Shloka 4
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
श्रीशुक उवाच कालिन्द्यां कालियस्यासीद् ह्रद: कश्चिद् विषाग्निना । श्रप्यमाणपया यस्मिन् पतन्त्युपरिगा: खगा: ॥ ४ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca kālindyāṁ kāliyasyāsīd hradaḥ kaścid viṣāgninā śrapyamāṇa-payā yasmin patanty upari-gāḥ khagāḥ
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Within the Kālindī (Yamunā) was a lake where the serpent Kāliya dwelt, and his firelike poison continually heated and boiled its waters. The vapors rising from it were so deadly that even birds flying overhead would fall into the lake.
In this regard the ācāryas explain that the Kāliya lake was situated apart from the main current of the river; otherwise the Yamunā’s waters would have been poisonous even in cities like Mathurā and in other places farther away.
FAQs
This verse describes Kāliya’s lake in the Yamunā as burning with poisonous fire, with scalding waters so dangerous that even birds flying above would fall into it.
He sets the scene for Kṛṣṇa’s Kāliya-damana līlā by showing how severe the threat was—poison had made the river region deadly—so the listener can understand the magnitude of Kṛṣṇa’s protective mercy.
It warns that “poisonous” environments and influences can harm even those merely passing overhead; a devotee should avoid toxic association and take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, who can purify what seems incurably contaminated.