Shloka 10
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
तं नागभोगपरिवीतमदृष्टचेष्ट- मालोक्य तत्प्रियसखा: पशुपा भृशार्ता: । कृष्णेऽर्पितात्मसुहृदर्थकलत्रकामा दु:खानुशोकभयमूढधियो निपेतु: ॥ १० ॥
taṁ nāga-bhoga-parivītam adṛṣṭa-ceṣṭam ālokya tat-priya-sakhāḥ paśupā bhṛśārtāḥ kṛṣṇe ’rpitātma-suhṛd-artha-kalatra-kāmā duḥkhānuśoka-bhaya-mūḍha-dhiyo nipetuḥ
Quand les vachers, qui avaient accepté Kṛṣṇa comme leur ami le plus cher, le virent immobile, enveloppé dans les anneaux du serpent, ils furent accablés. Ils avaient tout offert à Kṛṣṇa — leur propre être, leur amitié, leurs biens, leurs familles, leurs épouses et leurs joies. Voyant le Seigneur aux prises avec Kāliya, leur intelligence se troubla sous le poids de la peine, des lamentations et de la peur, et ils s’effondrèrent à terre.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that the cowherd boys, along with some cowherd men and farmers who happened to be in the vicinity and who were also devotees of Kṛṣṇa, fell to the ground just like trees that had been cut at the root.
FAQs
This verse shows the gopas’ complete dependence on Krishna: their very life, relationships, wealth, and hopes are described as offered to Him, and thus His apparent danger overwhelms them.
They saw Krishna motionless within the serpent’s coils and, being His intimate friends, became stunned by fear and grief, losing external strength and falling down.
In sudden fear or uncertainty, remember what you truly rely upon; like the gopas, turn the mind toward Krishna as the ultimate shelter rather than panicking in isolation.