Shloka 14
कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्
आस्फोटयाम् आस तदा कृष्णो नागह्रदे भुजम् तच्छब्दश्रवणाच् चाशु नागराजो ऽभ्युपागमत्
āsphoṭayām āsa tadā kṛṣṇo nāgahrade bhujam tacchabdaśravaṇāc cāśu nāgarājo 'bhyupāgamat
Then Kṛṣṇa, by the serpent’s pool, slapped His arm so it rang out like a challenge; hearing that sound, the king of serpents swiftly came forth.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Kṛṣṇa openly challenges Kāliya to emerge, initiating the act of subduing the serpent and freeing the waters from his poisonous tyranny.
Leela: Yuddha
Dharma Restored: Courageous defense of the righteous and removal of a predatory, polluting force from the community’s life-source.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
It is a deliberate summons and proclamation of divine authority—Krishna’s audible challenge draws out the serpent-king so that disorder in the sacred waters can be confronted and corrected.
Parāśara narrates it to Maitreya as a concrete instance of Bhagavān’s līlā: the Lord acts directly within the world to protect beings and re-establish dharma when it is threatened.
Krishna is presented not merely as a heroic figure but as the Supreme Reality exercising sovereignty over even the fiercest nāga powers—demonstrating that all forces submit to the Lord’s will in the maintenance of cosmic order.