Shloka 1

The Killing of Ariṣṭāsura and Kaṁsa’s Plot to Summon Kṛṣṇa

Devanagari script

श्री बादरायणिरुवाच अथ तर्ह्यागतो गोष्ठमरिष्टो वृषभासुर: । महींमहाककुत्काय: कम्पयन्खुरविक्षताम् ॥ १ ॥

Transliteration

śrī bādarāyaṇir uvāca atha tarhy āgato goṣṭham ariṣṭo vṛṣabhāsuraḥ mahīm mahā-kakut-kāyaḥ kampayan khura-vikṣatām

Translation

Śrī Bādarāyaṇi (Śukadeva) sprach: Da kam der Dämon Ariṣṭa in das Dorf der Kuhhirten. In der Gestalt eines Stieres mit mächtigem Höcker ließ er die Erde erbeben, indem er sie mit seinen Hufen aufriss.

Synonyms

• śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ: Śrī Bādarāyaṇi (Śuka)
• śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + bādarāyaṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; honorific proper name (Vyāsa’s son)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; discourse particle (‘then/now’)

• tarhi: at that time
• tarhi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tarhi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; temporal adverb (‘at that time’)

• āgataḥ: arrived
• āgataḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having come/arrived’

• goṣṭham: to the cowherd settlement
• goṣṭham: Karma (कर्म) / Gati-karman (गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: goṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ariṣṭaḥ: Ariṣṭa
• ariṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ariṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; proper name

• vṛṣabha-asuraḥ: the bull-demon
• vṛṣabha-asuraḥ: Apposition (समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + asura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘वृषभ-रूपः असुरः’

• mahīm: the earth
• mahīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahā-kakut-kāyaḥ: having a huge-humped body
• mahā-kakut-kāyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kakut (प्रातिपदिक) + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः ‘महाककुत् कायः यस्य’ (having a body with a huge hump)

• kampayan: shaking
• kampayan: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kamp (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्तरि शतृ-प्रत्यय, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘shaking’

• khura-vikṣatām: torn by (his) hooves
• khura-vikṣatām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khura (प्रातिपदिक) + vikṣata (कृदन्त, vi-kṣad/vi-kṣat धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘खुरैः विक्षता’ (torn by hooves) qualifying ‘mahīm’

Purport

According to the Śrī Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Ariṣṭāsura entered Kṛṣṇa’s village at twilight, as the Lord prepared to dance with the gopīs:

Characters & Entities

• Ariṣṭāsura

FAQs

Who is Ariṣṭāsura in Srimad Bhagavatam?

Ariṣṭāsura is a powerful asura who comes in the form of a bull to terrorize the cowherd community of Vraja; this verse introduces his arrival in Canto 10, Chapter 36.

What is the setting of this verse in Krishna Leela?

The scene is the goṣṭha (cowherd settlement) in Vraja, where Śukadeva describes the sudden approach of Ariṣṭāsura, shaking the earth with his hoof-beats.

What practical lesson can devotees take from this shloka?

Even when danger arrives unexpectedly, the Bhagavatam teaches that the Lord’s protection over His devotees is constant—fear can be met with remembrance and steady devotion.