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 berkata: “Wahai Madhusūdana, selama lapisan ini masih tersaput pada anggota tubuhmu, tiadalah ketakutan akan maut bagimu akibat luka pada bahagian-bahagian itu. Wahai Acyuta, engkau akan tetap tidak mati di sini selama mana engkau menghendaki.”
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.