FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.18.29

स आहत: सपदि विशीर्णमस्तको मुखाद् वमन् रुधिरमपस्मृतोऽसुर: । महारवं व्यसुरपतत् समीरयन् गिरिर्यथा मघवत आयुधाहत: ॥ २९ ॥
sa āhataḥ sapadi viśīrṇa-mastako
[sa aahatah sapadi visheerna-mastako]
mukhād vaman rudhiram apasmṛto ’suraḥ
[mukhaad vaman rudhiram apasmrito ’surah]
mahā-ravaṁ vyasur apatat samīrayan
[mahaa-ravam vyasur apatat sameerayan]
girir yathā maghavata āyudhāhataḥ
[girir yathaa maghavata aayudhaahatah]
Word-for-word
saḥ — he, Pralambāsura āhataḥ — struck sapadi — at once viśīrṇa — split mastakaḥ — his head mukhāt — from his mouth vaman — vomiting rudhiram — blood apasmṛtaḥ — unconscious asuraḥ — the demon mahā - ravam — a great noise vyasuḥ — lifeless apatat — he fell samīrayan — sounding giriḥ — a mountain yathā — as maghavataḥ — of Lord Indra āyudha — by the weapon āhataḥ — hit .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa āhataḥ sapadi viśīrṇa-mastako
saḥ
he, Pralambāsura
āhataḥ
struck
sapadi
at once
viśīrṇa
split
mastakaḥ
his head
mukhād vaman rudhiram apasmṛto ’suraḥ
mukhāt
from his mouth
vaman
vomiting
rudhiram
blood
apasmṛtaḥ
unconscious
mahā-ravaṁ vyasur apatat samīrayan
asuraḥ
the demon
girir yathā maghavata āyudhāhataḥ
mahā - ravam
a great noise
vyasuḥ
lifeless
apatat
he fell
samīrayan
sounding
giriḥ
a mountain
yathā
as
maghavataḥ
of Lord Indra
āyudha
by the weapon
āhataḥ
hit .
Important Words
  • viśīrṇa-mastakaḥ — with split head
    Vi+śīrṇa (split apart) + mastaka (head). The skull breaks open. Gauḍīya commentators note that the demon's head — seat of his manyamāna (calculating thinking, verse 25) — is precisely what breaks. The faulty organ is destroyed first.
  • vaman-rudhiram — vomiting blood
    Vaman (vomiting) + rudhira (blood). A purgative image — what was inside is forced out. Gauḍīyas observe that the asura's interior poison must come out through his mouth, the same orifice that earlier offered false friendship.
  • apasmṛtaḥ — unconscious
    Apa+smṛta — having lost smṛti. The exact inverse of Balarāma's āgata-smṛti one verse ago. The verse arranges the two as bookends: the Lord regains memory, the demon loses it.
  • vyasuḥ — lifeless
    Vi (without) + asu (life-breath). Bereft of prāṇa. The asura's life-air departs — Gauḍīyas note that in many demon-deaths in Canto 10, the prāṇa departs upward at the moment of contact with Bhagavān, sometimes carrying the soul to liberation.
  • maghavataḥ-āyudha-āhataḥ — struck by the weapon of Lord Indra (Maghavān)
    Maghavat (Indra, the bountiful) + āyudha (weapon, vajra) + āhata (struck). The simile compares Balarāma's bare fist to Indra's most famous weapon — the bare hand of Bhagavān is set equal to the vajra. Gauḍīya: aiśvarya is in the hand, not in the implement.
Thus smashed by Balarāma’s fist, Pralamba’s head immediately cracked open. The demon vomited blood from his mouth and lost all consciousness, and then with a great noise he fell lifeless on the ground, like a mountain devastated by Indra.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Thus smashed by Balarāma's fist, Pralamba's head immediately cracked open. The demon vomited blood from his mouth and lost all consciousness, and then with a great noise he fell lifeless on the ground, like a mountain devastated by Indra.
Commentary

The demon was fell down, as if afflicted by the disease of epilepsy (apasmrtih). As he died he let out a terrible sound.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Apasmṛtaḥ means he developed symptoms like epilepsy.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Apasmṛtaḥ means he developed symptoms like epilepsy or he fainted. The huge body fell from the sky suddenly like mountain struck by Indra’s thunderbolt.

Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 15.9 BG 9.1 BG 4.8 BG 10.1 BG 18.64 BG 15.7 BG 2.62 BG 3.11 BG 10.4 BG 12.3 BG 15.2 SB 4.29.2 BG 2.21 BG 9.11 BG 3.30 BG 7.1 BG 2.66
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Pralamba's head cracks open; he vomits blood, falls unconscious, and crashes lifeless like Indra's mountain. The Lord's blow is total — there is no surviving partial damage to a demon that He fully decides to end.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'demon' have I been hitting half-heartedly that requires a decisive strike?
  • Where do I confuse repeated annoyance with the Lord's actual finishing blow?
Analogy

One fist undoes the demon's whole project. Bhagavān's wrath in Vraja is precise — one punch, one outcome — never excessive, never theatrical. The mountain Indra strikes falls; the demon Balarāma strikes falls. Symmetry without inflation.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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