SB 10.36.4 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्य निर्ह्रादितेनाङ्ग निष्ठुरेण गवां नृणाम् । पतन्त्यकालतो गर्भा: स्रवन्ति स्म भयेन वै ॥ ३ ॥ निर्विशन्ति घना यस्य ककुद्यचलशङ्कया । तं तीक्ष्णश‍ृङ्गमुद्वीक्ष्य गोप्यो गोपाश्च तत्रसु: ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

yasya nirhrāditenāṅga niṣṭhureṇa gavāṁ nṛṇām patanty akālato garbhāḥ sravanti sma bhayena vai nirviśanti ghanā yasya kakudy acala-śaṅkayā taṁ tīkṣṇa-śṛṅgam udvīkṣya gopyo gopāś ca tatrasuḥ

Synonyms

yasya — whose ; nirhrāditena — by the reverberating sound ; aṅga — my dear King (Parīkṣit) ; niṣṭhureṇa — rough ; gavām — of cows ; nṛṇām — of humans ; patanti — fall ; akālataḥ — untimely ; garbhāḥ — the embryos ; sravanti sma — are miscarried ; bhayena — out of fear ; vai — indeed ; nirviśanti — enter ; ghanāḥ — clouds ; yasya — whose ; kakudi — onto the hump ; acala — as a mountain ; śaṅkayā — by the mistaken identification ; tam — him ; tīkṣṇa — sharp ; śṛṅgam — whose horns ; udvīkṣya — seeing ; gopyaḥ — the cowherd women ; gopāḥ — the cowherd men ; ca — and ; tatrasuḥ — became frightened .

Translation

My dear King, clouds hovered about sharp-horned Ariṣṭāsura’s hump, mistaking it for a mountain, and when the cowherd men and ladies caught sight of the demon, they were struck with terror. Indeed, the strident reverberation of his roar so frightened the pregnant cows and women that they lost their fetuses in miscarriages.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

My dear King, clouds hovered about sharp-horned Ariṣṭāsura's hump, mistaking it for a mountain, and when the cowherd men and ladies caught sight of the demon, they were struck with terror. Indeed, the strident reverberation of his roar so frightened the pregnant cows and women that they lost their fetuses in miscarriages. KB 10.36.3-4 The fearful roaring of the bull was so piercing that some of the pregnant cows and women had miscarriages. Its body was so big, stout and strong that a cloud hovered over its body just as clouds hover over mountains.

Purport

The Vedic literature categorizes miscarriages as follows: Ā-caturthād bhavet srāvaḥ pātaḥ paṣcama-ṣaṣṭhayoḥ/ ata ūrdhvaṁ prasūtiḥ syāt. “Up to the fourth month a premature delivery is called srāva, in the fifth and sixth months it is called pāta, and after this it is considered a birth ( prasūti ).”

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The great fear caused by the demon is described. His roaring seemed to crush Vraja. Śukadeva calls out to Parīkṣit (aṅga) with fear. Sma indicates that it was well known and vai means certainly. The word mahā mentioned previously indicates his size. He had a huge hump upon which the cloud, mistaking it for a mountain, rested. This is a metaphor since the cloud is unconscious. His hump and a mountain were both high, reaching the clouds. What to speak of the women, who are easily frightened by their nature, the men were also terrified. sa toyatoyada-cchāyas tīkṣṇa-śṛṅgo ‘rka-locanaḥ / lelihānaḥ saniṣpeṣaṁ jihvayoṣṭhau punaḥ punaḥ / saṁraṁbhāviddha-lāṅgūlaḥ kaṭhinas kandha-bandhanaḥ // udagra-kakudābhoga-pramāṇo dur-atikramaḥ / viṇmūtra-lipta-pṛṣṭhāṅgo gavam udvega-kārakaḥ // pralaṁba-kaṇṭho 'timukhas tarughātāṅkitānanaḥ / sūdayaṁs tāpasān ugro vanān aṭati yaḥ sadā // He had the complexion of a cloud and had sharp horns and eyes blazing like the sun. He repeatedly licked his lips with sound. He twirled his tail in pride. His shoulders were tough and his hump was huge and impossible to pass over. His body was smeared with urine and stool. He caused panic in the cows. Skin hung from his throat. His face was scarred by being hit by trees. He always wandered in the forest to attack the sages doing austerities. The people had to look upwards (udvīṣya) to see him, since he was huge. The animals were frightened because of his evil nature. yuddha-sajja-viṣāṇāgro dviṣad vṛṣabha-sūdanaḥ ariṣṭo nāma hi gavām ariṣto dāruṇākṛtiḥ daityo vṛṣabha-rūpeṇa gokulaṁ paridhāvati pātayāno gavāṁ garbhān dhrsṭo gacchaty anārtavam bhañjamānaś ca capalo goṣṭaṁ saṁpraccāra ha śṛṅga-praharaṇo raudraḥ praharan goṣu durmadaḥ goṣṭhe tu na ratīm lebhe vinā yuddhena go-vṛṣaḥ The demon named Ariṣṭa, killer of bulls and enemy of the cows, with frightful form and with huge horns for fighting, ran around Gokula. He made the cows abort and become barren. He wandered through the village, breaking everything. With anger he attacked the cows with his horns. He was not satisfied, since he could not fight. The demon had not come to Vraja up to this time, because Kaṁsa had not permitted him.