Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.17.4
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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viṣa
—
poison
Kāliya's signature weapon and signature problem. In Gauḍīya reading, viṣa is the emblem of the senses turned against their rightful Lord — sweet substance (the gopīs') turned into venom (Kāliya's). The Yamunā cannot remain poisoned where Kṛṣṇa intends to play.
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vīrya
—
strength, prowess
Power as such is not the problem; Bhagavān is Vīrya-pati. The problem is mada — intoxication with vīrya divorced from its source. Gauḍīyas read this triplet (viṣa-vīrya-mada) as the demonic inverse of the devotee's surrendered strength.
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mada
—
intoxication, pride
One of the six enemies (ṣaḍ-ūrmi). Mada is what makes Kāliya forget that the bali is not his to eat. Gauḍīya sādhana names it explicitly because it is the last enemy to die in a sādhaka — pride in one's spiritual progress is itself the snake.
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kadarthī-kṛtya
—
disregarding, treating as worthless
From kad-artha, 'of low/bad meaning.' Kāliya does not merely fail to give the offering; he construes Garuḍa as kad-artha — as nothing. Offense against a Vaiṣṇava is here named exactly: refusing to see his worth.
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kādraveyaḥ
—
the son of Kadru
Patronymic from Kadru, mother of serpents. The text marks lineage to underline that Kāliya is acting against his own kula's wisdom — every other son of Kadru pays the bali. Defiance is also a betrayal of one's tradition.
He was proud because of power and poison. He was the son of Kadrū and thus cousin brother of Garuḍa (whose mother was Vinatā, sister of Kadrū) but was his enemies. Pride was another reason for taking the offering. He ate the offerings with disrespect for Garuḍa. Garuḍa heard from his servants that Kāliya had treated him as insignificant by taking the offerings by force.
- Which collective arrangement am I quietly eating from while skipping my own contribution?
- What 'defiance' of mine that feels minor might be inviting future eviction?
Intoxicated by his own poison, Kāliya eats the offering meant for his master's servant — the way a household servant might pocket the rent collected for the landlord and convince himself that strength makes the theft legitimate. Power untethered from sambandha (one's relation to Bhagavān) curdles into aparādha. The fang that once defended now defies.
In SB Canto 7, Hiraṇyakaśipu seized the offerings meant for the demigods and forbade worship of anyone but himself. Like Kāliya pocketing Garuḍa's bali, he treated his own potency as proof that he need not bow.
The Bhāgavatam stages both stories as the same disease: viṣa-vīrya-mada — intoxication with one's own toxic power. The cure in both cases is the Lord arriving in person; the difference is that Kāliya survives and worships, while Hiraṇyakaśipu does not.
My note
Source: vedabase.io