Shloka 56
Gokula’s Wonder, Kṛṣṇa’s Bhakta-vaśyatā, the Move to Vṛndāvana, and the Slaying of Vatsāsura and Bakāsura
अथाप्यभिभवन्त्येनं नैव ते घोरदर्शना: । जिघांसयैनमासाद्य नश्यन्त्यग्नौ पतङ्गवत् ॥ ५६ ॥
athāpy abhibhavanty enaṁ naiva te ghora-darśanāḥ jighāṁsayainam āsādya naśyanty agnau pataṅgavat
Although the causes of death, the daityas, were very fierce, they could not kill this boy Kṛṣṇa. Rather, because they came to kill innocent boys, as soon as they approached they themselves were killed, exactly like flies attacking a fire.
Nanda Mahārāja innocently thought, “Perhaps this boy Kṛṣṇa formerly killed all these demons, and therefore in this life they are envious and are attacking Him. But Kṛṣṇa is a fire, and they are flies, and in a fight between fire and flies, the fire is always victorious.” Fighting is always taking place between the demons and the power of the Supreme Personality. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām ( Bg. 4.8 ). Anyone who is against the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be killed, life after life. Ordinary living beings are subject to karma, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always victorious over the demons.
FAQs
This verse says that even terrifying beings cannot overpower Krishna; when they approach Him with murderous intent, they are destroyed like moths entering fire.
He uses the metaphor to show that hostile forces, drawn by aggression toward the Lord, meet inevitable self-destruction because Krishna is invincible and supremely protected.
Cultivate faith that wrongdoing and malice ultimately collapse on their own; align with dharma and devotion rather than reacting with fear to intimidating opposition.