FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.16.55

प्रतिलब्धेन्द्रियप्राण: कालिय: शनकैर्हरिम् । कृच्छ्रात् समुच्छ्वसन् दीन: कृष्णं प्राह कृताञ्जलि: ॥ ५५ ॥
pratilabdhendriya-prāṇaḥ
[pratilabdhendriya-praanah]
kāliyaḥ śanakair harim
[kaaliyah shanakair harim]
kṛcchrāt samucchvasan dīnaḥ
[krichchraat samuchchvasan deenah]
kṛṣṇaṁ prāha kṛtāñjaliḥ
[krishnam praaha kritaanjalih]
Word-for-word
pratilabdha — regaining indriya — the function of his senses prāṇaḥ — and his vital force kāliyaḥ — Kāliya śanakaiḥ — gradually harim — to the Supreme Personality of Godhead kṛcchrāt — with difficulty samucchvasan — breathing loudly dīnaḥ — wretched kṛṣṇam — to Lord Kṛṣṇa prāha — spoke kṛta - añjaliḥ — in humble submission .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
pratilabdhendriya-prāṇaḥ
pratilabdha
regaining
kāliyaḥ śanakair harim
kṛcchrāt samucchvasan dīnaḥ
indriya
the function of his senses
kṛṣṇaṁ prāha kṛtāñjaliḥ
prāṇaḥ
and his vital force
kāliyaḥ
Kāliya
śanakaiḥ
gradually
harim
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
kṛcchrāt
with difficulty
samucchvasan
breathing loudly
dīnaḥ
wretched
kṛṣṇam
to Lord Kṛṣṇa
prāha
spoke
kṛta - añjaliḥ
in humble submission .
Important Words
  • harim — to Lord Hari
    From √hṛ — He who takes away (sins). Kāliya's first spoken name for Him. Hari is the universal Vaiṣṇava name — recognition without yet personal sweetness.
  • dīnaḥ — humble, lowly
    From √dī — to perish, to be wretched. The technical Vaiṣṇava posture — dīna-bandhu Kṛṣṇa receives only those who have become dīna. Cf. Caitanya: kārpaṇye, the sixth limb of śaraṇāgati.
  • kṛta - añjaliḥ — with joined palms
    Compound: kṛta (made) + añjali (joined palms). Same gesture his wives made in verse 32. The convert imitates his redeemers — already pure Gauḍīya pedagogy.
Kāliya slowly regained his vital force and sensory functions. Then, breathing loudly and painfully, the poor serpent addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in humble submission.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Kāliya slowly regained his vital force and sensory functions. Then, breathing loudly and painfully, the poor serpent addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in humble submission.
Commentary

Because his whole body was suffering pain, with difficulty Kaliya folded his hands, but he could not bow down on the ground.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He spoke to the lord who removes faults like pride (harim), to Kṛṣṇa, since he was Svayam Bhagavān. He was miserable (dīnaḥ) because of his pain or because of his destroyed pride. Because he was in pain he could not bow down on the ground like his wives. He spoke (pra-- āha) in a special way that was proper for miserable people. What he would do in attributing his faults to the Lord would be done out of humility, with dependence on the Lord.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

On being released, he regained use of his senses on recovering from fainting in bliss. The Lord had removed his bad qualities (harim) because he was Kṛṣṇa, directly bhagavān, attractive with special mercy and giving the highest bliss. Kāliya was devoid of pride or in pain (diṇaḥ). Because he was in pain he could not bow down on the ground like his wives. He spoke excellently (prāha) since his faults had been removed by the Lord. That is made clear later.

Related values & verses
Related values
Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Kritajnata (Gratitude)Hrih (Modesty / Sense of Shame)Satya (Truthfulness)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Dana (Charity / Generosity)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Yajña (Sacrifice / Spirit of Offering)
Related verses
BG 10.1 BG 13.7 BG 2.66 BG 5.8 BG 3.27 BG 13.1 BG 12.2 BG 12.5 BG 9.1 BG 3.3
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Kāliya slowly regains breath and sense, and addresses the Lord in humble submission. The first words after being broken are different — softer, more honest. Real prayer often starts only after the old self has been crushed.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'first words' after a recent breaking have I refused to speak to the Lord?
  • Where am I rushing past honest brokenness to get back to confident performance?
Analogy

Slowly Kāliya recovers — sense by sense, breath by breath. Breathing loudly and painfully, he now addresses Kṛṣṇa as Hari, with folded hands. The serpent who entered the chapter biting now exits it as kṛta-añjaliḥ — joined-palm. This is the curve of every conversion in the Bhāgavatam.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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