SB 10.59.6 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.59.6

पाञ्चजन्यध्वनिं श्रुत्वा युगान्तशनिभीषणम् । मुर: शयान उत्तस्थौ दैत्य: पञ्चशिरा जलात् ॥ ६ ॥

pāñcajanya-dhvaniṁ śrutvā

[paanchajanya-dhvanim shrutvaa]

yugāntaśani-bhīṣaṇam

[yugaantashani-bheeshanam]

muraḥ śayāna uttasthau

[murah shayaana uttasthau]

daityaḥ pañca-śirā jalāt

[daityah pancha-shiraa jalaat]

Word-for-word

pāñcajanya — of Pāñcajanya, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s conchshell dhvanim — the vibration śrutvā — hearing yuga — of the universal era anta — at the end aśani — (like the sound) of lightning bhīṣaṇam — terrifying muraḥ — Mura śayānaḥ — sleeping uttasthau — stood up daityaḥ — the demon pañca - śirāḥ — five-headed jalāt — from the water (of the moat surrounding the fortress) .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

pāñcajanya-dhvaniṁ śrutvā

pāñcajanya

of Pāñcajanya, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s conchshell

dhvanim

the vibration

śrutvā

hearing

yugāntaśani-bhīṣaṇam

yuga

of the universal era

anta

at the end

aśani

(like the sound) of lightning

bhīṣaṇam

terrifying

muraḥ śayāna uttasthau

muraḥ

Mura

śayānaḥ

sleeping

uttasthau

stood up

daityaḥ pañca-śirā jalāt

daityaḥ

the demon

pañca - śirāḥ

five-headed

jalāt

from the water (of the moat surrounding the fortress) .

Important Words

pāñcajanya — Kṛṣṇa's conchshell
Named after the demon Pañcajana whom Kṛṣṇa slew (and from whose body the conch came, per SB 10.45 — Kṛṣṇa's recovery of His guru's son). A weapon born of an earlier victory now opens this one.
yuga - anta — the end of an age
Yuga-anta — pralaya. Whenever the Bhāgavatam compares a sound to yugānta thunder, it signals not loudness but finality: this is the last sound certain hearers will ever process.
muraḥ — Mura, the five-headed demon
Guardian of the outermost moat. His death gives Kṛṣṇa one of His most beloved epithets — Murāri (slayer of Mura) — used countless times in Vaiṣṇava hymnody.
pañca - śirāḥ — five-headed
Compound: pañca (five) + śiras (head). Five heads = the five sense-faculties, traditionally; an asura embodies sense-rampage. The Lord's disc later removes them all at once — purification of the senses by direct contact.

The five-headed demon Mura, who slept at the bottom of the city’s moat, awoke and rose up out of the water when he heard the vibration of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Pāñcajanya conchshell, a sound as terrifying as the thunder at the end of the cosmic age.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

The five-headed demon Mura, who slept at the bottom of the city's moat, awoke and rose up out of the water when he heard the vibration of Lord Kṛṣṇa's Pāñcajanya conchshell, a sound as terrifying as the thunder at the end of the cosmic age.

Commentary

Hearing the sound of the conch, fearful like the thunderbolt at the time of devastation, (Krsna also appeared like a thunderbolt to the wresters), the Mura demon rose from the water of the moat.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Mura came out of the water of the moat. The water wall had already been destroyed. Or this is narration of a previous event when Kṛṣṇa destroyed the water wall. Kṛṣṇa also blew his conch previously, but this particularly to break the wall decked with military machines. This sound was like the thunder at the end of the yuga for the demons, but not for the devotees, just as Kṛṣṇa appeared like a thunderbolt for the wrestlers in Kaṁsa’s arena but appeared as Cupid for the women. Mura was sleeping because he was always drowsy with intoxication, and was always without thoughts. That was his nature.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Mura slept in the water because he was a demon. By nature they indulge in drinking intoxicants. Or he was without worry, being unconquerable by weapons.

Related values & verses

Related values

Bhakti (Devotion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)

Concepts

Jiva

Personal Guidance

Five-headed Mura, asleep at the moat's bottom, wakes and rises hearing Pāñcajanya's vibration — sound as terrifying as cosmic-age thunder. The right sound wakes specific demons; conchshell signals start the fight.

Reflection Questions

What 'sleeping demon' in your life might wake if you started chanting more loudly?
How do you respond when devotion stirs what was dormant?

Analogy

A serpent sleeping in a well rises at the sound of footsteps it does not recognize. Mura wakes to Pāñcajanya because the conch is the one sound his five heads cannot pretend to know — every asura is finally roused by Bhagavān's voice, though most prefer the dream.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io