FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.43.14

पतितस्य पदाक्रम्य मृगेन्द्र इव लीलया । दन्तमुत्पाट्य तेनेभं हस्तिपांश्चाहनद्धरि: ॥ १४ ॥
patitasya padākramya
[patitasya padaakramya]
mṛgendra iva līlayā
[mrigendra iva leelayaa]
dantam utpāṭya tenebhaṁ
[dantam utpaatya tenebham]
hastipāṁś cāhanad dhariḥ
[hastipaamsh chaahanad dharih]
Word-for-word
patitasya — of the fallen (elephant) padā — with His foot ākramya — climbing upon him mṛgendraḥ — a lion iva — as if līlayā — with ease dantam — one of his tusks utpāṭya — pulling out tena — with it ibham — the elephant hasti - pān — the elephant-keepers ca — also ahanat — killed hariḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
patitasya padākramya
patitasya
of the fallen (elephant)
padā
with His foot
ākramya
climbing upon him
mṛgendra iva līlayā
mṛgendraḥ
a lion
iva
as if
līlayā
with ease
dantam utpāṭya tenebhaṁ
dantam
one of his tusks
utpāṭya
pulling out
tena
with it
ibham
the elephant
hasti - pān
the elephant-keepers
hastipāṁś cāhanad dhariḥ
ca
also
ahanat
killed
hariḥ
Lord Kṛṣṇa .
Important Words
  • mṛgendraḥ — a lion
    Kṛṣṇa is compared to a lion — the same image used for Nṛsiṁha in SB 7.8. The Gauḍīya reading: every avatāra's ferocity is implicit in Kṛṣṇa, and Bhāgavata-language pulls forward Nṛsiṁha at the moment a Bhojarāja's hired elephant dies, because the protection of Prahlāda and the protection of Vraja's emissary are one work.
  • līlayā — with ease
    Returning for the third time in this chapter (43.8, 43.9, 43.14) — the word that names the difference between Bhagavān's ferocity and an asura's. Both kill; only one plays.
  • utpāṭya — pulling out
    Tearing the tusk root and all — the same verb used for uprooting trees (the Arjuna-yamala, 10.10). Kṛṣṇa's ut-pāṭana is always total: nothing of the threat remains in place.
  • hariḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa
    'He who steals' — steals hearts, steals fears, steals the lives of demons. Bhāgavata names cluster on Kṛṣṇa at moments of decisive action; Hari arrives just as the threat is removed.
Lord Hari then climbed onto the elephant with the ease of a mighty lion, pulled out a tusk, and with it killed the beast and his keepers.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Lord Hari then climbed onto the elephant with the ease of a mighty lion, pulled out a tusk, and with it killed the beast and his keepers.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

When the elephant fell down (patitam tam), he climbed its head with his foot. Another version has patitasya: he climbed on the elephant with his foot and uprooted the tusks of the fallen elephant. He is called Hari because he took away (hari) the life of the elephant like a lion and assumed a form like a lion (hari) in killing it.

Related values & verses
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Lord Hari climbs onto the elephant like a lion, pulls out a tusk, and with it kills both beast and keepers. Once the Lord moves to finish, demons and their drivers fall together.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose 'driver' have you been polite to while a larger demon ran loose?
  • Could Kṛṣṇa finish both at once when invited?
Analogy

Kṛṣṇa climbs the fallen elephant 'as a lion mounts a fallen elephant — līlayā'. The image is Vedic; the act is His. Pulling out the tusk and killing the beast and his keepers with it is dharma in its terminal form: the demon's own armament becomes the rod of Yamarāja.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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