SB 10.51.5 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच तं विलोक्य विनिष्क्रान्तमुज्जिहानमिवोडुपम् । दर्शनीयतमं श्यामं पीतकौशेयवाससम् ॥ १ ॥ श्रीवत्सवक्षसं भ्राजत्कौस्तुभामुक्तकन्धरम् । पृथुदीर्घचतुर्बाहुं नवकञ्जारुणेक्षणम् ॥ २ ॥ नित्यप्रमुदितं श्रीमत्सुकपोलं शुचिस्मितम् । मुखारविन्दं बिभ्राणं स्फुरन्मकरकुण्डलम् ॥ ३ ॥ वासुदेवो ह्ययमिति पुमान् श्रीवत्सलाञ्छन: । चतुर्भुजोऽरविन्दाक्षो वनमाल्यतिसुन्दर: ॥ ४ ॥ लक्षणैर्नारदप्रोक्तैर्नान्यो भवितुमर्हति । निरायुधश्चलन् पद्‍भ्यां योत्स्येऽनेन निरायुध: ॥ ५ ॥ इति निश्चित्य यवन: प्राद्रवद् तं पराङ्‍मुखम् । अन्वधावज्जिघृक्षुस्तं दुरापमपि योगिनाम् ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca taṁ vilokya viniṣkrāntam ujjihānam ivoḍupam darśanīyatamaṁ śyāmaṁ pīta-kauśeya-vāsasam śrīvatsa-vakṣasaṁ bhrājat kaustubhāmukta-kandharam pṛthu-dīrgha-catur-bāhuṁ nava-kaṣjāruṇekṣaṇam nitya-pramuditaṁ śrīmat su-kapolaṁ śuci-smitam mukhāravindaṁ bibhrāṇaṁ sphuran-makara-kuṇḍalam vāsudevo hy ayam iti pumān śrīvatsa-lāṣchanaḥ catur-bhujo ’ravindākṣo vana-māly ati-sundaraḥ lakṣaṇair nārada-proktair nānyo bhavitum arhati nirāyudhaś calan padbhyāṁ yotsye ’nena nirāyudhaḥ iti niścitya yavanaḥ prādravad taṁ parāṅ-mukham anvadhāvaj jighṛkṣus taṁ durāpam api yoginām

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; tam — Him ; vilokya — seeing ; viniṣkrāntam — coming out ; ujjihānam — rising ; iva — as if ; uḍupam — the moon ; darśanīya — tamam — the most beautiful to behold ; śyāmam — dark blue ; pīta — yellow ; kauśeya — silk ; vāsasam — whose garment ; śrīvatsa — the mark of the goddess of fortune, consisting of a special swirl of hair and belonging to the Supreme Lord alone ; vakṣasam — upon whose chest ; bhrājat — brilliant ; kaustubha — with the gem Kaustubha ; āmukta — decorated ; kandharam — whose neck ; pṛthu — broad ; dīrgha — and long ; catuḥ — four ; bāhum — having arms ; nava — newly grown ; kaṣja — like lotuses ; aruṇa — pink ; īkṣaṇam — whose eyes ; nitya — always ; pramuditam — joyful ; śrīmat — effulgent ; su — beautiful ; kapolam — with cheeks ; śuci — clean ; smitam — with a smile ; mukha — His face ; aravindam — lotuslike ; bibhrāṇam — displaying ; sphuran — glittering ; makara — shark ; kuṇḍalam — earrings ; vāsudevaḥ — Vāsudeva ; hi — indeed ; ayam — this ; iti — thus thinking ; pumān — person ; śrīvatsa — lāṣchanaḥ — marked with Śrīvatsa ; catuḥ — bhujaḥ — four-armed ; aravinda — akṣaḥ — lotus-eyed ; vana — of forest flowers ; mālī — wearing a garland ; ati — extremely ; sundaraḥ — beautiful ; lakṣaṇaiḥ — by the symptoms ; nārada — proktaiḥ — told by Nārada Muni ; na — no ; anyaḥ — other ; bhavitum arhati — can He be ; nirāyudhaḥ — without weapons ; calan — going ; padbhyām — by foot ; yotsye — I will fight ; anena — with Him ; nirāyudhaḥ — without weapons ; iti — thus ; niścitya — deciding ; yavanaḥ — the barbarian Kālayavana ; prādravantam — who was fleeing ; parāk — turned away ; mukham — whose face ; anvadhāvat — he pursued ; jighṛkṣuḥ — wanting to catch ; tam — Him ; durāpam — unattainable ; api — even ; yoginām — by mystic yogīs. .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Kālayavana saw the Lord come out from Mathurā like the rising moon. The Lord was most beautiful to behold, with His dark-blue complexion and yellow silk garment. Upon His chest He bore the mark of Śrīvatsa, and the Kaustubha gem adorned His neck. His four arms were sturdy and long. He displayed His ever-joyful lotuslike face, with eyes pink like lotuses, beautifully effulgent cheeks, a pristine smile and glittering shark-shaped earrings. The barbarian thought, “This person must indeed be Vāsudeva, since He possesses the characteristics Nārada mentioned: He is marked with Śrīvatsa, He has four arms, His eyes are like lotuses, He wears a garland of forest flowers, and He is extremely handsome. He cannot be anyone else. Since He goes on foot and unarmed, I will fight Him without weapons.” Resolving thus, he ran after the Lord, who turned His back and ran away. Kālayavana hoped to catch Lord Kṛṣṇa, though great mystic yogīs cannot attain Him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Kālayavana saw the Lord come out from Mathurā like the rising moon. The Lord was most beautiful to behold, with His dark-blue complexion and yellow silk garment. Upon His chest He bore the mark of Śrīvatsa, and the Kaustubha gem adorned His neck. His four arms were sturdy and long. He displayed His ever-joyful lotuslike face, with eyes pink like lotuses, beautifully effulgent cheeks, a pristine smile and glittering shark-shaped earrings. The barbarian thought, "This person must indeed be Vāsudeva, since He possesses the characteristics Nārada mentioned: He is marked with Śrīvatsa, He has four arms, His eyes are like lotuses, He wears a garland of forest flowers, and He is extremely handsome. He cannot be anyone else. Since He goes on foot and unarmed, I will fight Him without weapons." Resolving thus, he ran after the Lord, who turned His back and ran away. Kālayavana hoped to catch Lord Kṛṣṇa, though great mystic yogīs cannot attain Him. KB 10.51.1-6 When Kṛṣṇa came out of the city, Kālayavana, who had never seen Kṛṣṇa before, saw Him to be extraordinarily beautiful, dressed in yellow garments. Passing through Kālayavana’s assembly of soldiers, Kṛṣṇa appeared like the moon in the sky passing through the assembled clouds. Kālayavana was fortunate enough to see the lines of Śrīvatsa, a particular impression on the chest of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the Kaustubha jewel He was wearing. Kālayavana saw Him, however, in His Viṣṇu form, with a well-built body, four hands, and eyes like the petals of a newly blooming lotus. Kṛṣṇa appeared blissful, with a handsome forehead and beautiful smiling face, restless eyebrows and moving earrings. Before seeing Kṛṣṇa, Kālayavana had heard about Him from Nārada, and now the descriptions of Nārada were confirmed. Kālayavana noticed Kṛṣṇa’s specific marks and the jewels on His chest, His beautiful garland of lotus flowers, His lotuslike eyes and similar beautiful bodily features. He concluded that this beautiful personality must be Vāsudeva, for every description he had previously heard from Nārada was substantiated by the presence of Kṛṣṇa. Kālayavana was astonished to see Kṛṣṇa passing through his army without any weapon in His hands and without any chariot. He was simply walking on foot. Kālayavana had come to fight with Kṛṣṇa, and yet he had sufficient principles not to take up any kind of weapon. He decided to fight with Him hand to hand. Thus he prepared to capture Kṛṣṇa and fight. Kṛṣṇa, however, went ahead without looking at Kālayavana. Kālayavana followed Him with a desire to capture Him, but in spite of his swift running, he could not capture Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa cannot be captured even by great yogīs traveling at the speed of the mind. He can be captured only by those who follow the path of devotional service, and Kālayavana was not practiced in devotional service. He wanted to capture Kṛṣṇa, and since he could not do so he followed Him from behind.

Purport

Although Kālayavana was seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa with his own eyes, he could not adequately appreciate the beautiful Lord. Thus instead of worshiping Kṛṣṇa, he attacked Him. Similarly, it is not uncommon for modern men to attack Kṛṣṇa in the name of philosophy, “law and order” and even religion.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the fifty first chapter Mucukunda burns up Kalayavana with his glance and satisfies Krsna with his prayers. Krsna gives Mucunda benediction. Though others who are qualified by devotion can appreciate the beauty of Krsna, the asuras cannot taste that beauty even if the Lord is before their eyes, because of their inimical attitude. To show that fact, this verse describes the beauty of Krsna as he stood before Kalayavana. Kalayavana chased Krsna who was fleeing away (pradravantam).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Kālayavana saw him coming out of the city. The word vi--niṣkrantam indicates he was certain that Kṛṣṇa had come out. Śukadeva describes Kṛṣṇa, by seeing his real nature out of prema. This is not how Kālayavana saw him, since if he did, he could not have had enmity with him. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ: being covered by my yoga-māyā, I am not visible at all to the fools. (BG 7.26) Just as a person fond of bitter foods does not appreciate sweet foods, demons see only a dull shadow of the real Kṛṣṇa. Though they see Kṛṣṇa, they do not really see him. Because Kṛṣṇa appeared according to Nārada’s description, with four long, thick arms, because of the distinguishing characteristics related by Nārada, Kālayavana quickly understood that this was Kṛṣṇa. He had eyes pink like a fresh lotus. According to Amara-koṣa, aruṇa means very pale red. His cheeks possessed beauty (śrīmat). The suffix mat is used to suggest praise. Sukapola indicates the excellence of his body parts. He smiled because of pleasure. His earrings and other ornaments as well sparkled (sphūran). The first three verses describe Kṛṣṇa. Kālayavana thought, “This must be Vāsudeva. It cannot be anyone else.” He then describes Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa was going at quite a fast pace in a playful manner (pra—ā—dravantam). Out of pride Kālayavana wanted to catch him. But because Kṛṣṇa was difficult to catch even for yogīs, Kālayavana would be a laughing stock.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Kālayavana saw him coming out of the city, strolling at a casual pace, alone (vi-niṣkrantam). He was like the rising moon, a disc of light which gives joy to the mind and eye. Thus he saw the Lord clearly (vilokya), though he was at a distance. He is depicted as most beautiful. Nārada, having always seen the four armed form, described this to Kālayavana. Thus he saw Kṛṣṇa in his form now. His eyes were red like fresh lotuses. Also implied by the word nava (new) are the eyes’ wideness and happiness since these are constant qualities of his eyes. He was ever joyful and thus endowed with all beauty (śrīmat). Another cause of beauty is mentioned. He was endowed with or manifested (vibhrāṇam) beautiful cheeks, smile and lotus face. This person must be the son of Vasudeva, with extraordinary qualities like the Śrīvatsa mark. He was most beautiful with the lotus garland extending to his feet. The previously mentioned details of his form are also understood in what Kālayavana described. He recognized the Lord by what Nārada had described (iti). Or he thought (iti), “It cannot be anyone else.” He then decided, “Since he has no weapons I will also fight without weapons.” Kṛṣṇa was walking slightly fast, and casually (prādravantam). He wanted to catch Kṛṣṇa, out of pride, and because he thought he could do it. He pursued Kṛṣṇa on foot, though Kṛṣṇa could not be caught by yogīs. This shows the demon’s foolishness.