SB 3.18.7

Devanāgarī

तं नि:सरन्तं सलिलादनुद्रुतो हिरण्यकेशो द्विरदं यथा झष: । करालदंष्ट्रोऽशनिनिस्वनोऽब्रवीद् गतह्रियां किं त्वसतां विगर्हितम् ॥ ७ ॥

Text

taṁ niḥsarantaṁ salilād anudruto hiraṇya-keśo dviradaṁ yathā jhaṣaḥ karāla-daṁṣṭro ’śani-nisvano ’bravīd gata-hriyāṁ kiṁ tv asatāṁ vigarhitam

Synonyms

tam—Him;niḥsarantam—coming out;salilāt—from the water;anudrutaḥ—chased;hiraṇya-keśaḥ—having golden hair;dviradam—an elephant;yathā—as;jhaṣaḥ—a crocodile;karāla-daṁṣṭraḥ—having fearful teeth;aśani-nisvanaḥ—roaring like thunder;abravīt—he said;gata-hriyām—for those who are shameless;kim—what;tu—indeed;asatām—for the wretches;vigarhitam—reproachable.

Translation

The demon, who had golden hair on his head and fearful tusks, gave chase to the Lord while He was rising from the water, even as an alligator would chase an elephant. Roaring like thunder, he said: Are You not ashamed of running away before a challenging adversary? There is nothing reproachable for shameless creatures!

Purport

When the Lord was coming out of the water, taking the earth in His arms to deliver it, the demon derided Him with insulting words, but the Lord did not care because He was very conscious of His duty. For a dutiful man there is nothing to fear. Similarly, those who are powerful have no fear of derision or unkind words from an enemy. The Lord had nothing to fear from anyone, yet He was merciful to His enemy by neglecting him. Although apparently He fled from the challenge, it was just to protect the earth from calamity that He tolerated Hiraṇyākṣa’s deriding words.

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