Devanagari
अथाघनामाभ्यपतन्महासुर-
स्तेषां सुखक्रीडनवीक्षणाक्षम: ।
नित्यं यदन्तर्निजजीवितेप्सुभि:
पीतामृतैरप्यमरै: प्रतीक्ष्यते ॥ १३ ॥
Verse text
athāgha-nāmābhyapatan mahāsuras
teṣāṁ sukha-krīḍana-vīkṣaṇākṣamaḥ
nityaṁ yad-antar nija-jīvitepsubhiḥ
pītāmṛtair apy amaraiḥ pratīkṣyate
Synonyms
atha
—
thereafter
;
agha
—
nāma — a very powerful demon by the name Agha
;
abhyapatat
—
appeared on the spot
;
mahā
—
asuraḥ — a great, extremely powerful demon
;
teṣām
—
of the cowherd boys
;
sukha
—
krīḍana — the enjoyment of their transcendental pastimes
;
vīkṣaṇa
—
akṣamaḥ — being unable to see, he could not tolerate the transcendental happiness of the cowherd boys
;
nityam
—
perpetually
;
yat
—
antaḥ — the end of the life of Aghāsura
;
nija
—
jīvita — īpsubhiḥ — just to live undisturbed by Aghāsura
;
pīta
—
amṛtaiḥ api — although they drank nectar every day
;
amaraiḥ
—
by such demigods
;
pratīkṣyate
—
was also being awaited (the demigods were also awaiting the death of the great demon Aghāsura) .
Translation
My dear King Parīkṣit, thereafter there appeared a great demon named Aghāsura, whose death was being awaited even by the demigods. The demigods drank nectar every day, but still they feared this great demon and awaited his death. This demon could not tolerate the transcendental pleasure being enjoyed in the forest by the cowherd boys.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
My dear King Parīkṣit, thereafter there appeared a great demon named Aghāsura, whose death was being awaited even by the demigods. The demigods drank nectar every day, but still they feared this great demon and awaited his death. This demon could not tolerate the transcendental pleasure being enjoyed in the forest by the cowherd boys.
KB 10.12.13
When Lord Kṛṣṇa was enjoying His childhood pastimes with His boyfriends, one Aghāsura demon became very impatient. He was unable to tolerate seeing Kṛṣṇa play so happily, and therefore he appeared before the boys intending to kill them all. This Aghāsura was so dangerous that even the denizens of heaven were afraid of him. Although the denizens of heaven drank nectar daily to prolong their lives, they were afraid of this Aghāsura and were wondering, “When will the demon be killed?” The denizens used to drink nectar to become immortal, but actually they were not confident of their immortality. On the other hand, the boys who were playing with Kṛṣṇa had no fear of the demons. They were free of fear. Any material arrangement for protecting oneself from death is always unsure, but if one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then immortality is confidently assured.
Purport
One may ask how Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes could be interrupted by a demon. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura answers this question by saying that although the transcendental pleasure being enjoyed by the cowherd boys could not be stopped, unless they stopped the transcendental pleasure of their various activities they could not eat their lunch. Therefore at lunchtime Aghāsura appeared by the arrangement of Yoga-māyā, so that for the time being they could stop their activities and take lunch. Changing varieties is the mother of enjoyment. The cowherd boys would continuously play, then stop, and then again enjoy in a different way. Therefore every day a demon would come and interrupt their sporting pastimes. The demon would be killed, and then the boys would engage again in their transcendental pastimes.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The lila sakti of the Lord, seeing that the bliss of the boys from playing was increasing and increasing at ever moment, and was not possible for them to stop playing, and seeing that without stopping playing they could not eat and that the eating time had already passed, and seeing that it was also necessary to kill the demon, brought the Aghasura demon towards the boys, inspiring him through paramatma. Aghasura could not tolerate the fun the boys were having. The playing gave them pleasure, but gave him suffering. The devatas (amaraih), who drank amrta, were afraid of death from the demon, and therefore were waiting for his death ( yad antah). Yad can also refer to the playing and antah can mean in the heart. In that case the meaning would be: Aghasura could not tolerate the playing, which was meditated upon by the devata, which alone gave them desire to maintain their lives (nija jivtepsubhih), though they already drank amrta.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Atha indicates a different topic with a different rasa from the present topic. Agha suddenly came in front of them (abhyapatāt). He could not tolerate seeing their joyful playing. The verb abhūt (existed) should be added. Śrīdhara Svāmī explains. The devatās, though they had drunk nectar, were fearful of death, and thus waited for his weak point (antaḥ), thinking “When and how will he die?” He gives another explanation. Agha could not tolerate the playing which the devatās who had drunk nectar were contemplating in their hearts (antar). Their lives were not fulfilled just by drinking nectar. They were fulfilled by remembering the pastimes of the Lord. Thus they constantly contemplated him.
Or, the meaning can be “Even though the devatās were fully absorbed (pīta) in liberation (amṛta), they awaited his death.” They wanted to live long in order see the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. They were without death (amaraiḥ) because of accepting bodies for pastimes, or their subtle and gross bodies were without destruction. It is said muktā api līlayā vigrahaṁ kṛtvā bhajante: even the liberated accept forms and participate in the pastimes. The devatās were expecting (pratīkṣyate) the pastimes. (Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary on Nṛsimha-tāpanī Upaniṣad)