SB 10.88.28 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तं तथाव्यसनं द‍ृष्ट्वा भगवान् वृजिनार्दन: । दूरात् प्रत्युदियाद् भूत्वा बटुको योगमायया ॥ २७ ॥ मेखलाजिनदण्डाक्षैस्तेजसाग्निरिव ज्वलन् । अभिवादयामास च तं कुशपाणिर्विनीतवत् ॥ २८ ॥

Verse text

taṁ tathā vyasanaṁ dṛṣṭvā bhagavān vṛjinārdanaḥ dūrāt pratyudiyād bhūtvā baṭuko yoga-māyayā mekhalājina-daṇḍākṣais tejasāgnir iva jvalan abhivādayām āsa ca taṁ kuśa-pāṇir vinīta-vat

Synonyms

tam — that ; tathā — thus ; vyasanam — danger ; dṛṣṭvā — seeing ; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord ; vṛjina — of distress ; ardanaḥ — the eradicator ; dūrāt — from a distance ; pratyudiyāt — he came before (Vṛkāsura) ; bhūtvā — becoming ; baṭukaḥ — a young brāhmaṇa student ; yoga — māyayā — by the mystic power of His internal energy ; mekhala — with a student’s belt ; ajina — deerskin ; daṇḍa — rod ; akṣaiḥ — and prayer beads ; tejasā — by His effulgence ; agniḥ iva — like fire ; jvalan — glowing ; abhivādayām āsa — He respectfully greeted ; ca — and ; tam — him ; kuśa — pāṇiḥ — with kuśa grass in His hands ; vinīta — vat — in a humble manner .

Translation

The Supreme Lord, who relieves His devotees’ distress, had seen from afar that Lord Śiva was in danger. Thus by His mystic Yoga-māyā potency He assumed the form of a brahmacārī student, with the appropriate belt, deerskin, rod and prayer beads, and came before Vṛkāsura. The Lord’s effulgence glowed brilliantly like fire. Holding kuśa grass in His hand, He humbly greeted the demon.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Supreme Lord, who relieves His devotees' distress, had seen from afar that Lord Śiva was in danger. Thus by His mystic Yogamāyā potency He assumed the form of a brahmacārī student, with the appropriate belt, deerskin, rod and prayer beads, and came before Vṛkāsura. The Lord's effulgence glowed brilliantly like fire. Holding kuśa grass in His hand, He humbly greeted the demon. KB 10.88.27-28 Lord Nārāyaṇa is celebrated as a lover of His devotees, and as soon as He understood that Lord Śiva was in great danger, He appeared as a brahmacārī and personally approached Lord Śiva to receive him from a distant place. The Lord appeared as a perfect brahmacārī, with a belt around His waist, a sacred thread, a deerskin, a brahmacārī stick and raudra beads. (Raudra beads are different from tulasī beads. Raudra beads are used by the devotees of Lord Śiva). Dressed as a brahmacārī, Lord Nārāyaṇa stood before Lord Śiva. The shining effulgence emanating from His body attracted not only Lord Śiva but also the demon Vṛkāsura. Lord Nārāyaṇa offered His respects and obeisances unto Vṛkāsura just to attract his sympathy and attention. Thus stopping the demon, the Lord addressed him as follows:

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes the disguised Lord Nārāyaṇa as saying, “For Us seers of the Absolute Truth, all created beings are worthy of respect. And since you are the son of Śakuni, a wise man and performer of great austerities, you certainly deserve the respectful greeting of a young brahmacārī like Myself.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Visnu, assuming the dress of a brahmacari, came before Vrkasura (pratyudiyat). Visnu greeted him by offering blessings and paying his respects. I, seeing Brahman everywhere, should offer greetings to all living entities, and thus, since you are the son of Sakuni, great in knowledge and austerity, I, as a brahmacari, must offer you respect.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The Lord, who knew the whole affair, who possessed powers (bhagavān) and who relieves Śiva and others from suffering (vṛjinārdanaḥ), saw Śiva in danger or full of anger (vyasanam) from far off, from Vaikuṇṭha. He appeared in front of Vṛka as a brahmacārī by his special bhakti (yogamāyayā) with beads. This was part of the dress of a brahmacārī. He did this to gain the affection and respect of Vṛka. He shone like fire. This indicates his overpowering intelligence. This would also arouse respect in Vṛka. He greeted Vṛka with blessings, introducing himself to him. He greeted him as if humble, but actually it was not so.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

The brahmacarī (baṭukaḥ) was Kṛṣṇa. He had great powers, as in killing Pūtanā.