SB 10.16.67 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

दिव्याम्बरस्रङ्‌मणिभि: परार्ध्यैरपि भूषणै: । दिव्यगन्धानुलेपैश्च महत्योत्पलमालया ॥ ६५ ॥ पूजयित्वा जगन्नाथं प्रसाद्य गरुडध्वजम् । तत: प्रीतोऽभ्यनुज्ञात: परिक्रम्याभिवन्द्य तम् ॥ ६६ ॥ सकलत्रसुहृत्पुत्रो द्वीपमब्धेर्जगाम ह । तदैव सामृतजला यमुना निर्विषाभवत् । अनुग्रहाद् भगवत: क्रीडामानुषरूपिण: ॥ ६७ ॥

Verse text

divyāmbara-sraṅ-maṇibhiḥ parārdhyair api bhūṣaṇaiḥ divya-gandhānulepaiś ca mahatyotpala-mālayā pūjayitvā jagan-nāthaṁ prasādya garuḍa-dhvajam tataḥ prīto ’bhyanujṣātaḥ parikramyābhivandya tam sa-kalatra-suhṛt-putro dvīpam abdher jagāma ha tadaiva sāmṛta-jalā yamunā nirviṣābhavat anugrahād bhagavataḥ krīḍā-mānuṣa-rūpiṇaḥ

Synonyms

divya — divine ; ambara — with clothing ; srak — garlands ; maṇibhiḥ — and jewels ; para — ardhyaiḥ — most valuable ; api — also ; bhūṣaṇaiḥ — ornaments ; divya — divine ; gandha — with scents ; anulepaiḥ — and ointments ; ca — as well ; mahatyā — fine ; utpala — of lotuses ; mālayā — with a garland ; pūjayitvā — worshiping ; jagat — nātham — the Lord of the universe ; prasādya — satisfying ; garuḍa — dhvajam — Him whose flag is marked with the emblem of Garuḍa ; tataḥ — then ; prītaḥ — feeling happy ; abhyanujṣātaḥ — given permission to leave ; parikramya — circumambulating ; abhivandya — offering obeisances ; tam — to Him ; sa — along with ; kalatra — his wives ; suhṛt — friends ; putraḥ — and children ; dvīpam — to the island ; abdheḥ — in the sea ; jagāma — he went ; ha — indeed ; tadā eva — at that very moment ; sa — amṛta — nectarean ; jalā — her water ; yamunā — the river Yamunā ; nirviṣā — free from poison ; abhavat — she became ; anugrahāt — by the mercy ; bhagavataḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; krīḍā — for pleasure pastimes ; mānuṣa — humanlike ; rūpiṇaḥ — manifesting a form .

Translation

Kāliya worshiped the Lord of the universe by offering Him fine garments, along with necklaces, jewels and other valuable ornaments, wonderful scents and ointments, and a large garland of lotus flowers. Having thus pleased the Lord, whose flag is marked with the emblem of Garuḍa, Kāliya felt satisfied. Receiving the Lord’s permission to leave, Kāliya circumambulated Him and offered Him obeisances. Then, taking his wives, friends and children, he went to his island in the sea. The very moment Kāliya left, the Yamunā was immediately restored to her original condition, free from poison and full of nectarean water. This happened by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was manifesting a humanlike form to enjoy His pastimes.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Kāliya worshiped the Lord of the universe by offering Him fine garments, along with necklaces, jewels and other valuable ornaments, wonderful scents and ointments, and a large garland of lotus flowers. Having thus pleased the Lord, whose flag is marked with the emblem of Garuḍa, Kāliya felt satisfied. Receiving the Lord's permission to leave, Kāliya circumambulated Him and offered Him obeisances. Then, taking his wives, friends and children, he went to his island in the sea. The very moment Kāliya left, the Yamunā was immediately restored to her original condition, free from poison and full of nectarean water. This happened by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was manifesting a humanlike form to enjoy His pastimes. KB 10.16.65-67 … with great offerings of nice garments, flowers, garlands, jewels, ornaments, sandal pulp, lotus flowers and nice eatable fruits. In this way they pleased the master of Garuḍa, of whom they were very much afraid. Then, obeying the orders of Lord Kṛṣṇa, all of them left the lake within the Yamunā. Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Sixteenth Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Subduing Kāliya.”

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has commented extensively on this verse. To explain the word maṇibhiḥ — “(Kāliya worshiped the Lord) with jewels” — the ācārya has quoted from the Śrī Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, by Rūpa Gosvāmī, as follows: kaustubhākhyo maṇir yena praviśya hradam auragam kāliya-preyasi-vṛnda- hastair ātmopahāritaḥ “The Lord had made His Kaustubha gem enter the serpent’s lake, and then He arranged for it to be presented to Himself by the hands of Kāliya’s wives.” In other words, because Lord Kṛṣṇa wanted to act just like an ordinary human being, He made the transcendental Kaustubha gem invisible and caused it to enter within Kāliya’s treasury. Then when the appropriate moment came for Kāliya to worship the Lord with many different jewels and ornaments, the serpent’s wives, unaware of the Lord’s transcendental trick, presented Him with the Kaustubha gem, thinking it was simply one of the jewels in their possession. The ācārya has further commented that the reason Lord Kṛṣṇa is described in this verse as garuḍa-dhvaja, “He whose flag is marked by the symbol of His carrier, Garuḍa,” is that Kāliya also desired to become Lord Kṛṣṇa’s carrier. Garuḍa and the serpents are originally related as brothers, and therefore Kāliya wanted to indicate to Lord Kṛṣṇa, “If You ever have to go to a distant place, You should also think of me as Your personal carrier. I am the servant of Your servant, and in the wink of an eye I can travel hundreds of millions of yojanas. ” Thus the Purāṇas narrate that in the course of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s eternal cycle of pastimes, when Kaṁsa orders the Lord to come to Mathurā, He sometimes goes there mounted upon Kāliya. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Sixteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Kṛṣṇa Chastises the Serpent Kāliya.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

According to verse 62, instruction is given to worship and remember the lord to become free from sin. The snakes therefore now begin to worship Krsna. "For me, the most sinful, you gave the most mercy, for you do not put your foot on others’ heads and mark them with sankha and cakra. In a respectful mood, with my wives, I worship you with cool sandalwood in my hand, because your body was burned by the poison from my fangs." "But applying these ointments will take time." "Then please sit. Making him sit, Kaliya and his wives applied sandalwood." Fulfilling their hearts desire fully, they attained the mercy of the Lord. Then they left the lake. This is described in two and half verses. The kaustubha jewel which was on the Lord’s neck from birth was lost in the coils of Kaliya, in order to give spectacle to his human pastimes of fighting and struggling with Kaliya. When they offered jewels to Krsna they thought that the kaustubha was also one of their jewels and offered it back to him. This is described in gaura ganodesa dipika. "The kaustubha jewel which was in the lake came into the hands of Kaliya’s wives and was again offered to him." Having pleased Krsna whose carrier is Garuda (garuda dvaja), Krsna placed his hand on Kaliya’s head and removed all his pain. Kaliya said, "Rider of Garuda, now I am the servant of my older brother Garuda. If he happens to go far away, then just remember me as your carrier and I, the servant of your servant, will instantly appear from millions of yojanas away." This is the implication of use of the word Garuda dvaja. In some puranas it is mentioned that after getting off of Kaliya, Krsna received the order to go to Mathura from Kamsa. Krida manusa rupinah here means that he eternally possess a body of human form engaged in play. By the mercy of he who possesses an eternal human like body, the Yamuna became free of poison and filled with nectar.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The words divya, parārdhyaiḥ, mahatyā indicate that the items were superior to those of the material world. It should be understood that the items were untouched by poison. They were for the most part produced by their powers of will. Kāliya worshipped the Lord of the universe because by worshipping him all auspiciousness is obtained on its own in this life and the next, everywhere in the universe. Kāliya pleased the Lord with the flag of Garuḍa—the Lord who removed his fear of Garuḍa. He was then satisfied, or he satisfied the Lord. Though it was natural that his family members went when he went, it should be understood that they went in order to follow the order of the Lord as instructed in verse 60. The word ha indicates certainty. Though the Yamunā had poisons water injurious to all, it was in a specific lake in the Yamunā. By destroying the poison in that place, it is said the Yamunā became free of poison. Not only did that place become free of poison, the water became nectar with the sweetest taste or, by contact with the Lord’s feet, that water was able to give the highest bliss. Such ability is nothing for the Lord since he is Bhagavān. His goal is play. He has a form as a human engaged in play (krīḍā-manuṣa-rūpiṇaḥ). The Yamunā acted suitably for his human pastimes.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

At that moment (tadā) Yamunā became devoid of poison. This actually means that one portion with the lake became devoid of poison, not the whole Yamunā. Not only did it lose the poison but became sweet (amṛta-jalā) or was able to free everyone from the suffering of saṁsāra. It manifested the nature of Bhagavān, who had a human form for playing or who had beauty of a human with pastimes. Yamunā would thus attain the good fortune of his various pastimes. It was suitable that Yamunā was endowed with similar qualities. Or he had a nature of giving happiness (rūpinaḥ) to the people of Vraja (krīḍa-mānuṣa). He understood that they were dedicated to him and thus gave them the happiness of pastimes. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Sixteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Kṛṣṇa Chastises the Serpent Kāliya." 10.17: The History of Kāliya verses: Summary, 1, 2-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13-14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 Chapter Summary This chapter describes how Kāliya left the island of the snakes and how the sleeping residents of Vṛndāvana were saved from a forest fire. When King Parīkṣit inquired about Kāliya's leaving Ramaṇaka Island, the abode of the serpents, and about why Garuḍa acted inimically toward him, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied as follows: All the serpents on the island were afraid of being devoured by Garuḍa. To placate him, every month they would leave various offerings for him at the foot of a banyan tree. But Kāliya, puffed-up as he was with false pride, would eat these offerings himself. Hearing of this, Garuḍa became furious and went to kill Kāliya, whereupon the snake began biting the great bird. Garuḍa fiercely beat him with his wing, sending Kāliya fleeing for his life to a lake adjoining the Yamunā River. Prior to the above incident, Garuḍa had once come to the Yamunā and started eating some fish. Saubhari Ṛṣi had tried to stop him, but Garuḍa, agitated by hunger, had refused to heed the sage's prohibitions, and in response the sage had cursed Garuḍa that if he ever came there again he would immediately die. Kāliya had heard of this, and thus he lived there without fear. In the end, however, he was driven out by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When Lord Balarāma and all the residents of Vṛndāvana saw Śrī Kṛṣṇa rise up out of the lake, beautifully decorated with many different gems and ornaments, they embraced Him in great pleasure. The spiritual masters, priests and learned brāhmaṇas then told Nanda Mahārāja, the king of the cowherds, that although his son had been caught in the grips of Kāliya, it was by the king's good fortune that He was now free again. Because the people of Vṛndāvana were quite worn out by hunger, thirst and fatigue, they spent that night on the banks of the Yamunā. In the middle of the night, a fire happened to blaze up within the forest, which had become dry during the hot season. As the fire surrounded the sleeping inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, they suddenly awoke and rushed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa for protection. Then the unlimitedly powerful Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, seeing His dear relatives and friends so distressed, immediately swallowed up the terrible forest fire.