Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 38
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
तदेष नाथाप दुरापमन्यै- स्तमोजनि: क्रोधवशोऽप्यहीश: । संसारचक्रे भ्रमत: शरीरिणो यदिच्छत: स्याद् विभव: समक्ष: ॥ ३८ ॥
tad eṣa nāthāpa durāpam anyais tamo-janiḥ krodha-vaśo ’py ahīśaḥ saṁsāra-cakre bhramataḥ śarīriṇo yad-icchataḥ syād vibhavaḥ samakṣaḥ
O Lord, though Kāliya, king of serpents, was born in the darkness of ignorance and is ruled by anger, he has attained what is difficult for others to attain. Embodied souls, filled with desires and wandering in the wheel of saṁsāra, can have all blessings appear before their very eyes simply by receiving the dust of Your lotus feet.
It is very rare for a conditioned soul to free himself from the contamination of illusion and thus become established in perfect consciousness of the Absolute Truth. And yet this benediction was achieved by the serpent Kāliya because the Lord personally danced upon the serpent’s hoods with His lotus feet. Although we conditioned souls may not receive the mercy of having the Lord dance on our head, we can receive the dust of the lotus feet of the Absolute through the Lord’s representative, the bona fide spiritual master, and thus go back home, back to Godhead, forever freed from the misery and ignorance of the mundane universe.
FAQs
This verse teaches that even Kāliya—angry and “born of darkness”—received rare fortune because Kṛṣṇa’s mercy can become directly manifest to any embodied soul who genuinely turns toward Him.
They pleaded for Kāliya’s protection and acknowledged that his contact with Kṛṣṇa was an extraordinary blessing, highlighting Kṛṣṇa’s compassion even toward the undeserving.
Instead of despairing over past faults, cultivate sincere desire for Kṛṣṇa through prayer, humility, and devotion—trusting that grace can appear even in difficult circumstances.