Devanagari
क्रीडन् वने निशि निशाकररश्मिगौर्यां
रासोन्मुख: कलपदायतमूर्च्छितेन ।
उद्दीपितस्मररुजां व्रजभृद्वधूनां
हर्तुर्हरिष्यति शिरो धनदानुगस्य ॥ ३३ ॥
Verse text
krīḍan vane niśi niśākara-raśmi-gauryāṁ
rāsonmukhaḥ kala-padāyata-mūrcchitena
uddīpita-smara-rujāṁ vraja-bhṛd-vadhūnāṁ
hartur hariṣyati śiro dhanadānugasya
Synonyms
krīḍan
—
while engaged in His pastimes
;
vane
—
in the forest of Vṛndāvana
;
niśi
—
nocturnal
;
niśākara
—
the moon
;
raśmi
—
gauryām — white moonshine
;
rāsa
—
unmukhaḥ — desiring to dance with
;
kala
—
padāyata — accompanied by sweet songs
;
mūrcchitena
—
and melodious music
;
uddīpita
—
awakened
;
smara
—
rujām — sexual desires
;
vraja
—
bhṛt — the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi
;
vadhūnām
—
of the wives
;
hartuḥ
—
of the kidnappers
;
hariṣyati
—
will vanquish
;
śiraḥ
—
the head
;
dhanada
—
anugasya — of the follower of the rich Kuvera .
Translation
When the Lord was engaged in His pastimes of the rāsa dance in the forest of Vṛndāvana, enlivening the sexual desires of the wives of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana by sweet and melodious songs, a demon of the name Śaṅkhacūḍa, a rich follower of the treasurer of heaven [Kuvera], kidnapped the damsels, and the Lord severed his head from his trunk.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Inclined to perform the rāsa dance, Kṛṣṇa will sport in the night made white by the rays of the moon, and will cut off the head of Śaṅkhacūḍa, follower of Kuvera, who will attempt to steal the cowherd men’s wives whose love for Kṛṣṇa was incited by the modulations coming from the sweet, low melodies of his flute.
Purport
We should carefully note that the statements described herein are the statements of Brahmājī to Nārada, and he was speaking to Nārada of events that would happen in the future, during the advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The pastimes of the Lord are known to the experts who are able to see past, present and future, and Brahmājī, being one of them, foretold what would happen in the future. The killing of Śaṅkhacūḍa by the Lord is a more recent incident, after the
rāsa-līlā,
and not exactly a simultaneous affair. In the previous verses we have seen also that the Lord’s engagement in the affairs of the forest fire was described along with His pastimes of punishing the Kāliya snake, and similarly the pastimes of the
rāsa
dance and the killing of Śaṅkhacūḍa are also described herein. The adjustment is that all these incidents would take place in the future, after the time when it was being foretold by Brahmājī to Nārada. The demon Śaṅkhacūḍa was killed by the Lord during His pastimes at Horikā in the month of Phālguna, and the same ceremony is still observed in India by the burning of the effigy of Śaṅkhacūḍa one day prior to the Lord’s pastimes at Horikā, generally known as Holi.
Generally the future appearance and the activities of the Lord or His incarnations are foretold in the scriptures, and thus the pseudo incarnations are unable to cheat persons who are in knowledge of the events as they are described in the authoritative scriptures.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
What kind of night will it be? It will be made white by the rays of the moon. Inclined to perform the rāsa dance, he will sport. On another day in the future, the killing of Śaṅkhacūḍa will take place. It is mentioned together with the rāsa dance because it will take place near the place of the rāsa dance on another day. He will cut off the head of Śaṅkhacūḍa who will steal the wives of the cowherd men (vraja-bhṛt), whose love for Kṛṣṇa will be excited by the modulations coming from low, sweet songs. Or, he will perform rāsa dance in the middle of the night, after killing Śaṅkhacūḍa, since it is first mentioned that he will become inclined to the rāsa dance (rasonmukhaḥ).