SB 10.42.15 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तत: पौरान् पृच्छमानो धनुष: स्थानमच्युत: तस्मिन् प्रविष्टो दद‍ृशे धनुरैन्द्रमिवाद्भ‍ुतम् ॥ १५ ॥

Verse text

tataḥ paurān pṛcchamāno dhanuṣaḥ sthānam acyutaḥ tasmin praviṣṭo dadṛśe dhanur aindram ivādbhutam

Synonyms

tataḥ — then ; paurān — from the city residents ; pṛcchamānaḥ — inquiring about ; dhanuṣaḥ — of the bow ; sthānam — the place ; acyutaḥ — the infallible Supreme Lord ; tasmin — there ; praviṣṭaḥ — entering ; dadṛśe — He saw ; dhanuḥ — the bow ; aindram — that of Lord Indra ; iva — like ; adbhutam — amazing .

Translation

Lord Kṛṣṇa then asked the local people where the arena was in which the bow sacrifice would take place. When He went there He saw the amazing bow, which resembled Lord Indra’s.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Lord Kṛṣṇa then asked the local people where the arena was in which the bow sacrifice would take place. When He went there He saw the amazing bow, which resembled Lord Indra's. KB 10.42.15 Kṛṣṇa next inquired from the citizens as to the location of the place of sacrifice. Kaṁsa had arranged for the sacrifice called Dhanur-yajṣa, and to designate this particular sacrifice he had placed a big bow near the sacrificial altar. The bow was very big and wonderful and resembled a rainbow in the sky.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

After showing mercy to the devotees, completely fixed in knowledge and power (acyutaḥ) he asked about the place of the bow, being carried away by amusing pastimes. It was like Indra’s bow (rainbow) because it was colorful with imbedded gems and huge. Thus it was astonishing. Hari-vaṁśa says: sa tayor darśayāmāsa tad dhanuḥ stambha-saṁnibham / anāropyam asaṁbhedyaṁ devair api savāsavaiḥ // The guard showed the two boys the bow which was like a pillar, which could not be strung or broken by the devatās.