Shloka 17
Pauṇḍraka’s False Vāsudeva Claim, His Death, and the Burning of Vārāṇasī by Sudarśana
कृष्णस्तु तत्पौण्ड्रककाशिराजयो- र्बलं गजस्यन्दनवाजिपत्तिमत् । गदासिचक्रेषुभिरार्दयद् भृशं यथा युगान्ते हढतभुक् पृथक् प्रजा: ॥ १७ ॥
kṛṣṇas tu tat pauṇḍraka-kāśirājayor balaṁ gaja-syandana-vāji-patti-mat gadāsi-cakreṣubhir ārdayad bhṛśaṁ yathā yugānte huta-bhuk pṛthak prajāḥ
Doch der Herr Kṛṣṇa schlug das Heer Pauṇḍrakas und des Kāśirāja—mit Elefanten, Wagen, Reiterei und Fußvolk—mit Keule, Schwert, Sudarśana-Diskus und Pfeilen erbittert zurück. Er peinigte Seine Feinde wie das Vernichtungsfeuer am Ende eines Weltzeitalters die verschiedenen Wesen peinigt.
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows in Kṛṣṇa: “The soldiers on the side of King Pauṇḍraka began to shower their weapons upon Kṛṣṇa. The weapons, including various kinds of tridents, clubs, poles, lances, swords, daggers and arrows, came flying in waves, and Kṛṣṇa counteracted them. He smashed not only the weapons but also the soldiers and assistants of Pauṇḍraka, just as during the dissolution of this universe the fire of devastation burns everything to ashes. The elephants, chariots, horses and infantry belonging to the opposite party were scattered by the weapons of Kṛṣṇa.”
FAQs
This verse describes Kṛṣṇa forcefully crushing their combined armies—elephants, chariots, horses, and infantry—using His divine weapons like the club, sword, Sudarśana disc, and arrows.
Pauṇḍraka posed as a false “Vāsudeva” and challenged Kṛṣṇa; Kṛṣṇa defeated him and his allies to protect dharma and expose deception.
False identity and arrogance collapse before truth; the verse encourages discernment, humility, and taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s protection when confronted by deception or injustice.