SB 10.59.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यानि योधै: प्रयुक्तानि शस्‍त्रास्‍त्राणि कुरूद्वह । हरिस्तान्यच्छिनत्तीक्ष्णै: शरैरेकैकशस्‍त्रिभि: ॥ १७ ॥ उह्यमान: सुपर्णेन पक्षाभ्यां निघ्नता गजान् । गुरुत्मता हन्यमानास्तुण्डपक्षनखेर्गजा: ॥ १८ ॥ पुरमेवाविशन्नार्ता नरको युध्ययुध्यत ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

yāni yodhaiḥ prayuktāni śastrāstrāṇi kurūdvaha haris tāny acchinat tīkṣṇaiḥ śarair ekaikaśas trībhiḥ uhyamānaḥ suparṇena pakṣābhyāṁ nighnatā gajān gurutmatā hanyamānās tuṇḍa-pakṣa-nakher gajāḥ puram evāviśann ārtā narako yudhy ayudhyata

Synonyms

yāni — those which ; yodhaiḥ — by the warriors ; prayuktāni — used ; śastra — cutting weapons ; astrāṇi — and missile weapons ; kuru — udvaha — O hero of the Kurus (King Parīkṣit) ; hariḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa ; tāni — them ; acchinat — cut to pieces ; tīkṣṇaiḥ — sharp ; śaraiḥ — with arrows ; ekaśaḥ — each one ; tribhiḥ — with three ; uhyamānaḥ — being carried ; su — parṇena — by him of the great wings (Garuḍa) ; pakṣābhyām — with both his wings ; nighnatā — who was striking ; gajān — the elephants ; gurutmatā — by Garuḍa ; hanyamānaḥ — being beaten ; tuṇḍa — with his beak ; pakṣa — wings ; nakheḥ — and talons ; gajāḥ — the elephants ; puram — into the city ; eva — indeed ; āviśann — going back inside ; ārtāḥ — distressed ; narakaḥ — Naraka (Bhauma) ; yudhi — in the battle ; ayudhyata — continued fighting .

Translation

Lord Hari then struck down all the missiles and weapons the enemy soldiers threw at Him, O hero of the Kurus, destroying each and every one with three sharp arrows. Meanwhile Garuḍa, as he carried the Lord, struck the enemy’s elephants with his wings. Beaten by Garuḍa’s wings, beak and talons, the elephants fled back into the city, leaving Narakāsura alone on the battlefield to oppose Kṛṣṇa.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Lord Hari then struck down all the missiles and weapons the enemy soldiers threw at Him, O hero of the Kurus, destroying each and every one with three sharp arrows. Meanwhile Garuḍa, as he carried the Lord, struck the enemy's elephants with his wings. Beaten by Garuḍa's wings, beak and talons, the elephants fled back into the city, leaving Narakāsura alone on the battlefield to oppose Kṛṣṇa. KB 10.59.17-19 The Lord was fighting on the back of Garuḍa, who was helping Him by striking the horses and elephants with his wings and scratching their heads with his nails and sharp beak. The elephants, feeling much pain from Garuḍa’s attack on them, all dispersed from the battlefield. Bhaumāsura alone remained on the battlefield, and he engaged himself in fighting with Kṛṣṇa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

After describing cutting up the arms of the enemy troops, cutting up of their weapons is described. Astras are arrows and other missiles and sastras are swords and other hand weapons. One by one he shot down each weapon with three arrows. Before the weapons thrown could reach their target, he had killed the throwers of the weapons, and then destroyed the missiles while they were still in the air, each with three arrows. And the arrows were shot one after the other, not three at once. So quick was Krsna to shoot that in amazement Sukadeva cried out "O kurudvaha, Parksit!" Such swiftness had not be conceived by any of the Kurus such as Bhims and Arjuna though they had been taught by Krsna.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Śastra means swords etc. and astrāṇi means arrows etc. The Lord was carried on Garuḍa, who flew here and there with great speed at ease. This appeared most glorious and indicates Garuḍa’s power. Though he was carrying the Lord, with his wings he beat the elephants. From this it is understood that the fighters were not riding the elephants. The elephants were situated separately. Some were killed and some injured. Naraka, remaining in the battle (yudhi), continued to fight. This indicates that he was fearless.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Śastra means swords etc. and astrāṇi means arrows etc. The Lord was carried on Garuḍa, who flew here and there with great speed at ease. This appeared most glorious and indicates Garuḍa’s power. Though he was carrying the Lord, with his wings he beat the elephants. From this it is understood that the fighters were not riding the elephants. The elephants were situated separately. Some were killed and some injured. He attacked those in front with his beak, those on the sides with his wings, and those behind with his claws. This shows his speed and prowess. Naraka, remaining in the battle (yudhi), continued to fight. This indicates that he was fearless since he stayed after the elephants and troops were all defeated.