Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.36.1
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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ariṣṭaḥ
—
the demon named Ariṣṭa
From a- + √riṣ — literally 'unharmed' or 'invincible,' an ironic name for a demon about to be killed by Kṛṣṇa. The Vraja-līlā repeatedly turns demonic names back on their bearers.
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vṛṣabha - asuraḥ
—
in the form of a bull demon
Compound: vṛṣabha (bull) + asura (demon). Kaṁsa's agents enter Vraja in animal disguises (Bakāsura the crane, Aghāsura the snake, Dhenuka the ass, now Ariṣṭa the bull) — perversions of the gentle pasture economy Kṛṣṇa actually rules.
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goṣṭham
—
to the cowherd village
Go (cow) + sthā (place to stand) — the pasture-settlement of Vraja. Gauḍīyas treat the goṣṭha as the highest concentration of Kṛṣṇa's intimate līlā, the very ground Caitanya wept to recover.
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mahā
—
great, huge
Stock prefix in the bull's description (mahā-kakut, mahā-kāyaḥ). The demon's bulk is named to set up its dismantling by a boy's two hands — a recurring Vraja contrast (vast threat, small cowherd, total reversal).
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khura
—
hoof
The hooves that tear the earth here are the inverse of the cows' hooves Kṛṣṇa follows in the dust each evening. The same word, opposite use — Vraja's pastoral grammar bent into menace.
According to the Śrī Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Ariṣṭāsura entered Kṛṣṇa’s village at twilight, as the Lord prepared to dance with the gopīs: prodoṣārdhe kadācit tu rāsāsakte janārdane trāsayan sa-mado goṣṭham ariṣṭaḥ sampāgataḥ “Once, midway through the period of dusk, when Lord Janārdana was eager to perform the rāsa dance, Ariṣṭāsura madly entered the cowherd village, terrifying everyone.”
The thirty sixth chapter describes how Kamsa, hearing from Narada that Krsna had killed Aristasura, imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva, and ordered Akrura to go to Vraja. As tarhi is used in this sentence, yada should also be supplied. Thus the meaning is that when (yada) Krsna began his rasa lila in the evening, then (tarhi) Arisasura came. Visnu Purana describes this: "One day when Krsna was enjoying the rasa in the twilight, Aristasura entered the village after spreading fear everywhere." Atha signifies that while Krsna was enjoying, something interrupted that enjoyment. Arista had the form of a bull with a large hump on his back. Stamping his hooves, he shook the earth.
The description continues in the next verse. Then, in the evening when Kṛṣṇa returned, as previously described, Ariṣṭa arrived. Viṣṇu Purāṇa describes this. prodoṣārdhe kadācit tu rāsāsakte janārdane trāsayan sa-mado goṣṭham ariṣṭaḥ sampāgataḥ Once, midway through the period of dusk, when Kṛṣṇa was eager to perform the rāsa dance, Ariṣṭāsura madly entered the cowherd village, terrifying everyone A very similar description is given in Hari-vaṁśa. Every day the gopīs passed the daylight hours in singing his pastimes. At the end of one evening, after finishing his dinner, he left his bedroom to go for the rāsa dance, and went beyond the village of Vraja. Śrīdhara Svāmī says when Kṛṣṇa would return every day from the forest Vraja would rejoice. At that time, Ariṣṭa came near Vraja (rather than inside). By tearing up the earth with his hooves he showed his nature as a crazed bull eager to fight. Because he tore up the earth with his hooves he must have been huge in size.
With obedient heart, I offer respects to the great devotees, who are overjoyed with prema from just a relationship with the speck of dust of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. The description continues in the next verse. Then, in the evening when Kṛṣṇa returned, as previously described, Ariṣṭa arrived. Or atha indicates that the present topic concerning killing Ariṣṭāsura, and after that, Kṛṣṇa’s departure to Mathurā, very different from the pastimes of bliss in Gokula. In the evening, when Kṛṣṇa returned to Vraja (tarhi), the demon came there. prodoṣārdhe kadācit tu rāsāsakte janārdane trāsayan sa-mado goṣṭham ariṣṭaḥ sampāgataḥ Once, midway through the period of dusk, when Kṛṣṇa was eager to perform the rāsa dance, Ariṣṭāsura madly entered the cowherd village, terrifying everyone. Viṣṇu Purāṇa This is also described in Hari-vaṁśa. After the gopīs sang about his pastimes to get relief from the pain of separation, on some evening the demon came. His name means “inauspicious for the cows.” He had the form of a bull. Because of his huge form, his hooves broke the earth
- SB 10-36-01 10-37-23 - The Slaying of Arista the Bull Demon - Gauranga Darshan Prabhu 2016-07-27
- SB 10-36-01-40 10-37-01-33 - The Slaying of Arista the Bull Demon - Gauranga Darshan Prabhu 2015-09-17
- Gauranga Darshan Pr SB 10-36-01-40 10-37-01-33 - The Slaying of Arista the Bull Demon - 2015-09-17
- Gauranga Darshan Pr SB 10-36-01 10-37-23 - The Slaying of Arista the Bull Demon - 2016-07-27
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- What 'bull demon' tends to arrive precisely when your devotional life is deepening?
- How do you usually respond — by panicking or by calling on Kṛṣṇa?
The bull Ariṣṭa enters Vraja the way a thundercloud enters a meadow at noon — vast, snorting, hooves shredding the same soft soil Kṛṣṇa's cows graze on. But Bhagavān stands at the center of that meadow; the storm has come not to ruin the pasture but to be undone by its Lord.
My note
Source: vedabase.io