Shloka 34
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
अनुग्रहोऽयं भवत: कृतो हि नो दण्डोऽसतां ते खलु कल्मषापह: । यद् दन्दशूकत्वममुष्य देहिन: क्रोधोऽपि तेऽनुग्रह एव सम्मत: ॥ ३४ ॥
anugraho ’yaṁ bhavataḥ kṛto hi no daṇḍo ’satāṁ te khalu kalmaṣāpahaḥ yad dandaśūkatvam amuṣya dehinaḥ krodho ’pi te ’nugraha eva sammataḥ
Was Du hier getan hast, ist in Wahrheit Barmherzigkeit für uns; denn die Strafe, die Du den Bösen gibst, tilgt gewiss all ihre Befleckung. Unser Gatte, eine gebundene Seele, ist so sündig, dass er einen Schlangenkörper angenommen hat; daher ist selbst Dein Zorn über ihn als Deine Gnade zu verstehen.
Śrīla Madhvācārya points out in this connection that when a pious person suffers in this world, he realizes, “The punishment the Supreme Lord is meting out to me is actually His causeless mercy.” Envious persons, however, even after being punished by the Lord for their purification, continue to envy Him and be resentful, and this attitude is the reason for their continued failure to understand the Absolute Truth.
FAQs
This verse states that the Lord’s punishment of the wicked removes their impurity; even His anger is understood as purifying grace (anugraha).
After being subdued by Kṛṣṇa, Kāliya offers prayers, acknowledging that his suffering and even his degraded serpent body are outcomes of karma transformed into mercy through Kṛṣṇa’s direct intervention.
See sincere correction and the consequences of wrongdoing as opportunities for inner cleansing—respond with humility, reform one’s conduct, and turn toward devotion rather than resentment.