FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.22-23

నాచలత్తత్ప్రహారేణ మాలాహత ఇవ ద్విప: । బాహ్వోర్నిగృహ్య చాణూరం బహుశో భ్రామయన్ హరి: ॥ ౨౨ ॥ భూపృష్ఠే పోథయామాస తరసా క్షీణజీవితమ్ । విస్రస్తాకల్పకేశస్రగిన్ద్రధ్వజ ఇవాపతత్ ॥ ౨౩ ॥
nācalat tat-prahāreṇa
[naachalat tat-prahaarena]
mālāhata iva dvipaḥ
[maalaahata iva dvipah]
bāhvor nigṛhya cāṇūraṁ
[baahvor nigrihya chaanooram]
bahuśo bhrāmayan hariḥ
[bahusho bhraamayan harih]
bhū-pṛṣṭhe pothayām āsa
[bhoo-prishthe pothayaam aasa]
tarasā kṣīṇa jīvitam
[tarasaa ksheena jeevitam]
visrastākalpa-keśa-srag
[visrastaakalpa-kesha-srag]
indra-dhvaja ivāpatat
[indra-dhvaja ivaapatat]
na acalat — He (Lord Kṛṣṇa) did not move tat - prahāreṇa — because of his blows mālā — with a garland āhata — struck iva — as dvipaḥ — an elephant bāhvoḥ — by the two arms nigṛhya — seizing cāṇūram — Cāṇūra bahuśaḥ — several times bhrāmayan — whirling him around hariḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa bhū — of the earth pṛṣṭhe — onto the surface pothayām āsa — hurled tarasā — forcefully kṣīṇa — becoming lost jīvitam — his life visrasta — scattered ākalpa — his clothing keśa — hair srak — and flower garland indra - dhvajaḥ — a tall festival column iva — as if apatat — he fell .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nācalat tat-prahāreṇa
na acalat
He (Lord Kṛṣṇa) did not move
tat - prahāreṇa
because of his blows
mālāhata iva dvipaḥ
mālā
with a garland
āhata
struck
iva
as
dvipaḥ
an elephant
bāhvor nigṛhya cāṇūraṁ
bāhvoḥ
by the two arms
nigṛhya
seizing
cāṇūram
Cāṇūra
bahuśo bhrāmayan hariḥ
bahuśaḥ
several times
bhrāmayan
whirling him around
hariḥ
Lord Kṛṣṇa
bhū-pṛṣṭhe pothayām āsa
bhū
of the earth
pṛṣṭhe
onto the surface
pothayām āsa
hurled
tarasā kṣīṇa jīvitam
tarasā
forcefully
kṣīṇa
becoming lost
jīvitam
his life
visrastākalpa-keśa-srag
visrasta
scattered
ākalpa
his clothing
keśa
hair
srak
and flower garland
indra-dhvaja ivāpatat
indra - dhvajaḥ
a tall festival column
iva
as if
apatat
he fell .
  • mālā - āhata — struck with a flower-garland
    Compound: mālā (garland) + āhata (struck). The simile of the elephant: a great bull is not even brushed by a flower. The strike that Cāṇūra meant as vajra (verse 20) is registered by the Lord as mālā. The asymmetry is total.
  • bhrāmayan — whirling
    Present participle of bhram. Cf. BG 18.61 (bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni) — the Lord whirls all beings on the wheel of māyā. Here, in literal grammar, He whirls Cāṇūra. The cosmic and the local meet in one verb.
  • indra - dhvajaḥ — Indra's flagpole
    Compound: indra (the king of gods) + dhvaja (flag, pole). The festival-pole erected for the rain-festival of Indra. Cf. SB 10.24-27 — the very festival Kṛṣṇa cancelled in Vraja, replacing Indra with Govardhana. The simile recalls that earlier victory.
  • kṣīṇa - jīvitam — whose life is exhausted
    Compound: kṣīṇa (diminished) + jīvita (life). The same kṣīṇa-vocabulary used for the dying world before Kalki. The Bhāgavatam's lexicon of ending is consistent across cantos.
  • visrasta - ākalpa — with scattered ornaments
    Compound: visrasta (loosened, fallen) + ākalpa (ornament, attire). His wrestler's regalia comes apart in the air. The Bhāgavatam keeps showing demoniac ornaments scattering at the moment of death — adornments that bhakti would have purified are now just litter.
No more shaken by the demon’s mighty blows than an elephant struck with a flower garland, Lord Kṛṣṇa grabbed Cāṇūra by his arms, swung him around several times and hurled him onto the ground with great force. His clothes, hair and garland scattering, the wrestler fell down dead, like a huge festival column collapsing.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains the words indra-dhvaja as follows: “In Bengal, on the occasion of a certain festival, people erect a tall column in the form of a man and decorate it with flags, banners, etc. He [Cāṇūra] fell just as such a pole might fall.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
No more shaken by the demon's mighty blows than an elephant struck with a flower garland, Lord Kṛṣṇa grabbed Cāṇūra by his arms, swung him around several times and hurled him onto the ground with great force. His clothes, hair and garland scattering, the wrestler fell down dead, like a huge festival column collapsing.
Commentary

Indradvaja is famous in the eastern states.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Though he was the Lord, he began performing actions in order to give joy to his devotees who were suffering. He did not imitate being disturbed at all for obtaining pleasure of his own. Kṛṣṇa remained joyful, undisturbed like and elephant hit by many garlands. Though an elephant may be hit by many garlands, nothing happens to the elephant. Though Kṛṣṇa was struck many times by Cāṇūra with great force, nothing happened to Kṛṣṇa. Hari-vaṁśa describes this: yad ayaṁ bāhu-yuddhaṁ savairaṁ kartum udyataḥ / atra vai nigrahaḥ kāryas toṣayiṣyāmy ahaṁ jagat karūṣeṣu prasūto 'yaṁ cāṇūro nāma nāmataḥ / bāhu-yodhī sarīreṇa karmabhiś cānucintyatām // etena bahavo mallā nipātāntaram hatāḥ / raṅga-pratāpa-kāmena malla-mārgaś ca dūṣitaḥ // ye tu kecit sva-doṣeṇa rājṣaḥ paṇḍita-māninaḥ / pratāpārthe hatā mallā malla-hantur vadho hi saḥ // Since Cāṇūra is eager to wrestler with enmity, I must punish him. I will satisfy the world by this. This wrestler called Cāṇūra, born from the descendants of Karūṣa, is famous by his body and actions. It should be known that he has defeated and then killed many wrestlers and spoiled the sport of wrestling by his desire for fame in the arena. Some of the wrestlers have been killed in order to give glory to the foolish king because of his faulty behaviour. Killing the wrestlers was murder. Kṛṣṇa whirled him around many times and in a variety of ways. By the force of throwing him on the ground Cāṇūra died. His life merged into the ākāśa. bhrāmayitvā śata-guṇaṁ daitya-mallam amitrajit / bhūmāv āsphoṭayām āsa gagane gata-jīvitam // Whirling the demonic wrestler around a hundred times he splayed him out on the ground and making his life merge in the sky. He threw Cāṇūra on the ground, shaking him (pothayām āsa), as if giving him up, while saying “He is dead.” The word sa apatat (he fell) should be added to the comparison. He is compared to a flag staff falling because of his great size. Hari-vaṁśa says: dehena tasya mallasya cāṇurasya gatāyusaḥ sanniruddho mahā-raṅgaḥ sa śaileneva lakṣyate The large arena appeared to be obstructed by a mountain with the dead body of Cāṇūra.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses

Cāṇūra strikes the Lord's body, and the Lord is no more moved than an elephant struck with a flower garland. Then Kṛṣṇa grabs him, swings him through the air, and the wrestler falls like a festival flagpole. The flag of Kaṁsa's regime is taken down with the body of his own champion.

📝 My note

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