FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.17.5

तच्छ्रुत्वा कुपितो राजन् भगवान् भगवत्प्रिय: । विजिघांसुर्महावेग: कालियं समुपाद्रवत् ॥ ५ ॥
tac chrutvā kupito rājan
[tach chrutvaa kupito raajan]
bhagavān bhagavat-priyaḥ
[bhagavaan bhagavat-priyah]
vijighāṁsur mahā-vegaḥ
[vijighaamsur mahaa-vegah]
kāliyaṁ samapādravat
[kaaliyam samapaadravat]
Word-for-word
tat — that śrutvā — hearing kupitaḥ — angered rājan — O King bhagavān — the powerful Garuḍa bhagavat - priyaḥ — the dear devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead vijighāṁsuḥ — desiring to kill mahā - vegaḥ — the greatly swift kāliyam — to Kāliya samupādravat — he rushed .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tac chrutvā kupito rājan
tat
that
śrutvā
hearing
kupitaḥ
angered
rājan
O King
bhagavān bhagavat-priyaḥ
bhagavān
the powerful Garuḍa
bhagavat - priyaḥ
the dear devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
vijighāṁsur mahā-vegaḥ
vijighāṁsuḥ
desiring to kill
mahā - vegaḥ
the greatly swift
kāliyaṁ samapādravat
kāliyam
to Kāliya
samupādravat
he rushed .
Important Words
  • bhagavat-priyaḥ — dear devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
    Compound: bhagavat (the Lord) + priya (dear). The chapter's quiet doctrinal claim: Garuḍa's wrath has weight only because he is Bhagavān's beloved. Gauḍīyas read priya as the technical category of intimate associate, beyond mere servitude.
  • kupitaḥ — angered
    Past participle of √kup. Anger in a devotee, when aroused by aparādha against Bhagavān or His own, is not krodha-doṣa but a form of bhakti-protective tejas. Cf. Hanumān burning Laṅkā after Sītā's offense.
  • vijighāṁsuḥ — desiring to kill
    Desiderative of √han. The grammatical mood is wanting — Garuḍa is in the state of intending death. The text is careful: Bhagavān's servant wills the destruction of one who insults the Lord's order, and that will is itself sanctified.
  • mahā-vegaḥ — of great speed
    Compound: mahā (great) + vega (speed, current). Garuḍa is named the swiftest mover; his speed is itself the speed of the Lord's response. In Vraja-context, the soul's defenses arrive faster than the offense can complete.
O King, the greatly powerful Garuḍa, who is very dear to the Supreme Lord, became angry when he heard of this. Desiring to kill Kāliya, he rushed toward the serpent with tremendous speed.
Purport

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that the word mahā-vega indicates that the great speed of Garuḍa cannot be checked by anyone.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O King, the greatly powerful Garuḍa, who is very dear to the Supreme Lord, became angry when he heard of this. Desiring to kill Kāliya, he rushed toward the serpent with tremendous speed.
Commentary

Kaliya did not offer his share, and moreover, he ate all that the others had offered. He was disrespecting Garuda (kadarthi krtya). Garuda heard about Kaliya’s actions from other snakes of Ramanaka island.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

O king! You would also be angry at a person who obstructs the offerings to the king. Garuḍa is called Bhagavān because he was endowed with all powers. He was also the best follower of the Lord (bhagavat-priyaḥ). Like the Lord he quickly came to punish the wicked Kāliya. He rushed close (sam—apādravat), determined to kill him, though Kāliya was insignificant, because he had arrogance and a nature of disrespecting the Lord, through his deep ignorance.

Related values & verses
Related values
Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Kartavya (Duty / Responsibility)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Dana (Charity / Generosity)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Yajña (Sacrifice / Spirit of Offering)
Related verses
BG 10.1 BG 12.10 BG 2.66 BG 3.27 BG 13.1 BG 14.8 BG 12.5 BG 9.1 BG 18.54 BG 3.3 BG 7.8 BG 1.41
Personal Guidance
Hearing of Kāliya's theft, Garuḍa — beloved of the Lord — flies at unstoppable speed to kill him. Some agents of the Lord move with such momentum that no resistance is possible; the wise do not stand in their path.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose unstoppable correction am I currently resisting that I should rather step aside from?
  • Where in my life am I trying to be Kāliya before a Garuḍa?
Analogy

When the master's servant is offended, the master's own anger is roused through him. Garuḍa is bhagavat-priya — beloved of Bhagavān — and his fury at Kāliya is not personal vengeance but the dignity of the Lord moving through His devotee. To wound the servant is already to summon the master.

Stories
Ambarīṣa and Durvāsā

In SB Canto 9, when Durvāsā Muni attacked the devotee-king Ambarīṣa, the Lord's Sudarśana cakra rose unbidden and chased the sage through the three worlds. Viṣṇu Himself told Durvāsā, 'I am not independent; I am bound by My devotees.'

Garuḍa rushing at Kāliya is the same principle in a lower key: the Lord's own associate carries the Lord's own protection-instinct. Offense against a Vaiṣṇava is the swiftest way to meet Bhagavān's wrath.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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