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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.43.11

స ధావన్ క్రీడయా భూమౌ పతిత్వా సహసోత్థిత: । తం మత్వా పతితం క్రుద్ధో దన్తాభ్యాం సోఽహనత్క్షితిమ్ ॥ ౧౧ ॥
sa dhāvan kṛīdayā bhūmau
[sa dhaavan krieedayaa bhoomau]
patitvā sahasotthitaḥ
[patitvaa sahasotthitah]
tam matvā patitaṁ kruddho
[tam matvaa patitam kruddho]
dantābhyāṁ so ’hanat kṣitim
[dantaabhyaam so ’hanat kshitim]
saḥ — He dhāvan — running krīḍayā — playfully bhūmau — on the ground patitvā — falling sahasā — suddenly utthitaḥ — getting up tam — Him matvā — thinking patitam — fallen kruddhaḥ — angry dantābhyām — with his tusks saḥ — he, Kuvalayāpīḍa ahanat — struck kṣitim — the earth .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa dhāvan kṛīdayā bhūmau
saḥ
He
dhāvan
running
krīḍayā
playfully
bhūmau
on the ground
patitvā sahasotthitaḥ
patitvā
falling
sahasā
suddenly
utthitaḥ
getting up
tam
Him
tam matvā patitaṁ kruddho
matvā
thinking
patitam
fallen
kruddhaḥ
angry
dantābhyāṁ so ’hanat kṣitim
dantābhyām
with his tusks
saḥ
he, Kuvalayāpīḍa
ahanat
struck
kṣitim
the earth .
  • krīḍayā — playfully
    Cousin of līlayā — pure play, no necessity. Kṛṣṇa falls not because He must but because the līlā requires the elephant's tusks to drive into the ground (and presently to be broken off). The Gauḍīyas read every Bhāgavata 'fall' of Kṛṣṇa as krīḍā, never weakness.
  • dantābhyām — with his tusks
    Dual instrumental — both tusks at once. They will, in the next verses, become Kṛṣṇa's and Balarāma's weapons (43.16). The demon's own weapons turn against him: a recurring asura-fate from Hiraṇyakaśipu's nails-and-twilight (SB 7.8) to Bāṇa's thousand arms.
  • kruddhaḥ — angry
    Anger is what makes the elephant strike the earth instead of the Lord. Krodha blinds — Gītā 2.63 makes the chain explicit (krodhāt sammohaḥ): rage destroys discrimination, and the demon misses by the width of Bhagavān's whole body.
  • kṣitim — the earth
    Bhū-devī receives the blow. Bhāgavata theology: the earth, who in Canto 1 weeps under adharma's burden, here absorbs the demon's stroke and waits for her relief — which is precisely what this whole avatāra is.
As Kṛṣṇa dodged about, He playfully fell on the ground and quickly got up again. The raging elephant, thinking Kṛṣṇa was down, tried to gore Him with his tusks but struck the earth instead.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
As Kṛṣṇa dodged about, He playfully fell on the ground and quickly got up again. The raging elephant, thinking Kṛṣṇa was down, tried to gore Him with his tusks but struck the earth instead.
Commentary

In order that the elephant would strike the hard stone on the ground with force, Krsna pretended to fall on the ground and not get up quickly. Seeing Krsna on the ground, the elephant became determined to kill him. The elephant fell on his knees and dug the earth with his tusks. But Krsna had already quickly got up and fled.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He made the elephant fall and then after running, Kṛṣṇa fell down. He quickly got up in such a way that the elephant did not even notice that he fell. He elephant fell to its knees and dug its tusks into the earth. Hari-vaṁśa says papāta bhūmiṁ jānubhyāṁ daśanābhyāṁ tutoda ca: the elephant fell on its knees and tried to attack Kṛṣṇa with its tusks.

Related values
Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Nyaya (Justice / Righteous Judgment)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Kritajnata (Gratitude)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Satya (Truthfulness)Daya (Compassion / Mercy)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva

Kṛṣṇa falls and instantly rises — and the elephant's tusks strike not Him but the earth. The demon's force, aimed at Bhagavān, lands on the earth Bhagavān has come to protect, and even that strike is absorbed harmlessly because the Lord is the very dhārā of Bhū-devī.

📝 My note

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