FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.77.33

तं शस्‍त्रपूगै: प्रहरन्तमोजसा शाल्वं शरै: शौरिरमोघविक्रम: । विद्ध्वाच्छिनद् वर्म धनु: शिरोमणिं सौभं च शत्रोर्गदया रुरोज ह ॥ ३३ ॥
taṁ śastra-pūgaiḥ praharantam ojasā
[tam shastra-poogaih praharantam ojasaa]
śālvaṁ śaraiḥ śaurir amogha-vikramaḥ
[shaalvam sharaih shaurir amogha-vikramah]
viddhvācchinad varma dhanuḥ śiro-maṇiṁ
[viddhvaachchinad varma dhanuh shiro-manim]
saubhaṁ ca śatror gadayā ruroja ha
[saubham cha shatror gadayaa ruroja ha]
tam — Him śastra — of weapons pūgaiḥ — with torrents praharantam — attacking ojasā — with great force śālvam — Śālva śaraiḥ — with His arrows śauriḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa amogha — never exhibited in vain vikramaḥ — whose prowess viddhvā — piercing acchinat — He broke varma — the armor dhanuḥ — the bow śiraḥ — on the head maṇim — the jewel saubham — the Saubha vehicle ca — and śatroḥ — of His enemy gadayā — with His club ruroja — He broke ha — indeed .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
taṁ śastra-pūgaiḥ praharantam ojasā
tam
Him
śastra
of weapons
pūgaiḥ
with torrents
praharantam
attacking
ojasā
with great force
śālvaṁ śaraiḥ śaurir amogha-vikramaḥ
śālvam
Śālva
śaraiḥ
with His arrows
śauriḥ
Lord Kṛṣṇa
amogha
never exhibited in vain
vikramaḥ
whose prowess
viddhvācchinad varma dhanuḥ śiro-maṇiṁ
viddhvā
piercing
acchinat
He broke
varma
the armor
dhanuḥ
the bow
śiraḥ
on the head
maṇim
the jewel
saubhaṁ ca śatror gadayā ruroja ha
saubham
the Saubha vehicle
ca
and
śatroḥ
of His enemy
gadayā
with His club
ruroja
He broke
ha
indeed .
  • amogha-vikramaḥ — whose prowess is never in vain
    Compound: amogha (unfailing) + vikrama (prowess). One of Kṛṣṇa's defining epithets. Gauḍīyas associate amogha especially with His cakra (amogha-aṅga); here it spreads across all His weapons.
  • varma dhanuḥ śiraḥ maṇim — armor, bow, head-jewel
    Compound list: armor + bow + crest-jewel. The Lord disassembles Śālva piece by piece — defense, offense, and adornment removed in sequence before the killing stroke. Bhāgavatam's choreography of demolition.
  • ruroja — smashed, shattered
    Perfect of √ruj — to break, to break apart. The Saubha is finally rurujita. Same root from which roga (illness) derives — māyā is broken in the same way disease is broken: structural disintegration.
While Śālva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at Him with great force, Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose prowess never fails, shot His arrows at Śālva, wounding him and shattering his armor, bow and crest jewel. Then with His club the Lord smashed His enemy’s Saubha airship.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Then Śālva thought that Kṛṣṇa had been bewildered by his mystic representations, he became encouraged and began to attack the Lord with greater strength and energy by showering volumes of arrows upon Him. But the enthusiasm of Śālva can be compared to the speedy march of flies into a fire. Lord Kṛṣṇa, by hurling His arrows with unfathomable strength, injured Śālva, whose armor, bow and jeweled helmet all scattered into pieces. With a crashing blow from Kṛṣṇa’s club, Śālva’s wonderful airplane burst into pieces and fell into the sea.” The fact that Śālva’s insignificant mystic power could not bewilder Lord Kṛṣṇa is here emphatically demonstrated.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
While Śālva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at Him with great force, Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose prowess never fails, shot His arrows at Śālva, wounding him and shattering his armor, bow and crest jewel. Then with His club the Lord smashed His enemy's Saubha airship.
Commentary

After defeating the versions of others now Sukadeva continues the story. Krsna broke (ruroja) the aircraft with his club.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

After purifying the ignorant misconceptions of the previous verses, Śukadeva continues the description with the proper view. Kṛṣṇa shattered his armor, bow and then his crest jewel to step by step shatter his pride since Śālva was an enemy. Ha expresses joy.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Though Śālva with great force attacked, the Lord very easily shot his arrows and wounded him, because he was the Lord appearing a warrior in Śura’s dynasty (śauriḥ) and moreover, endowed with unfailing prowess. In succession Kṛṣṇa destroyed his armor, bow and crest jewel in order to destroy his pride and courage. Ha expresses joy. The Lord did this after leaving Indraprastha and just arriving at Dvārakā.

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
Kṛṣṇa shot arrows at Śālva, wounding him, shattering armor, bow, and crest jewel; then His club smashed the Saubha airship. Once the Lord acts decisively, every layer of illusion collapses.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'crest jewel' of an illusion in my life could finally be shattered?
  • Where am I waiting for the Lord to act when His arrows are already drawn?

Śālva keeps hurling torrents of weapons; Kṛṣṇa, whose vikrama never fails, strikes him with arrows, shattering his armor, bow, and crest jewel — then with the club smashes the Saubha. The pattern is dismantling: first the armor, then the means of attack, then the badge of pride, and finally the vehicle itself. Bhakti undoes māyā in the same order.

📝 My note

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