Shloka 27
Chapter 54
अष्टभिश्चतुरो वाहान् द्वाभ्यां सूतं ध्वजं त्रिभिः ।
स चान्यद्धनुराधाय कृष्णं विव्याध पञ्चभिः ॥
aṣṭabhiś caturo vāhān dvābhyāṃ sūtaṃ dhvajaṃ tribhiḥ / sa cānyad dhanur ādhāya kṛṣṇaṃ vivyādha pañcabhiḥ //
With eight arrows he felled four of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s horses; with two he wounded the charioteer; with three he cut down the banner. Then, taking up another bow, he pierced Kṛṣṇa with five arrows.
This verse continues the intense chariot combat during the aftermath of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s marriage to Rukmiṇī. The opposing warrior (Rukmī) displays expert martial skill—targeting the horses, the driver, and the emblem on the chariot—to destabilize Kṛṣṇa’s fighting position. Yet the Bhāgavatam’s deeper teaching is that external prowess cannot overcome the Supreme Lord. Kṛṣṇa allows Himself to be apparently challenged to increase the relish of His līlā and to demonstrate that even when the Lord appears to be ‘hit,’ He remains fully in control. For devotees, this scene reinforces faith: the Lord may permit adversity to arise, but He is never actually defeated, and His protection of dharma and His devotees is certain. The careful sequence—horses, charioteer, flag, and then Kṛṣṇa—also illustrates how material strategy often tries to remove one’s supports and identity (symbolized by the flag) before directly attacking. In bhakti, one takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa, who remains the unshakable center even when external supports are threatened.
FAQs
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa is pierced by arrows as part of His līlā; the Bhāgavatam shows that even when the Lord appears challenged, He remains supreme and in control.
Rukmī opposed Rukmiṇī’s marriage to Kṛṣṇa and pursued Him in anger, leading to this chariot battle described by Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
Worldly strategies may shake one’s supports, but devotion teaches steady reliance on Kṛṣṇa, who remains the ultimate protector beyond external circumstances.