FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.43.25

पूतनानेन नीतान्तं चक्रवातश्च दानव: । अर्जुनौ गुह्यक: केशी धेनुकोऽन्ये च तद्विधा: ॥ २५ ॥
pūtanānena nītāntaṁ
[pootanaanena neetaantam]
cakravātaś ca dānavaḥ
[chakravaatash cha daanavah]
arjunau guhyakaḥ keśī
[arjunau guhyakah keshee]
dhenuko ’nye ca tad-vidhāḥ
[dhenuko ’nye cha tad-vidhaah]
pūtanā — the witch Pūtanā anena — by Him nītā — brought antam — to her end cakravātaḥ — whirlwind ca — and dānavaḥ — the demon arjunau — the twin Arjuna trees guhyakaḥ — the demon Śaṅkhacūḍa keśī — the horse demon, Keśī dhenukaḥ — the jackass demon, Dhenuka anye — others ca — and tat - vidhāḥ — like them .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
pūtanānena nītāntaṁ
pūtanā
the witch Pūtanā
anena
by Him
nītā
brought
antam
to her end
cakravātaś ca dānavaḥ
cakravātaḥ
whirlwind
ca
and
dānavaḥ
the demon
arjunau guhyakaḥ keśī
arjunau
the twin Arjuna trees
guhyakaḥ
the demon Śaṅkhacūḍa
keśī
the horse demon, Keśī
dhenuko ’nye ca tad-vidhāḥ
dhenukaḥ
the jackass demon, Dhenuka
anye
others
ca
and
tat - vidhāḥ
like them .
  • pūtanā — the witch Pūtanā
    Gauḍīya emphasis: Pūtanā is granted dhātrī-pada — the post of one of Kṛṣṇa's spiritual-world nurses — because she came in a mother's costume. The mercy is total; the form, not the intent, was honoured.
  • arjunau — the twin Arjuna trees
    SB 10.10 — Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, two yakṣa princes cursed by Nārada to be trees, redeemed when Kṛṣṇa's mortar-rope split them open. The Gauḍīya read this as Kṛṣṇa's freeing of the proud — the same līlā that liberates every soul stuck in the 'tree' of bodily identification.
  • keśī — the horse demon, Keśī
    The horse-asura killed in SB 10.36, named for his terrifying mane. His death sealed Kaṁsa's last hope before this very arena-day, and from this killing Kṛṣṇa carries the name Keśi-niṣūdana.
  • dhenukaḥ — the jackass demon, Dhenuka
    In SB 10.15, Dhenuka attacked Balarāma in the Tālavana grove; Balarāma whirled him by the hind legs and threw him into the palm-trees, releasing the whole forest for the gopas. The Gauḍīya reading: the asses of dull-headed materialism are subdued by Balarāma — guru-tattva clears the field before mādhurya enters.
He made Pūtanā and the whirlwind demon meet with death, pulled down the twin Arjuna trees, and killed Śaṅkhacūḍa, Keśī, Dhenuka and similar demons.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
He made Pūtanā and the whirlwind demon meet with death, pulled down the twin Arjuna trees and killed Śaṅkhacūḍa, Keśī, Dhenuka and similar demons.
Commentary

Krsna killed many demons such as Sankhacuda (guhyaka).

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Antam means destruction.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
He made Pūtanā, the whirlwind demon, the twin Arjuna trees, Śaṅkhacūḍa, Keśī, Dhenuka and similar demons all meet death. The Lord's resume is a list of liberations; remembering it steadies expectation.
Reflection Questions
  • Which past deliverance in your own life parallels which entry in Kṛṣṇa's resume?
  • How does remembering His track record steady today's anxiety?

The Mathurā citizens roll-call Kṛṣṇa's Vraja victories — Pūtanā, the whirlwind, the twin Arjunas, Śaṅkhacūḍa, Keśī, Dhenuka — as one breath of kīrtana. Each name is a līlā; together they are the certificate of avatāra. Bhakti-saṁskāra works exactly so: the names accumulate until denial is impossible.

Pūtanā the witch-mother

In SB 10.6, Pūtanā came to Gokula in the form of a beautiful nurse, breast smeared with poison, intending to kill the infant Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa took her milk and her life together — sucking out the poison and the life-air at once.

The astonishing Bhāgavata teaching: because she came in the form of a mother, Kṛṣṇa granted her the destination of His mothers. The Gauḍīya tradition celebrates this as the very signature of His mercy — even the demoness who tried to feed Him death received from Him the elevation of nurses in the spiritual world.

Keśī the horse-demon

In SB 10.36, Keśī appeared as a giant maddened horse, sent by Kaṁsa as one of his last weapons. Kṛṣṇa thrust His arm into the demon's mouth, expanded it inside, and burst him from within.

For this killing Kṛṣṇa earned the name Keśava (one possible Gauḍīya gloss alongside the ka-īśa-va etymology). The Mathurā citizens' recitation of Keśī in this verse is the public memory finally catching up to the Vraja secret: every demon Kaṁsa sent into the forest was already returned dead.

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