Devanagari
तं गृहीत्वानयद् भृत्यो वरुणस्यासुरोऽन्तिकम्
अवज्ञायासुरीं वेलां प्रविष्टमुदकं निशि ॥ २ ॥
Verse text
taṁ gṛhītvānayad bhṛtyo
varuṇasyāsuro ’ntikam
avajṣāyāsurīṁ velāṁ
praviṣṭam udakaṁ niśi
Synonyms
tam
—
him
;
gṛhītvā
—
seizing
;
anayat
—
brought
;
bhṛtyaḥ
—
a servant
;
varuṇasya
—
of Varuṇa, the lord of the sea
;
asuraḥ
—
demon
;
antikam
—
to the presence (of his master)
;
avajṣāya
—
who had disregarded
;
āsurīm
—
the inauspicious
;
velām
—
time
;
praviṣṭam
—
having entered
;
udakam
—
the water
;
niśi
—
during the night .
Translation
Because Nanda Mahārāja entered the water in the dark of night, disregarding that the time was inauspicious, a demoniac servant of Varuṇa seized him and brought him to his master.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Because Nanda Mahārāja entered the water in the dark of night, disregarding that the time was inauspicious, a demoniac servant of Varuṇa seized him and brought him to his master.
KB 10.28.2
He entered deep into the water of the river, but he was arrested immediately by one of the servants of Varuṇadeva. This servant brought Nanda Mahārāja before the demigod Varuṇa and accused him of taking a bath in the river at the wrong time. According to astronomical calculations, the time in which he took a bath was considered demoniac. The fact was that Nanda Mahārāja wanted to take a bath in the river Yamunā early in the morning before the sunrise, but somehow or other he was a little too early, and he bathed at an inauspicious time. Consequently he was arrested.
Purport
Nanda Mahārāja was intent on breaking his fast during the Dvādaśī day, of which there remained only a few minutes. Thus he entered the water to bathe at an inauspicious time, before the first dawn light.
The servant of Varuṇa who arrested Nanda Mahārāja is stated here to be an
asura,
or demon, for obvious reasons. First, the servant was foolishly ignorant of Nanda Mahārāja’s position as the pastime father of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Also, Nanda Mahārāja’s intention was to carry out the injunctions of scripture; therefore Varuṇa’s servant should not have arrested Nanda on the technical grounds that he bathed in the Yamunā at an inauspicious time. Later in this chapter Varuṇa himself will say,
ajānatā māmakena mūḍhena
: “This was done by my ignorant servant, who is a fool.” This foolish servant did not understand the position of Kṛṣṇa or Nanda Mahārāja or devotional service to the Lord.
In conclusion, it is clear that Lord Kṛṣṇa wanted to give His personal audience to Varuṇa and simultaneously accomplish other didactic purposes. Thus this wonderful pastime will now unfold.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One of Varuna’s asuric servants brought Nanda Maharaja to Varuna, because he, out of ignorance, speculated that Nanda had entered the water at an inauspicious time. He was wrong, however, since Nanda entered the water according to the rules of scripture. This is explained later (ajnata mamakena mudhena).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The servant was by his nature not aware of Vaiṣṇava dharma and is thus called asura. The strong demon was suitably protecting the water at a demonic time (asurīṁ velām). Since he was Varuṇa’s servant, Varuṇa was also at fault. Nanda had disregarded that time (which was usually forbidden for bathing).