Shloka 43
यावदेतत् प्रलिप्तं ते गात्रेषु मधुसूदन । अतो मृत्युभयं नास्ति यावदिच्छसि चाच्युत
yāvad etat praliptaṃ te gātreṣu madhusūdana | ato mṛtyu-bhayaṃ nāsti yāvad icchasi cācyuta ||
Vāyu said: “O Madhusūdana, so long as this coating remains spread upon your limbs, there will be no fear of death for you from wounds to those parts. O Acyuta, you shall remain deathless here for as long as you desire.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the idea that divine protection can suspend ordinary human vulnerability: fear of death is removed not by arrogance but by a granted safeguard, limited by a condition (the coating remains) and by the recipient’s will (as long as he desires).
Vāyu addresses Kṛṣṇa with honorific epithets and declares a boon: wherever the protective substance has been applied on Kṛṣṇa’s limbs, injuries there will not cause death, and Kṛṣṇa may remain deathless for as long as he chooses.