kaṁsaḥ svapuryāḥ padmalocanaḥ sa dadarśātithiṁ ślāghaṁ devarśīṁ vītakalmaṣam tejasā jvalam ākāraṁ vapuṣā sūryavarcasam so ‘bhivādyarsahe tasmai pūjāṁ cakre yathāvidhi āsanaṁ cāgnivaṛṇabhaṁ visṭrejyopajahāra saḥ nisasādāsane tasmin sa vai śakru-sakho muniḥ uvāca cograsenasya sutaṁ paramakopanam pūjito ‘haṁ tvayā viṛa vidhi-dṛṣṭena karmaṇā gate tvevaṁ mama vacaḥ śruyatāṁ gṛhyatāṁ ca vai anuśṛtya divo lokān ahaṁ brahma-purogamān gataḥ sūrya-sakham tāta vipulaṁ meru-paravatam so ‘ham kadācid devānāṁ samāje meru-mūrdhani saṁgṛhya vīṇāṁ samṣaktām āgacchaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sabhām tatra mantrayatām evaṁ devatānām māyā śrutaḥ bhavataḥ sānugasyeha vodhopāyaḥ sudāruṇaḥ Coming from Svarga to a grove in Mathurā, Nārada sent a messenger to Kaṁsa. The messenger told him of Nārada’s arrival. Hearing of his arrival, lotus-eyed Kaṁsa quickly came out of his city. He saw Nārada, shining like the sun, with no impurities, blazing with effulgence. He welcomed and worshipped Nārada properly and offered him a pure seat. Nārada sat on the seat and spoke to Ugrasena’s son who was full of anger. “You have worshipped me according to the rules. Please hear and understand my words. On the order of the devatās I went to huge Meru, friend of the sun. With my vīṇā I came to the peak of Meru, where the devatās were assembled. I heard the devatās discussing about a very cruel method of killing you and your associates”. Kaṁsa is described as lotus-eyed because his eyes were wide with surprise.