SB 7.10.65 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अथासौ शक्तिभि: स्वाभि: शम्भो: प्राधानिकं व्यधात् । धर्मज्ञानविरक्त्यृद्धितपोविद्याक्रियादिभि: ॥ ६५ ॥ रथं सूतं ध्वजं वाहान्धनुर्वर्मशरादि यत् । सन्नद्धो रथमास्थाय शरं धनुरुपाददे ॥ ६६ ॥

Verse text

athāsau śaktibhiḥ svābhiḥ śambhoḥ prādhānikaṁ vyadhāt dharma-jṣāna-virakty-ṛddhi- tapo-vidyā-kriyādibhiḥ rathaṁ sūtaṁ dhvajaṁ vāhān dhanur varma-śarādi yat sannaddho ratham āsthāya śaraṁ dhanur upādade

Synonyms

atha — thereafter ; asau — He (Lord Kṛṣṇa) ; śaktibhiḥ — by His potencies ; svābhiḥ — personal ; śambhoḥ — of Lord Śiva ; prādhānikam — ingredients ; vyadhāt — created ; dharma — religion ; jṣāna — knowledge ; virakti — renunciation ; ṛddhi — opulence ; tapaḥ — austerity ; vidyā — education ; kriyā — activities ; ādibhiḥ — by all these and other transcendental opulences ; ratham — chariot ; sūtam — charioteer ; dhvajam — flag ; vāhān — horses and elephants ; dhanuḥ — bow ; varma — shield ; śara — ādi — arrows and so on ; yat — everything that was required ; sannaddhaḥ — equipped ; ratham — on the chariot ; āsthāya — seated ; śaram — arrow ; dhanuḥ — unto the bow ; upādade — joined .

Translation

Nārada Muni continued: Thereafter, Lord Kṛṣṇa, by His own personal potency, consisting of religion, knowledge, renunciation, opulence, austerity, education and activities, equipped Lord Śiva with all the necessary paraphernalia, such as a chariot, a charioteer, a flag, horses, elephants, a bow, a shield and arrows. When Lord Śiva was fully equipped in this way, he sat down on the chariot with his arrows and bow to fight with the demons.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Thereafter, Lord Kṛṣṇa equipped Śiva with all the necessary paraphernalia, such as a chariot, a charioteer, a flag, carriers, a bow, a shield and arrows, which were empowered by the Lords potency consisting of religion, knowledge, renunciation, prosperity, austerity, education and activities. When Lord Śiva was fully equipped in this way, he sat down on the chariot and took up his arrows and bow. Asau means Kṛṣṇa. Prādhānikam means articles for battle such as a chariot. The Lord empowered the articles with his various energies. Since the Lord’s śaktis are eternal and victorious, the articles of war also became similar. Śiva on the chariot was also endowed with bhakti-yoga, the Lord’s quality, and those on the chariot like the driver were also endowed with knowledge and other qualities that take shelter of bhakti.

Purport

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.13.16) : vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, he is one of the mahājanas, the twelve authorities on Vaiṣṇava philosophy ( svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ, etc.). Lord Kṛṣṇa is always prepared to help all the mahājanas and devotees in every respect ( kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ). Although Lord Śiva is very powerful, he lost a battle to the asuras, and therefore he was morose and disappointed. However, because he is one of the chief devotees of the Lord, the Lord personally equipped him with all the paraphernalia for war. The devotee, therefore, must serve the Lord sincerely, and Kṛṣṇa is always in the background to protect him and, if need be, to equip him fully to fight with his enemy. For devotees there is no scarcity of knowledge or material requisites for spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.