FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.63.22

విద్రావితే భూతగణే జ్వరస్తు త్రిశిరాస్‍త్రీపాత్ । అభ్యధావత దాశార్హం దహన్నివ దిశో దశ ॥ ౨౨ ॥
vidrāvite bhūta-gaṇe
[vidraavite bhoota-gane]
jvaras tu trī-śirās trī-pāt
[jvaras tu tree-shiraas tree-paat]
abhyadhāvata dāśārhaṁ
[abhyadhaavata daashaarham]
dahann iva diśo daśa
[dahann iva disho dasha]
vidrāvite — having been driven away bhūta - gaṇe — all the followers of Lord Śiva jvaraḥ — the personification of fever who serves him, Lord Śiva tu — but tri — three śirāḥ — having heads tri — three pāt — having feet abhyadhāvata — ran toward dāśārham — Lord Kṛṣṇa dahan — burning iva — as if it were diśaḥ — the directions daśa — ten .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vidrāvite bhūta-gaṇe
vidrāvite
having been driven away
bhūta - gaṇe
all the followers of Lord Śiva
jvaras tu trī-śirās trī-pāt
jvaraḥ
the personification of fever who serves him, Lord Śiva
tu
but
tri
three
śirāḥ
having heads
tri
three
pāt
having feet
abhyadhāvata dāśārhaṁ
abhyadhāvata
ran toward
dāśārham
Lord Kṛṣṇa
dahann iva diśo daśa
dahan
burning
iva
as if it were
diśaḥ
the directions
daśa
ten .
  • jvaraḥ — fever
    Personified Śiva-jvara — a deity weapon, not a metaphor. Gauḍīyas read the verse's literalism as theology: even disease has a person; even fever serves a master. Bhagavān will return the favor in v. 23 by deploying His own Vaiṣṇava-jvara.
  • tri-śirāḥ tri-pāt — three-headed and three-footed
    Compound: tri (three) + śiras (head) / pāda (foot). Standard iconography of the Śiva-jvara — three heads for cold/heat/sweating, three feet for movement in all phases. The grotesque body marks the tāmasa quality of fever as Śiva-tattva's lesser servant.
  • abhyadhāvata — rushed toward
    Imperfect of abhi-√dhāv (to run at). The same direction-verb the asura used in v. 17 — running toward Bhagavān is what every Śiva-loyal force does in this chapter, and each one will end up taking shelter (v. 24).
  • diśaḥ daśa — the ten directions
    Eight cardinal/intercardinal + up + down. The cosmographic completeness of the Śiva-jvara's burn: he sets all space alight. Bhagavān's reply will not match scale but rank: one Vaiṣṇava-jvara sufficient against ten directions of Māheśvara-jvara.
After Lord Śiva’s followers had been driven away, the Śiva-jvara, who had three heads and three feet, pressed forward to attack Lord Kṛṣṇa. As the Śiva-jvara approached, he seemed to burn everything in the ten directions.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes the following description of the Śiva-jvara: jvaras tri-padas tri-śirāḥ ṣaḍ-bhujo nava-locanaḥ bhasma-praharaṇo raudraḥ kālāntaka-yamopamaḥ “The terrible Śiva-jvara had three legs, three heads, six arms and nine eyes. Showering ashes, he resembled Yamarāja at the time of universal annihilation.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
After Lord Śiva's followers had been driven away, the Śiva-jvara, who had three heads and three feet, pressed forward to attack Lord Kṛṣṇa. As the Śiva-jvara approached, he seemed to burn everything in the ten directions.
Commentary

Jvara however ran towards him to fight. His form is described: he had three feet, three heads, six hands, nine eyes, and the ash weapon. Filled with anger he was like death personified at the time of annihilation.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Jvara rushed forward to fight (last phrase is understood but not stated in the text). Citsukha says that “Jvara fought” should be added to the verse. The bhūtas were driven away previously when Śiva fought. Or, because they fled, Jvara came. Hari-vaṁśa says: jvaras tri-padas tri-śirāḥ ṣaḍ-bhujo nava-locanaḥ bhasma-praharaṇo raudraḥ kālāntaka-yamopamaḥ nadan megha-sahasrasya tulya-nirghata-nisvanaḥ niḥśvasan jṛmbhanāṇs ca nidrān vitatanur bhṛśam The terrible Śiva-jvara had three legs, three heads, six arms and nine eyes. Showering ashes, he resembled Yamarāja at the time of universal annihilation. He breathed like a hurricane and roared like a thousand clouds. By yawning he spread sleep everywhere.

Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Bhakti (Devotion)
Concepts
RasaJiva

When ordinary weapons fail, Śiva sends his personified fever — three heads, three feet, burning ten directions — a walking heat-stroke. The image of an unbearable temperature given limbs is exactly what saṁsāra feels like to the bhakta still bound to material desire (v. 28).

📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 63