Devanagari
तस्मात् कृतनराहाराद् भीतैर्नृभिरमित्रहन् ।
न सेव्यते पशुगणै: पक्षिसङ्घैर्विवर्जितम् ॥ २४ ॥
Verse text
tasmāt kṛta-narāhārād
bhītair nṛbhir amitra-han
na sevyate paśu-gaṇaiḥ
pakṣi-saṅghair vivarjitam
Synonyms
tasmāt
—
of him
;
kṛta
—
nara — āhārāt — who has eaten human beings
;
bhītaiḥ
—
who are afraid
;
nṛbhiḥ
—
by the human beings
;
amitra
—
han — O killer of enemies
;
na sevyate
—
is not resorted to
;
paśu
—
gaṇaiḥ — by the various animals
;
pakṣi
—
saṅghaiḥ — by the flocks of birds
;
vivarjitam
—
abandoned .
Translation
The demon Dhenuka has eaten men alive, and therefore all people and animals are terrified of going to the Tāla forest. O killer of the enemy, even the birds are afraid to fly there.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The demon Dhenuka has eaten men alive, and therefore all people and animals are terrified of going to the Tāla forest. O killer of the enemy, even the birds are afraid to fly there.
KB 10.15.24
“Dear brothers, You are the only persons who can kill such demons. Other than You, no one can go there for fear of being killed. Not even animals go there, and no birds are living there; they have all left.
Purport
The cowherd boyfriends of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma encouraged the two brothers to go at once to the Tāla forest and kill the ass demon. Indeed, here they address the brothers as
amitra-han,
“killer of the enemy.” The cowherd boys were engaged in ecstatic meditation upon the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and reasoned thus: “Kṛṣṇa has already killed terrible demons like Baka and Agha, so what is so special about this obnoxious jackass named Dhenuka, who has become public enemy number one in Vṛndāvana?”
The cowherd boys wanted Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to kill the demons so that all the pious inhabitants of Vṛndāvana could enjoy the fruits in the Tāla forest. Thus they requested the special favor that the ass demons be killed.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
By describing the strength of the demon, they incite the fighting spirit in Krsna and Balarama. "But in front of you two, the bravery of the demon and his cohorts will become like flowers in the sky. So let us go, and relieve the residents of their fear, and shower your blessings upon those who want to enjoy the tala fruit." This is the intention of this verse.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The boys describe his wickedness. The second line is often included, but does not connect with the first line grammatically.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The boys describe his wickedness. He has eaten men. “Then why are you most affectionate boys encouraging me to do this?” They say, “O killer of enemies! You destroyed very easily many demons like Baka and Agha. So what will become of this donkey? Your fame will increase by killing this evil demon” even though it is not proper for affectionate friends to urge Kṛṣṇa in this way. When Sītā speaks to Hanumān who wants to bring her to Rama, she says that Rāma’s fame will increase by his killing Rāvana. Thinking of Kṛṣṇa’s courage, the boys speak in this way to increase his fame.