FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.36

राजन्नाजगरं चर्म शुष्कं वृन्दावनेऽद्भ‍ुतम् । व्रजौकसां बहुतिथं बभूवाक्रीडगह्वरम् ॥ ३६ ॥
rājann ājagaraṁ carma
[raajann aajagaram charma]
śuṣkaṁ vṛndāvane ’dbhutam
[shushkam vrindaavane ’dbhutam]
vrajaukasāṁ bahu-tithaṁ
[vrajaukasaam bahu-titham]
babhūvākrīḍa-gahvaram
[babhoovaakreeda-gahvaram]
Word-for-word
rājan — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit ājagaram carma — the dry body of Aghāsura, which remained only a big skin śuṣkam — when it completely dried up vṛndāvane adbhutam — like a wonderful museum piece in Vṛndāvana vraja - okasām — for the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana bahu - titham — for many days, or for a long time babhūva — became ākrīḍa — sporting place gahvaram — a cave .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rājann ājagaraṁ carma
rājan
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit
ājagaram carma
the dry body of Aghāsura, which remained only a big skin
śuṣkaṁ vṛndāvane ’dbhutam
śuṣkam
when it completely dried up
vṛndāvane adbhutam
like a wonderful museum piece in Vṛndāvana
vrajaukasāṁ bahu-tithaṁ
vraja - okasām
for the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana
bahu - titham
for many days, or for a long time
babhūvākrīḍa-gahvaram
babhūva
became
ākrīḍa
sporting place
gahvaram
a cave .
Important Words
  • ājagaram carma — the python's skin
    Compound: ājagara (python) + carma (skin). Only the skin remained — the demon's body was emptied of life and of poison. Gauḍīyas: when Kṛṣṇa removes evil, He leaves the form harmless. The dried skin is the visible record of His act.
  • vraja-okasām — for the residents of Vraja
    Compound: vraja + okas (dweller). The same term used in verse 12. Vraja-okasaḥ are the privileged audience and beneficiaries of every līlā — even of a demon's death-cave.
  • ākrīḍa — play-ground
    From ā + krīḍ- (to play). A formal noun for 'place of play.' The verse names the demon's corpse an ākrīḍa — playground. Gauḍīyas: in Vraja, everything tends toward līlā; even death-relics become play-equipment.
  • bahu-titham — for many days
    Compound: bahu (many) + titha (day). The site remained for a long time — Bhāgavatam is interested in geographic permanence. Vraja-sthalas are not metaphors; they are physical places that the Gosvāmīs later mapped.
O King Parīkṣit, when the python-shaped body of Aghāsura dried up into merely a big skin, it became a wonderful place for the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana to visit, and it remained so for a long, long time.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O King Parīkṣit, when the python-shaped body of Aghāsura dried up into merely a big skin, it became a wonderful place for the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana to visit, and it remained so for a long, long time.
Commentary

The dry skin of the snake remained there for a long time (bahutitham) and became a cave in which the children used to carry out various pastimes.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

By the power of Kṛṣṇa’s touch the demon became successful. What more can be said? As in the case of Pūtanā, even his dead body became fragrant and most attractive. Śukadeva addressed Parīkṣit out of great astonishment.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

By the power of Kṛṣṇa’s touch the demon became successful. What more can be said? As in the case of Pūtanā, even his dead body became fragrant and most attractive. Śukadeva addressed Parīkṣit out of great astonishment or joy. The skin became suitable for playing, used as an instrument etc. It stayed there for a long time. It was also a cave used for playing in all sorts of ways (ākrīḍa).

Related values & verses
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The python's dried skin becomes a long-lasting playground for the people of Vṛndāvana. Even what once threatened becomes, in Kṛṣṇa's hands, a place of recreation for devotees.
Reflection Questions
  • What past 'demon' in my life has Kṛṣṇa converted into a place I now visit safely, even gratefully?
  • Could I revisit one painful memory not to relive it but to see how His mercy redecorated it?
Analogy

Picture a children's play-place that is also a sacred site — a hollow skin of a great demon, dried and emptied, become a cave for tag and stories. Vraja absorbs even its enemies as architecture. The python who came to swallow the children ends as their playhouse.

Stories
Caitanya and the Six Gosvāmīs recovering the Vraja-sthalas

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent Rūpa and Sanātana to Vṛndāvana, the holy places had been overgrown for centuries. The Six Gosvāmīs walked the dust of Vraja, identifying each spot — this is where Kṛṣṇa danced the rāsa, this is where Pūtanā fell, this is the very cave that was once Aghāsura's body.

Gauḍīyas treat 10.12.36 as the textual basis for the existence of Aghāsura-līlā-sthala as a pilgrimage site. The verse explicitly says it 'remained a play-place for a long, long time' — meaning the very ground of Vraja is the archive of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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