Devanagari
सोऽतिवीर्योऽसुरो राम हे कृष्ण खररूपधृक् ।
आत्मतुल्यबलैरन्यैर्ज्ञातिभिर्बहुभिर्वृत: ॥ २३ ॥
Verse text
so ’ti-vīryo ’suro rāma
he kṛṣṇa khara-rūpa-dhṛk
ātma-tulya-balair anyair
jṣātibhir bahubhir vṛtaḥ
Synonyms
saḥ
—
he
;
ati
—
vīryaḥ — very powerful
;
asuraḥ
—
a demon
;
rāma
—
O Rāma
;
he kṛṣṇa
—
O Kṛṣṇa
;
khara
—
rūpa — the form of an ass
;
dhṛk
—
assuming
;
ātma
—
tulya — equal to himself
;
balaiḥ
—
whose strength
;
anyaiḥ
—
with others
;
jṣātibhiḥ
—
companions
;
bahubhiḥ
—
many
;
vṛtaḥ
—
surrounded .
Translation
O Rāma, O Kṛṣṇa! Dhenuka is a most powerful demon and has assumed the form of an ass. He is surrounded by many friends who have assumed a similar shape and who are just as powerful as he.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O Rāma, O Kṛṣṇa! Dhenuka is a most powerful demon and has assumed the form of an ass. He is surrounded by many friends who have assumed a similar shape and who are just as powerful as he.
KB 10.15.23
“Dear Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, this demon is present there in the form of an ass, and he is surrounded by similar demon friends who have assumed the same shape. All of them are very strong, so it is very difficult to approach this place.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
They encourage Kṛṣṇa in two verses by saying that no one can eat the fruit because of fear of the demon. He is very strong (ati-vīryaḥ). They call out to Balarāma and describe the demon as very strong, to produce hatred in him for the demon. They called to Kṛṣṇa, telling him it is a donkey, in order to make Kṛṣṇa, the crest jewel of fun, laugh. Taking the two words together, he is a strong donkey, who cannot be killed by anyone. The demon is surrounded by relatives, who will help him.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
They encourage Kṛṣṇa in two verses by saying that no one can eat the fruit because of fear of the demon. He is very strong (ati-vīryaḥ). They call out to Balarāma and describe the demon as very strong, to produce hatred in him for the demon. They call to Kṛṣṇa, telling him it is a donkey, in order to make Kṛṣṇa, the crest jewel of fun, laugh. Or they describe to both of them that he is a very powerful demon in the form of a donkey. Therefore they cannot disregard him. He is surrounded by relatives and friends (anyaiḥ). Or by mention of others, the cowherds hope to remove the two boys’ indifference to going.