FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.59.7

त्रिशूलमुद्यम्य सुदुर्निरीक्षणो युगान्तसूर्यानलरोचिरुल्बण: । ग्रसंस्‍त्रिलोकीमिव पञ्चभिर्मुखै- रभ्यद्रवत्तार्क्ष्यसुतं यथोरग: ॥ ७ ॥
tri-śūlam udyamya su-durnirīkṣaṇo
[tri-shoolam udyamya su-durnireekshano]
yugānta-sūryānala-rocir ulbaṇaḥ
[yugaanta-sooryaanala-rochir ulbanah]
grasaṁs tri-lokīm iva pañcabhir mukhair
[grasams tri-lokeem iva panchabhir mukhair]
abhyadravat tārkṣya-sutaṁ yathoragaḥ
[abhyadravat taarkshya-sutam yathoragah]
Word-for-word
tri - śūlam — his trident udyamya — raising su — very durnirīkṣaṇaḥ — difficult to look at yuga - anta — at the end of a millennium sūrya — of the sun anala — (like) the fire rociḥ — whose effulgence ulbaṇaḥ — terrible grasan — swallowing tri - lokīm — the three worlds iva — as if pañcabhiḥ — with his five mukhaiḥ — mouths abhyadravat — he attacked tārkṣya - sutam — Garuḍa, the son of Tārkṣya yathā — as uragaḥ — a snake .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tri-śūlam udyamya su-durnirīkṣaṇo
tri - śūlam
his trident
udyamya
raising
su
very
durnirīkṣaṇaḥ
difficult to look at
yugānta-sūryānala-rocir ulbaṇaḥ
yuga - anta
at the end of a millennium
sūrya
of the sun
anala
(like) the fire
rociḥ
whose effulgence
ulbaṇaḥ
terrible
grasaṁs tri-lokīm iva pañcabhir mukhair
grasan
swallowing
tri - lokīm
the three worlds
iva
as if
pañcabhiḥ
with his five
mukhaiḥ
mouths
abhyadravat tārkṣya-sutaṁ yathoragaḥ
abhyadravat
he attacked
tārkṣya - sutam
Garuḍa, the son of Tārkṣya
yathā
as
uragaḥ
a snake .
Important Words
  • tri - śūlam — trident
    Three-pronged spear — emblem of triple aggression (mind, speech, body, or the three guṇas weaponized). Mura wields what Śiva also wields; an asura mimicking divine paraphernalia is a Bhāgavata commonplace.
  • tri - lokīm — the three worlds
    Compound: tri + loka. Mura's mouths 'seem to swallow' the three worlds — the same three worlds Bhagavān actually pervades. The asura's apparent grandeur is parasitic on Bhagavān's real one.
  • tārkṣya - sutam — the son of Tārkṣya (Garuḍa)
    Garuḍa is born of Vinatā and the sage Kaśyapa (here called Tārkṣya). Calling Garuḍa by his patronymic in the middle of combat is the poet's way of reminding readers that even the Lord's vehicle has a Vedic lineage.
  • uragaḥ — snake
    From ura (chest) + ga (going) — 'chest-goer'. Garuḍa is the natural enemy of snakes; the simile inverts the relation (the snake attacking Garuḍa) to mark Mura's foolishness.
Shining with the blinding, terrible effulgence of the sun’s fire at the end of a millennium, Mura seemed to be swallowing up the three worlds with his five mouths. He lifted up his trident and fell upon Garuḍa, the son of Tārkṣya, like an attacking snake.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Shining with the blinding, terrible effulgence of the sun's fire at the end of a millennium, Mura seemed to be swallowing up the three worlds with his five mouths. He lifted up his trident and fell upon Garuḍa, the son of Tārkṣya, like an attacking snake.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

A longer meter is used in this verse as if one would sing it with excitement in describing the battle. Mura was difficult to behold because he shone like the sun at the end of the yuga. By nature he was terrifying (ulbaṇaḥ) since he seemed to swallow the three worlds with his five mouths. With his mouths gaping, he rushed at the Lord just as snake attacks Garuḍa. Or he rushed at Garuḍa since he appeared to be a bigger target.

Related values & verses
Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Bhakti (Devotion)
Concepts
RasaJiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Shining with sun-fire effulgence, Mura seems to swallow three worlds with five mouths; he lifts trident and attacks Garuḍa like an attacker. Powerful demons have terrifying first appearance; size doesn't change outcome.
Reflection Questions
  • Where does an inner adversary's first appearance terrify out of proportion?
  • How does scripture reframe the magnitude?
Analogy

A wildfire seeing rain mistakes it for fuel and rushes toward it. Mura raises his trident at Garuḍa and the Lord on Garuḍa, mistaking Bhagavān for prey — the demoniac mind reads even mercy as threat, and runs at its only deliverance with hostility.

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Source: vedabase.io

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