Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
कालिन्द्यां कालियस्यासीद् ह्रद: कश्चिद् विषाग्निना ।
श्रप्यमाणपया यस्मिन् पतन्त्युपरिगा: खगा: ॥ ४ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
kālindyāṁ kāliyasyāsīd
hradaḥ kaścid viṣāgninā
śrapyamāṇa-payā yasmin
patanty upari-gāḥ khagāḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
kālindyām
—
within the river Yamunā
;
kāliyasya
—
of the serpent Kāliya
;
āsīt
—
there was
;
hradaḥ
—
lake
;
kaścit
—
a certain
;
viṣa
—
of his poison
;
agninā
—
by the fire
;
śrapyamāṇa
—
being heated and boiled
;
payāḥ
—
its water
;
yasmin
—
into which
;
patanti
—
would fall down
;
upari
—
gāḥ — traveling above
;
khagāḥ
—
the birds .
Translation
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Within the river Kālindī [Yamunā] was a lake inhabited by the serpent Kāliya, whose fiery poison constantly heated and boiled its waters. Indeed, the vapors thus created were so poisonous that birds flying over the contaminated lake would fall down into it.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Within the river Kālindī [Yamunā] was a lake inhabited by the serpent Kāliya, whose fiery poison constantly heated and boiled its waters. Indeed, the vapors thus created were so poisonous that birds flying over the contaminated lake would fall down into it.
KB 10.16.4
Śukadeva Gosvāmī narrated the story as follows. Within the river Yamunā there was a great lake, and in that lake the black serpent Kāliya used to live. Because of his poison, the whole area was so contaminated that it emanated a poisonous vapor twenty-four hours a day. If a bird happened to even pass over the spot, it would immediately die and fall down into the water.
Purport
In this regard the
ācāryas
explain that the Kāliya lake was situated apart from the main current of the river; otherwise the Yamunā’s waters would have been poisonous even in cities like Mathurā and in other places farther away.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
According to the Hari vamsa, the lake in the Yamuna was about one yojana wide, situated in the south part, where the Yamuna currents did not flow. If it were not so, the poisonous waters would also inconveniently flow towards the residents of Mathura. The waters of the lake were boiling hot (srapyamana).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Hearing Parīkṣit, full of affection because of having a similar mind, he speaks while thinking he should reveal everything, whether happy or sad, to such a person. He then related the story, which, for himself, was full of sorrow, since it brought sorrow to the people of Vraja, but he repeated everything he heard like a parrot. He did not elaborate on the details of the story elsewhere. The lake arose from within the Yamunā in its southern portion and flowed north in a separate stream, otherwise the Yādavas of Mathurā would also have been poisoned. The fire from the poison made the waters boil. The birds flying overhead even at a great height fell into the lake.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
There was a lake of Kāliya in the Yamunā. It was a pool in the southern area, and joined the Yamunā which flowed from the north. Otherwise, the poison water would spread to Mathurā and the Yādavas. Āsīt is in the past tense, because it describes Kāḷiya’s relationship which was temporary. Kaścit indicates one lake or some indescribable lake. Its indescribable nature is described. Birds flying high in the sky fell into the lake because of the poison. This means the poison spread far away.