Shloka 10
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
तं नागभोगपरिवीतमदृष्टचेष्ट- मालोक्य तत्प्रियसखा: पशुपा भृशार्ता: । कृष्णेऽर्पितात्मसुहृदर्थकलत्रकामा दु:खानुशोकभयमूढधियो निपेतु: ॥ १० ॥
taṁ nāga-bhoga-parivītam adṛṣṭa-ceṣṭam ālokya tat-priya-sakhāḥ paśupā bhṛśārtāḥ kṛṣṇe ’rpitātma-suhṛd-artha-kalatra-kāmā duḥkhānuśoka-bhaya-mūḍha-dhiyo nipetuḥ
Als die Kuhhirten, die Kṛṣṇa als ihren liebsten Freund angenommen hatten, Ihn reglos in den Windungen der Schlange sahen, wurden sie von tiefem Schmerz überwältigt. Sie hatten Kṛṣṇa alles dargebracht — sich selbst, ihre Freundschaft, ihren Besitz, ihre Familien, ihre Frauen und alle Freuden. Als sie den Herrn in Kāliyas Griff erblickten, wurde ihr Verstand durch Kummer, Klage und Furcht verwirrt, und sie stürzten zu Boden.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that the cowherd boys, along with some cowherd men and farmers who happened to be in the vicinity and who were also devotees of Kṛṣṇa, fell to the ground just like trees that had been cut at the root.
FAQs
This verse shows the gopas’ complete dependence on Krishna: their very life, relationships, wealth, and hopes are described as offered to Him, and thus His apparent danger overwhelms them.
They saw Krishna motionless within the serpent’s coils and, being His intimate friends, became stunned by fear and grief, losing external strength and falling down.
In sudden fear or uncertainty, remember what you truly rely upon; like the gopas, turn the mind toward Krishna as the ultimate shelter rather than panicking in isolation.