Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.19
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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mitrāṇi
—
O friends
Vocative plural of mitra (friend). The keynote address of sakhya-rasa. The boys speak to each other as friends, with Kṛṣṇa among them as one of the mitras — not as Lord-and-servant in this moment, but as peer-among-peers.
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sattva-kūṭam
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a living creature in disguise
Compound: sattva (living being) + kūṭa (cheat, deception). 'A creature pretending to be a hill.' The boys correctly diagnose: this is a creature disguised. The Gauḍīya lesson — māyā always wears scenery.
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saṅgrasana
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to devour all of us together
From sam + gras- (to swallow whole). The boys see the threat clearly and walk in anyway. Not naïve confidence — confidence in Kṛṣṇa, even when they cannot name what it is they are confident in.
The friends began to discuss among themselves the reality of the wonderful creature laying before them. Was it dead, or was it actually a living python trying to swallow them up?
Some called out to the chief boys to confirm their thoughts. "Is this some type of immovable living entity?" Kuta means a peak, indicating some large animal. "Is it some peaceful tiger or other big animal, who has his mouth open as if to devour us?"
Please tell us whether this is some immobile creature (sattva-kūṭam) in front of us, whose front part is in the form of a snake’s mouth gaping in order to devour us.
Imagine children debating whether a sleeping crocodile on the riverbank is real — leaning in, poking, comparing notes. The danger they are debating is fatal; their composure is total. This is what living in Kṛṣṇa's company does: it removes the existential weight from what would otherwise terrify.
My note
Source: vedabase.io