Shloka 90
(कंसं केशिं तथा कालमरिष्टं च महासुरम् | चाणूरं च महावीर्य मुष्टिके च महाबलम् ।। प्रलम्बं धेनुकं॑ चैव अरिष्टं वृषरूपिणम् । कालीयं च वशे कृत्वा यमुनाया महाह्दे ।। गोकुले तु ततः पश्चाद् गवार्थे तु महागिरिम् । सप्तरात्रं धरिष्यामि वर्षमाणे तु वासवे ।। अफफक्रान्ते ततो वर्षे गिरिमूर्थन्यवस्थित: । इन्द्रेण सह संवाद करिष्यामि तदा द्विज ।।) उस समय कंस, केशी, कालासुर, महादैत्य अरिष्टासुर, महापराक्रमी चाणूर, महाबली मुष्टिक, प्रलम्ब, धेनुकासुर तथा वृषभरूपधारी अरिष्टको मारकर यमुनाके विशाल कुण्डमें स्थित कालियनागको वशमें करके गोकुलमें इन्द्रके वर्षा करते समय गौओंकी रक्षाके लिये महान् पर्वत गोवर्धनको सात दिन-रात अपने हाथसे छत्रकी भाँति धारण किये रहूँगा। ब्रह्म! जब वर्षा बन्द हो जायगी, तब पर्वतके शिखरपर आरूढ़ हो मैं इन्द्रके साथ संवाद करूँगा ।। तत्राहं दानवान् हत्वा सुबहून् देवकण्टकान्
kaṁsaṁ keśiṁ tathā kālam ariṣṭaṁ ca mahāsuram | cāṇūraṁ ca mahāvīryaṁ muṣṭike ca mahābalam || pralambaṁ dhenukaṁ caiva ariṣṭaṁ vṛṣarūpiṇam | kālīyaṁ ca vaśe kṛtvā yamunāyā mahāhrade || gokule tu tataḥ paścād gavārthe tu mahāgirim | saptarātraṁ dhariṣyāmi varṣamāṇe tu vāsave || apakrānte tato varṣe girimūrdhny avasthitaḥ | indreṇa saha saṁvādaṁ kariṣyāmi tadā dvija ||
Bhīṣma said: “I shall slay Kaṁsa, Keśin, Kāla, and the great demon Ariṣṭa; also Cāṇūra of mighty prowess and Muṣṭika of great strength. Having killed Pralamba and Dhenuka, and Ariṣṭa who assumes the form of a bull, and having brought Kāliya under control in the vast pool of the Yamunā, I shall thereafter, in Gokula, protect the cattle by holding aloft the great mountain Govardhana like an umbrella for seven nights while Vāsava (Indra) pours down rain. When that rain has ceased, standing upon the mountain’s summit, I shall then speak with Indra, O brāhmaṇa.”
(भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses Kṛṣṇa’s deeds as an ethical exemplar: adharma that harms society (violent demons, tyranny, and arrogance) must be restrained; the vulnerable—especially dependents like cattle and villagers—deserve protection; and even the powerful (Indra) are to be engaged through principled dialogue after the immediate danger is removed.
Bhīṣma recounts (as a prophetic/illustrative sequence) Kṛṣṇa’s major Vraja–Mathurā exploits: defeating Kaṁsa’s champions and demons, subduing Kāliya in the Yamunā, and then lifting Govardhana for seven nights to shelter Gokula’s people and cattle from Indra’s storm, after which Kṛṣṇa speaks with Indra from the mountain-top.