Devanagari
ज्ञात्वा तद् दानवेन्द्रस्य हयग्रीवस्य चेष्टितम् ।
दधार शफरीरूपं भगवान् हरिरीश्वर: ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
jṣātvā tad dānavendrasya
hayagrīvasya ceṣṭitam
dadhāra śapharī-rūpaṁ
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
Synonyms
jṣātvā
—
after understanding
;
tat
—
that
;
dānava
—
indrasya — of the great demon
;
hayagrīvasya
—
of Hayagrīva
;
ceṣṭitam
—
activity
;
dadhāra
—
accepted
;
śapharī
—
rūpam — the form of a fish
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
hariḥ
—
the Lord
;
īśvaraḥ
—
the supreme controller .
Translation
Understanding the acts of the great demon Hayagrīva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who is full of all opulences, assumed the form of a fish and saved the Vedas by killing the demon.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Understanding the acts of the great demon Hayagrīva, the Supreme Lord assumed the form of a fish.
In the form of a fish he killed Hayagrīva. It is understood from later verses that the theft took place the beginning of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara (in the morning). The Lord took this form to benefit his devotees like Brahmā, since only the form of Matsya could save the Vedas. This is the first appearance of Matsya.
Purport
Because everything was inundated by water, to save the
Vedas
it was necessary for the Lord to assume the form of a fish.