SB 10.6.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कंसेन प्रहिता घोरा पूतना बालघातिनी । शिशूंश्चचार निघ्नन्ती पुरग्रामव्रजादिषु ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

kaṁsena prahitā ghorā pūtanā bāla-ghātinī śiśūṁś cacāra nighnantī pura-grāma-vrajādiṣu

Synonyms

kaṁsena — by King Kaṁsa ; prahitā — engaged previously ; ghorā — very fierce ; pūtanā — by the name Pūtanā ; bāla — ghātinī — a Rākṣasī who killed ; śiśūn — small babies ; cacāra — wandered ; nighnantī — killing ; pura — grāma — vraja — ādiṣu — in towns, cities and villages here and there .

Translation

While Nanda Mahārāja was returning to Gokula, the same fierce Pūtanā whom Kaṁsa had previously engaged to kill babies was wandering about in the towns, cities and villages, doing her nefarious duty.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

While Nanda Mahārāja was returning to Gokula, the same fierce Pūtanā whom Kaṁsa had previously engaged to kill babies was wandering about in the towns, cities and villages, doing her nefarious duty. KB 10.6.2 After consulting with his demoniac ministers, Kaṁsa instructed a witch named Pūtanā, who knew the black art of killing small children by ghastly sinful methods, to kill all kinds of children in the cities, villages and pasturing grounds.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

This verse tells the news of Vraja. Though previously his ministers persuaded him to afflict the sages, fearful Kaṁsa agreed that Pūtanā should go to kill the infants as a simultaneous method of safely before harassing the sages. She was first (pra) engaged because she was ferocious in killing infants. She killed them completely, by giving them her poisoned breast. They died immediately. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says: yasmai yasmai stanaṁ rātrau pūtanā saṁprayacchati tasya taysa kṣaṇenāṅgam bālakasyopahanyate In a moment Pūtanā killed any child to whom she offered her breast. Another version has pura-gramākarādiṣu: among the towns, villages and mining settlements. Ādiśu means “among the flocks.”