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
Kemudian Kṛṣṇa di tepi telaga naga menepuk lengan-Nya hingga bergema seperti cabaran; mendengar bunyi itu, raja naga segera muncul.
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.