Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.46.20
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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dāva - agneḥ
—
from the forest fire
Compound: dāva (forest) + agni (fire). The forest fire that Kṛṣṇa swallowed (SB 10.17, 10.19). Nanda lists the events chronologically; the chapter assumes the reader knows the canto and reads each item as cross-reference.
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vāta - varṣāt
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from the wind and rain
Compound: vāta (wind) + varṣa (rain). The Indra-storm at Govardhana (SB 10.25). Nanda's verse mentions the danger but not yet Indra by name; the offended deity is too elevated to invoke in a cowherd's complaint.
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vṛṣa
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from the bull (Ariṣṭa)
Bull-demon Ariṣṭa, killed in SB 10.36. The verse uses the bare vṛṣa — the demon-bull, not Kṛṣṇa's own divine bull-form — and trusts the reader to disambiguate by context.
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sarpāt
—
from the serpent (Kāliya / Aghāsura)
Ablative of sarpa. Could indicate Kāliya (SB 10.16) or Aghāsura (SB 10.12). Gauḍīya commentators read the singular as deliberately ambiguous — Vraja's serpents were many; Kṛṣṇa met them all.
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su - mahā - ātmanā
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by the very great soul
Compound: su (very) + mahā (great) + ātman. A Bhāgavata-honorific that bridges aiśvarya and mādhurya. Nanda uses it of his own son — the verse stages how vātsalya can voice the Lord's mahima without losing intimacy.
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rakṣitāḥ
—
protected
Past participle of √rakṣ. The verb of refuge — same root as rakṣaka, kṛṣṇa-rakṣaka. Nanda's identity is constituted by being among the rakṣitāḥ; gopāla-protection is not metaphor in Vraja but lived autobiography.
"But you will not die. You will live a long time, raising your son with affection." "Now, we will not be saved from the hands of death." In saying this he recounts the previous threats of death. "He saves us from the forest fire, from the rains produced by Indra, because of his natural affection for us (su mahatmaha). But today, why does he not save us from the huge fire of terrible separation? I cannot understand this."
As if gaining self control. Nanda remembering Kṛṣṇa’s great affection for his relatives which made him forget his own suffering, in order to console himself. But then, by that remembrance he laments as if his heart as been broken. From his young childhood Kṛṣṇa performed many acts to save us. I will describe some. From the beginning he showed great compassion. He protected us from the forest fire, because of his powers similar to Nārāyaṇa’s as stated by Garga. Or, seeing the fire, he swallowed the fire which became nectar for him, because of his very nature or his compassion. Similarly he protected us from the wind and rain, from the bull and snake, and from other personifications of death. He was the most excellent, great soul, having natural qualities such as unconditional love, mercy and power.
Having described Kṛṣṇa’s form with desire to see him, he describes his qualities, somewhat lamenting. He describes these events since he personally experienced them. The snake refers to Kāliya and Aghāsura. These were equal to death. We are alive because he saved us. He could save us because his nature is mercy (su-mahātmanā). We were saved because he is compassionate, not because of our qualities. This is a statement uttered in misery.
- Could you list your own 'forest fire and bull demon' rescues from Kṛṣṇa today?
- How does specific memory of past mercies steady current trust?
A father lists the times his son saved the family: forest fire, storm, the bull-demon, the serpent. He is not boasting — he is testifying. Vraja's claim on Kṛṣṇa is not theological; it is the record of every danger from which He pulled them out. Love built on rescue.
When the king of elephants was seized by the crocodile, he cried 'I do not pray as anyone's owner or relative — I pray as the helpless' (SB 8.3). Viṣṇu descended on Garuḍa and cut the jaws.
Nanda's verse-20 list is the Vraja-version of Gajendra's testimony: 'He saved us, we are the saved.' Gauḍīya theology of śaraṇāgati grounds itself in such enumerations — the surrendered are those who can name what they were rescued from.
My note
Source: vedabase.io