Shloka 6
Garuḍa, Saubhari’s Curse, Kāliya’s Refuge, and Kṛṣṇa Saves Vraja from Forest Fire
तमापतन्तं तरसा विषायुध: प्रत्यभ्ययादुत्थितनैकमस्तक: । दद्भि: सुपर्णं व्यदशद् ददायुध: करालजिह्वोच्छ्वसितोग्रलोचन: ॥ ६ ॥
tam āpatantaṁ tarasā viṣāyudhaḥ pratyabhyayād utthita-naika-mastakaḥ dadbhiḥ suparṇaṁ vyadaśad dad-āyudhaḥ karāla-jihrocchvasitogra-locanaḥ
As Garuḍa swooped down with great force, Kāliya—armed with poison—rose up, lifting his many heads to counterattack. Displaying dreadful tongues and glaring, fearsome eyes, he bit Suparṇa with the weapon of his fangs.
The ācāryas explain that Kāliya used his weapon of poison at a distance by spitting venom upon his enemy and at short range by biting him with his terrible fangs.
FAQs
This verse describes Kāliya as “viṣāyudhaḥ,” one whose very weapon is poison, emphasizing his dangerous, aggressive nature as he rises with many hoods to attack Garuḍa.
Kāliya, threatened by Garuḍa’s approach, counterattacks out of fear and hostility, showing the serpent’s pride and violence that set the stage for Krishna’s later subjugation and purification of him.
It warns that when one lives by “poison” (harmful habits, envy, aggression), one tends to lash out even at rightful authority; the remedy is humility and seeking divine guidance rather than escalating conflict.