राम

Viṣṇu-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 67

68 versesKeśin-vadha

Synopsis

Kaṃsa's envoy Akrūra sets out for Vṛndāvana longing to see Kṛṣṇa; the same day Kaṃsa sends the demon-horse Keśin to kill the boy. The cowherds flee into Kṛṣṇa's shelter. "At the sound of the women weeping and the cowherds crying out, Kṛṣṇa gave them abhayam and rushed at Keśin." The demon charges with bared teeth; Govinda advances "as a cloud advances toward the moon." Kṛṣṇa thrusts his arm into the open mouth, expands it, and splits the horse in two. The chapter closes with Nārada descending to praise Kṛṣṇa as the god of gods and ascending.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse 1

अक्रूरो ऽपि यथाज्ञप्तः कृष्णदर्शनलालसः जगाम रथमुख्येन मनसस् तुल्यगामिना

akrūro 'pi yathājñaptaḥ kṛṣṇadarśanalālasaḥ jagāma rathamukhyena manasas tulyagāminā

Akrūra too, as he had been ordered, longing to see Kṛṣṇa, went on his chief chariot, swift as the mind.

Verse 2

कृष्णस्यापि निमित्तानि शुभान्य् अङ्गगतानि वै पितृतुल्येन शंसन्ति बान्धवेन समागमम्

kṛṣṇasyāpi nimittāni śubhāny aṅgagatāni vai pitṛtulyena śaṃsanti bāndhavena samāgamam

Good omens came upon Kṛṣṇa's limbs, foretelling reunion with one kin to his father.

Verse 3

प्राग् एव च नरेन्द्रेण माथुरेणौग्रसेनिना केशिनः प्रेषितो दूतो वधायोपेन्द्रकारणात्

prāg eva ca narendreṇa māthureṇaugraseninā keśinaḥ preṣito dūto vadhāyopendrakāraṇāt

Even before, the king of Mathurā, son of Ugrasena, had sent Keśin as a messenger for the killing of Upendra.

Verse 4

स तु दूतवचः श्रुत्वा केशी क्लेशकरो नृणाम् वृन्दावनगतो गोपान् बाधते स्म दुरासदः

sa tu dūtavacaḥ śrutvā keśī kleśakaro nṛṇām vṛndāvanagato gopān bādhate sma durāsadaḥ

Having heard the envoy's speech, Keśin, tormentor of men, going to Vṛndāvana, oppressed the cowherds, dreadful.

Verse 5

मानुषं मांसम् अश्नानः क्रुद्धो दुष्टपराक्रमः दुर्दान्तो वाजिदैत्यो ऽसौ करोति कदनं महत्

mānuṣaṃ māṃsam aśnānaḥ kruddho duṣṭaparākramaḥ durdānto vājidaityo 'sau karoti kadanaṃ mahat

Eating human flesh, wrathful, of evil prowess, this horse-demon was untameable and caused great slaughter.

Verse 6

निघ्नन् गा वै सगोपाला गवां पिशितभोजनः दुर्दमः कामचारी च केसरी निरवग्रहः

nighnan gā vai sagopālā gavāṃ piśitabhojanaḥ durdamaḥ kāmacārī ca kesarī niravagrahaḥ

Verse 7

तदरण्यं श्मशानाभं नृणाम् अस्थिभिर् आवृतम् यत्रास्ते स हि दुष्टात्मा केशी तुरगदानवः

tadaraṇyaṃ śmaśānābhaṃ nṛṇām asthibhir āvṛtam yatrāste sa hi duṣṭātmā keśī turagadānavaḥ

That forest was like a cremation-ground, filled with human bones, where the evil-souled Keśin, that horse-demon, dwelt.

Verse 8

खुरैर् दारयते भूमिम् वेगेनारुजते द्रुमान् हेषितैः स्पर्धते वायुम् प्लुतैर् लङ्घ्यते नभः

khurair dārayate bhūmim vegenārujate drumān heṣitaiḥ spardhate vāyum plutair laṅghyate nabhaḥ

Verse 9

अतिप्रवृद्धो मत्तश् च दुष्टाश्वो वनगोचरः आकम्पितसटो रौद्रः कंसस्य चरितानुगः

atipravṛddho mattaś ca duṣṭāśvo vanagocaraḥ ākampitasaṭo raudraḥ kaṃsasya caritānugaḥ

Verse 10

इरिणं तद्वनं सर्वं तेन सौदासकर्मणा कृतं तुरगदैत्येन सर्वान् गोपाञ् जिघांसता

iriṇaṃ tadvanaṃ sarvaṃ tena saudāsakarmaṇā kṛtaṃ turagadaityena sarvān gopāñ jighāṃsatā

Verse 11

तेन दुष्टप्रचारेण दूषितं तद्वनं महत् न नृभिर् गोधनैर् वापि सेव्यते वनवृत्तिभिः

tena duṣṭapracāreṇa dūṣitaṃ tadvanaṃ mahat na nṛbhir godhanair vāpi sevyate vanavṛttibhiḥ

Verse 12

निःसंपातः कृतः पन्थास् तेन तद्विषयाश्रयः मदाच् चलितवृत्तेन नृमांसान्य् अश्नता भृशम्

niḥsaṃpātaḥ kṛtaḥ panthās tena tadviṣayāśrayaḥ madāc calitavṛttena nṛmāṃsāny aśnatā bhṛśam

Verse 13

नृशब्दानुसरः क्रुद्धः स कदाचिद् दिनागमे जगाम घोषसंवासं चोदितः कालधर्मणा

nṛśabdānusaraḥ kruddhaḥ sa kadācid dināgame jagāma ghoṣasaṃvāsaṃ coditaḥ kāladharmaṇā

Verse 14

तं दृष्ट्वा दुद्रुवुर् गोपाः स्त्रियश् च शिशुभिः सह क्रन्दमाना जगन्नाथम् कृष्णं नाथम् उपाश्रिताः

taṃ dṛṣṭvā dudruvur gopāḥ striyaś ca śiśubhiḥ saha krandamānā jagannātham kṛṣṇaṃ nātham upāśritāḥ

Seeing him, the cowherds fled, and the women with their children. Wailing, they took refuge in Kṛṣṇa, Lord of the worlds, as their protector.

Verse 15

तासां रुदितशब्देन गोपानां क्रन्दितेन च दत्त्वाभयं तु कृष्णो वै केशिनं सो ऽभिदुद्रुवे

tāsāṃ ruditaśabdena gopānāṃ kranditena ca dattvābhayaṃ tu kṛṣṇo vai keśinaṃ so 'bhidudruve

At the sound of the women weeping and the cowherds crying out, Kṛṣṇa gave them abhayam, "do not fear," and rushed upon Keśin.

Verse 16

केशी चाभ्युद्यत ग्रीवः प्रकाशदशनेक्षणः हेषमाणो जवोदग्रो गोविन्दाभिमुखो ययौ

keśī cābhyudyata grīvaḥ prakāśadaśanekṣaṇaḥ heṣamāṇo javodagro govindābhimukho yayau

And Keśin, neck raised high, teeth bared, eyes blazing, neighing, terrible in his onrush, charged straight at Govinda.

Verse 17

तम् आपतन्तं संप्रेक्ष्य केशिनं हयदानवम् प्रत्युज्जगाम गोविन्दस् तोयदः शशिनं यथा

tam āpatantaṃ saṃprekṣya keśinaṃ hayadānavam pratyujjagāma govindas toyadaḥ śaśinaṃ yathā

Seeing Keśin the horse-demon hurtling upon him, Govinda advanced to meet him, as a cloud advances toward the moon.

HV 67.17. The cloud-to-moon simile: dark Kṛṣṇa moving to cover the demon's brightness. The image is both visual and theological.

Verse 18

केशिनस् तु तम् अभ्याशे दृष्ट्वा कृष्णम् अवस्थितम् मनुष्यबुद्धयो गोपाः कृष्णम् ऊचुर् हितौषिणः

keśinas tu tam abhyāśe dṛṣṭvā kṛṣṇam avasthitam manuṣyabuddhayo gopāḥ kṛṣṇam ūcur hitauṣiṇaḥ

Verse 19

कृष्ण कृष्ण महाबाहो ज्ञातीनां नन्दिवर्धन जगताम् अभयदो ऽसि त्वं त्रायस्वास्मान् विशेषतः कृष्ण तात न खल्व् एष सहसा ते हयाधमः उपसर्प्यो भवान् बालः पापश् चैष दुरासदः

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahābāho jñātīnāṃ nandivardhana jagatām abhayado 'si tvaṃ trāyasvāsmān viśeṣataḥ kṛṣṇa tāta na khalv eṣa sahasā te hayādhamaḥ upasarpyo bhavān bālaḥ pāpaś caiṣa durāsadaḥ

Verse 20

एष कंसस्य सहजः प्राणस् तात बहिश्चरः उत्तमश् च हयेन्द्राणां दानवो ऽप्रतिमो युधि

eṣa kaṃsasya sahajaḥ prāṇas tāta bahiścaraḥ uttamaś ca hayendrāṇāṃ dānavo 'pratimo yudhi

Verse 21

त्रासनः परसैन्यानां तुरगाणां महाबलः स्वध्यः सर्वसत्त्वानां प्रथमः पापकर्मणाम्

trāsanaḥ parasainyānāṃ turagāṇāṃ mahābalaḥ svadhyaḥ sarvasattvānāṃ prathamaḥ pāpakarmaṇām

Verse 22

गोपानां तद्वचः श्रुत्वा वदतां मधुसूदनः केशिना सह युद्धाय मतिं चक्रे ऽरिसूदनः

gopānāṃ tadvacaḥ śrutvā vadatāṃ madhusūdanaḥ keśinā saha yuddhāya matiṃ cakre 'risūdanaḥ

Verse 23

ततः सव्यं दक्षिणं च मण्डलानि परिभ्रमन् पद्भ्याम् उभाभ्यां स हयः क्रोधेनारुजते द्रुमान्

tataḥ savyaṃ dakṣiṇaṃ ca maṇḍalāni paribhraman padbhyām ubhābhyāṃ sa hayaḥ krodhenārujate drumān

Verse 24

मुखे लम्बसटे चास्य स्कन्धदेशे घनावृते वलयो ऽभ्रतरंगाभाः सुस्रुवुः क्रोधजं जलम्

mukhe lambasaṭe cāsya skandhadeśe ghanāvṛte valayo 'bhrataraṃgābhāḥ susruvuḥ krodhajaṃ jalam

Verse 25

स फेनं वक्त्रजं चैव ववर्ष रजसावृतम् हिमकाले यथा व्योम्नि नीहारम् इव चन्द्रमाः

sa phenaṃ vaktrajaṃ caiva vavarṣa rajasāvṛtam himakāle yathā vyomni nīhāram iva candramāḥ

Verse 26

गोविन्दम् अरविन्दाक्षं हेषितोगारशीकरैः स फेनैर् गात्रनिर्गीर्णैः प्रोक्षयामास सर्वतः

govindam aravindākṣaṃ heṣitogāraśīkaraiḥ sa phenair gātranirgīrṇaiḥ prokṣayāmāsa sarvataḥ

Verse 27

खुरोद्धरणमुक्तेन मधुरक्षोदपाण्डुना रजसा स हयः कृष्णं चकारारुणमूर्धजम्

khuroddharaṇamuktena madhurakṣodapāṇḍunā rajasā sa hayaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ cakārāruṇamūrdhajam

Verse 28

प्लुतवल्गितपादस् तु तक्षमाणो धरां खुरैः दन्तान् निर्दशमानस् तु केशी कृष्णम् उपाद्रवत्

plutavalgitapādas tu takṣamāṇo dharāṃ khuraiḥ dantān nirdaśamānas tu keśī kṛṣṇam upādravat

Verse 29

स संसक्तस् तु कृष्णेन केशी तुरगसत्तमः पुर्वाभ्यां चरणाभ्यां वै कृष्णं वक्षस्य् अताडयत्

sa saṃsaktas tu kṛṣṇena keśī turagasattamaḥ purvābhyāṃ caraṇābhyāṃ vai kṛṣṇaṃ vakṣasy atāḍayat

Verse 30

पुनः पुनश् च स बली प्राहिणोत् पार्श्वतः खुरान् कृष्णस्य दानवो घोरं प्रहारम् अमितौजसः वक्त्रेण चास्य घोरेण तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रायुधेन वै अदशद् बाहुविवरं कृष्णस्य रुषितो हयः

punaḥ punaś ca sa balī prāhiṇot pārśvataḥ khurān kṛṣṇasya dānavo ghoraṃ prahāram amitaujasaḥ vaktreṇa cāsya ghoreṇa tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrāyudhena vai adaśad bāhuvivaraṃ kṛṣṇasya ruṣito hayaḥ

Verse 31

स लम्बकेसरसटः कृष्णेन सह संगतः रराज केशी मेघेन संसक्तः ख इवांशुमान्

sa lambakesarasaṭaḥ kṛṣṇena saha saṃgataḥ rarāja keśī meghena saṃsaktaḥ kha ivāṃśumān

Verse 32

उरश् चास्योरसा हन्तुम् इयेष बलवान् हयः वेगेन वासुदेवस्य क्रोधाद् द्विगुणविक्रमः

uraś cāsyorasā hantum iyeṣa balavān hayaḥ vegena vāsudevasya krodhād dviguṇavikramaḥ

Verse 33

तस्योत्सिक्तस्य बलवान् कृष्णो ऽप्य् अमितविक्रमः बाहुम् आभोगिनं कृत्वा मुखे क्रुद्धः समादधत्

tasyotsiktasya balavān kṛṣṇo 'py amitavikramaḥ bāhum ābhoginaṃ kṛtvā mukhe kruddhaḥ samādadhat

As he raged, the mighty Kṛṣṇa, of immeasurable prowess, making his arm broad, enraged, thrust it into his mouth.

Verse 34

स तं बाहुम् अशक्तो वै खादितुं भोक्तुम् एव वा पुनर् आभोगिनं बाहुं तद्वक्त्रगतम् अञ्जसा कृष्णः प्रसारयामास लीलया दानवं हसन् दशनैर् मूलनिर्मुक्तैः सफेनं रुधिरं वमन्

sa taṃ bāhum aśakto vai khādituṃ bhoktum eva vā punar ābhoginaṃ bāhuṃ tadvaktragatam añjasā kṛṣṇaḥ prasārayāmāsa līlayā dānavaṃ hasan daśanair mūlanirmuktaiḥ saphenaṃ rudhiraṃ vaman

That arm, unable either to chew or to swallow, was then expanded within the demon's mouth. Kṛṣṇa, at play, pushed the broad arm into that mouth, laughing, as the demon, his teeth loosened at the root, vomited foamy blood.

Verse 35

विपाटिताभ्याम् ओष्ठाभ्याम् कटाभ्यां विदलीकृतः अक्षिणी विकृते चक्रे विसृते मुक्तबन्धने

vipāṭitābhyām oṣṭhābhyām kaṭābhyāṃ vidalīkṛtaḥ akṣiṇī vikṛte cakre visṛte muktabandhane

Verse 36

निरस्तहनुर् आविष्टः शोणितास्राविलेक्षणः उत्कर्णो नष्टचेतास् तु स केशी बह्वचेष्टत

nirastahanur āviṣṭaḥ śoṇitāsrāvilekṣaṇaḥ utkarṇo naṣṭacetās tu sa keśī bahvaceṣṭata

Verse 37

उत्पत्य चासकृत् पादैः सकृन्मूत्रं समुत्सृजन् स्विन्नार्द्रलोमा श्रान्तस् तु निर्यत्नचरणो ऽभवत्

utpatya cāsakṛt pādaiḥ sakṛnmūtraṃ samutsṛjan svinnārdralomā śrāntas tu niryatnacaraṇo 'bhavat

Verse 38

केशिवक्त्रविलग्नस् तु कृष्णबाहुर् अशोभत व्याभुग्न इव घर्मान्ते चन्द्रार्धकिरणैर् घनः

keśivaktravilagnas tu kṛṣṇabāhur aśobhata vyābhugna iva gharmānte candrārdhakiraṇair ghanaḥ

Verse 39

केशी च कृष्णसंसक्तः श्रान्तगात्रो व्यरोचत प्रभातावनतश् चन्द्रः श्रान्तो मेरुम् इवाश्रितः

keśī ca kṛṣṇasaṃsaktaḥ śrāntagātro vyarocata prabhātāvanataś candraḥ śrānto merum ivāśritaḥ

Verse 40

तस्य कृष्णभुजोद्धूताः केशिनो दशना मुखात् केशिनो वक्त्रनिर्धूता विविधा दशना भुवि पेतुः शरदि निस्तोयाः सिताभ्रावयवा इव

tasya kṛṣṇabhujoddhūtāḥ keśino daśanā mukhāt keśino vaktranirdhūtā vividhā daśanā bhuvi petuḥ śaradi nistoyāḥ sitābhrāvayavā iva

Verse 41

स तु केशी भृशं श्रान्तः कृष्णेनाक्लिष्टकर्मणा स्वभुजं स्वायतं कृत्वा पाटितो बलवत् तदा स पाटितो भुजेनाजौ कृष्णेन विकृताननः केशी नदन् महानादं दानवो व्यथितस् तदा विघूर्णमानः स्रस्ताङ्गो मुखाद् रुधिरम् उद्वमन् भृशं व्यङ्गीकृतवपुर् निकृत्तार्ध इवाचलः व्यादितास्यो महारौद्रः सो ऽसुरः कृष्णबाहुना निपपात यथा कृत्तो नागो हि द्विदलीकृतः स पपाताशु वेगेन भुजायामेन पाटितः बाहुना कृत्तदेहस्य केशिनो रूपम् आबभौ पशोर् इव महाघोरं निहतस्य पिनाकिना

sa tu keśī bhṛśaṃ śrāntaḥ kṛṣṇenākliṣṭakarmaṇā svabhujaṃ svāyataṃ kṛtvā pāṭito balavat tadā sa pāṭito bhujenājau kṛṣṇena vikṛtānanaḥ keśī nadan mahānādaṃ dānavo vyathitas tadā vighūrṇamānaḥ srastāṅgo mukhād rudhiram udvaman bhṛśaṃ vyaṅgīkṛtavapur nikṛttārdha ivācalaḥ vyāditāsyo mahāraudraḥ so 'suraḥ kṛṣṇabāhunā nipapāta yathā kṛtto nāgo hi dvidalīkṛtaḥ sa papātāśu vegena bhujāyāmena pāṭitaḥ bāhunā kṛttadehasya keśino rūpam ābabhau paśor iva mahāghoraṃ nihatasya pinākinā

Verse 42

द्रोणीभ्यां मांसपूर्णाभ्यां पिनाकिभवने यथा द्विपादपृष्ठपुच्छार्धे स्रवणैकाक्षिनासिके केशिनस् ते द्विधा भूते द्वे अर्धे रेजतुः क्षितौ

droṇībhyāṃ māṃsapūrṇābhyāṃ pinākibhavane yathā dvipādapṛṣṭhapucchārdhe sravaṇaikākṣināsike keśinas te dvidhā bhūte dve ardhe rejatuḥ kṣitau

Verse 43

वज्रेण विनिकृत्तार्धौ पर्वताव् इव भूतले केशिदन्तक्षतश् चापि कृष्णस्य शुशुभे भुजः वृद्धस् ताल इवारण्ये गजेन्द्रदशनाङ्कितः

vajreṇa vinikṛttārdhau parvatāv iva bhūtale keśidantakṣataś cāpi kṛṣṇasya śuśubhe bhujaḥ vṛddhas tāla ivāraṇye gajendradaśanāṅkitaḥ

Verse 44

तं हत्वा केशिनं युद्धे कल्पयित्वा च भागशः कृष्णः पद्मपलाशाक्षो हसंस् तत्रैव तस्थिवान्

taṃ hatvā keśinaṃ yuddhe kalpayitvā ca bhāgaśaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ padmapalāśākṣo hasaṃs tatraiva tasthivān

Verse 45

तं हतं केशिनं दृष्ट्वा गोपा गोपस्त्रियश् च ताः बभूवुर् मुदिताः सर्वे हतविघ्ना हतक्लमाः

taṃ hataṃ keśinaṃ dṛṣṭvā gopā gopastriyaś ca tāḥ babhūvur muditāḥ sarve hatavighnā hataklamāḥ

Verse 46

दामोदरं च श्रीमन्तम् यथास्थानं यथावयः अभ्यनन्दन् प्रियैर् वाक्यैः पूजयन्तः पुनः पुनः

dāmodaraṃ ca śrīmantam yathāsthānaṃ yathāvayaḥ abhyanandan priyair vākyaiḥ pūjayantaḥ punaḥ punaḥ

Verse 47

अहो तात कृतं कर्म हतो ऽयं लोककण्टकः दैत्यः क्षितिचरः कृष्ण हयरूपं समास्थितः

aho tāta kṛtaṃ karma hato 'yaṃ lokakaṇṭakaḥ daityaḥ kṣiticaraḥ kṛṣṇa hayarūpaṃ samāsthitaḥ

Verse 48

कृतं वृन्दावनं क्षेमं सेव्यं सर्वनृपक्षिणाम् घ्नता पापम् इमं तात केशिनं हयम् आहवे

kṛtaṃ vṛndāvanaṃ kṣemaṃ sevyaṃ sarvanṛpakṣiṇām ghnatā pāpam imaṃ tāta keśinaṃ hayam āhave

Verse 49

हता नो बहवो गोपा गावो वत्साश् च वत्सलाः नैके चान्ये जनपदा हतानेन दुरात्मना

hatā no bahavo gopā gāvo vatsāś ca vatsalāḥ naike cānye janapadā hatānena durātmanā

Verse 50

एष संवर्तकं कर्तुम् उद्यतः किल पापकृत् नृलोकं निर्नरं कृत्वा चर्तुकामो यथासुखम्

eṣa saṃvartakaṃ kartum udyataḥ kila pāpakṛt nṛlokaṃ nirnaraṃ kṛtvā cartukāmo yathāsukham

Verse 51

नैतस्य प्रमुखे स्थातुं कश्चिच् छक्तो जिजीविषुः अपि देवसमूहेषु किं पुनः पृथिवीतले

naitasya pramukhe sthātuṃ kaścic chakto jijīviṣuḥ api devasamūheṣu kiṃ punaḥ pṛthivītale

Verse 52

एवं ते तुष्टुवुर् गोपाः कृष्णं कमललोचनम् अथाहान्तर्हितो विप्रो नारदः खगमो मुनिः प्रीतो ऽस्मि विष्णो देवेश कृष्ण कृष्णेति चासकृत्

evaṃ te tuṣṭuvur gopāḥ kṛṣṇaṃ kamalalocanam athāhāntarhito vipro nāradaḥ khagamo muniḥ prīto 'smi viṣṇo deveśa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇeti cāsakṛt

Verse 53

नमस् तुभ्यं जगन्नाथ देवदेव जनार्दन नमस् तुभ्यं नमस् तुभ्यं शङ्खचक्रगदाधर नमस् ते ज्ञानरूपाय केशवाय च चक्रिणे नम आद्याय बीजाय निर्गुणाय गुणात्मने नमः सहस्रशिरसे त्वां नतो ऽस्मि जनार्दन नमामि लोकनाथं त्वां नमस् ते देवरूपिणे नमस् ते ऽस्तु हृषीकेश पाहि नः सर्वतो हरे इति स्तुत्वा जगन्नाथं पुनर् एवाब्रवीद् वचः यद् इदं दुष्करं कर्म कृतं केशिजिघांसया त्वय्य् एव केवलं युक्तम् त्रिदिवे त्र्यम्बके ऽपि वा

namas tubhyaṃ jagannātha devadeva janārdana namas tubhyaṃ namas tubhyaṃ śaṅkhacakragadādhara namas te jñānarūpāya keśavāya ca cakriṇe nama ādyāya bījāya nirguṇāya guṇātmane namaḥ sahasraśirase tvāṃ nato 'smi janārdana namāmi lokanāthaṃ tvāṃ namas te devarūpiṇe namas te 'stu hṛṣīkeśa pāhi naḥ sarvato hare iti stutvā jagannāthaṃ punar evābravīd vacaḥ yad idaṃ duṣkaraṃ karma kṛtaṃ keśijighāṃsayā tvayy eva kevalaṃ yuktam tridive tryambake 'pi vā

Verse 54

अहं युद्धोत्सुकस् तात तर्पितेनान्तरात्मना इदं नरहयं युद्धम् दर्ष्टुं स्वर्गाद् इहागतः

ahaṃ yuddhotsukas tāta tarpitenāntarātmanā idaṃ narahayaṃ yuddham darṣṭuṃ svargād ihāgataḥ

Verse 55

पूतनानिधनादीनि कर्माणि तव दृष्टवान् अहं त्व् अनेन गोविन्द कर्मणा परितोषितः

pūtanānidhanādīni karmāṇi tava dṛṣṭavān ahaṃ tv anena govinda karmaṇā paritoṣitaḥ

Verse 56

हयस्यास्य महेन्द्रो ऽपि बिभेति बलसूदनः कुर्वाणस्य वपुर् घोरम् केशिनो दुष्टचेतसः

hayasyāsya mahendro 'pi bibheti balasūdanaḥ kurvāṇasya vapur ghoram keśino duṣṭacetasaḥ

Verse 57

यत् त्वया पाटितो द्वैधं भुजेनायतपर्वणा एषो ऽस्य मृत्युर् अन्ताय विहितो विश्वयोनिना

yat tvayā pāṭito dvaidhaṃ bhujenāyataparvaṇā eṣo 'sya mṛtyur antāya vihito viśvayoninā

Verse 58

यस्मात् त्वया हतः केशी तस्मान् मच्छासनं शृणु केशवो नाम नाम्ना त्वं ख्यातो लोके भविष्यसि

yasmāt tvayā hataḥ keśī tasmān macchāsanaṃ śṛṇu keśavo nāma nāmnā tvaṃ khyāto loke bhaviṣyasi

Verse 59

स्वस्त्य् अस्तु भवतो लोके साधयाम्य् अहम् आशुगः कृत्यशेषं च ते कार्यं शक्तस् त्वम् असि माचिरम्

svasty astu bhavato loke sādhayāmy aham āśugaḥ kṛtyaśeṣaṃ ca te kāryaṃ śaktas tvam asi māciram

Verse 60

त्वयि कार्यान्तरगते नरा इव दिवौकसः विडम्बयन्तः क्रीडन्ति लीलां त्वद्बलम् आश्रिताः

tvayi kāryāntaragate narā iva divaukasaḥ viḍambayantaḥ krīḍanti līlāṃ tvadbalam āśritāḥ

Verse 61

अभ्याशे वर्तते कालो भारतस्याहवोदधेः हस्तप्राप्तानि युद्धानि राज्ञां त्रिदिवगामिनाम्

abhyāśe vartate kālo bhāratasyāhavodadheḥ hastaprāptāni yuddhāni rājñāṃ tridivagāminām

Verse 62

पन्थानः शोधिता व्योम्नि विमानारोहिणोर्ध्वगाः अवकाशा विभज्यन्ते शक्रलोके महीक्षिताम्

panthānaḥ śodhitā vyomni vimānārohiṇordhvagāḥ avakāśā vibhajyante śakraloke mahīkṣitām

Verse 63

उग्रसेनसुते शान्ते पदस्थे त्वयि केशव अभितस् तन् महद्युद्धं भविष्यति महीक्षिताम्

ugrasenasute śānte padasthe tvayi keśava abhitas tan mahadyuddhaṃ bhaviṣyati mahīkṣitām

Verse 64

त्वां चाप्रतिमकर्माणं संश्रयिष्यन्ति पार्थिवाः भेदकाले नरेन्द्राणां पक्षग्राहो भविष्यसि

tvāṃ cāpratimakarmāṇaṃ saṃśrayiṣyanti pārthivāḥ bhedakāle narendrāṇāṃ pakṣagrāho bhaviṣyasi

Verse 65

त्वयि राजासनस्थे हि राजश्रीं वहति प्रभो श्रियं त्यक्ष्यन्ति राजानस् त्वत्प्रभावान् न संशयः

tvayi rājāsanasthe hi rājaśrīṃ vahati prabho śriyaṃ tyakṣyanti rājānas tvatprabhāvān na saṃśayaḥ

Verse 66

एष मे कृष्ण संदेशः श्रुतिभिः ख्यातिम् एष्यसि देवतानां दिविस्थानां जगतश् च जगत्पते

eṣa me kṛṣṇa saṃdeśaḥ śrutibhiḥ khyātim eṣyasi devatānāṃ divisthānāṃ jagataś ca jagatpate

Verse 67

दृष्टं मे भवतः कर्म दृष्टश् चासि मया प्रभो कंसे भूयः समेष्यामि शासिते साधयाम्य् अहम्

dṛṣṭaṃ me bhavataḥ karma dṛṣṭaś cāsi mayā prabho kaṃse bhūyaḥ sameṣyāmi śāsite sādhayāmy aham

Verse 68

बहुनापि किम् उक्तेन पाहि विप्रान् यथासुखम् जानामि त्वां महाबाहो देवानाम् अपि दैवतम् एवम् उक्त्वा तु स तदा नारदः खं जगाम ह नारदस्य वचः श्रुत्वा देवसंगीतयोगिनः तथेति स समाभाष्य पुनर् गोपान् समासदत् गोपान् कृष्णः समासाद्य व्रजम् एव विवेष ह

bahunāpi kim uktena pāhi viprān yathāsukham jānāmi tvāṃ mahābāho devānām api daivatam evam uktvā tu sa tadā nāradaḥ khaṃ jagāma ha nāradasya vacaḥ śrutvā devasaṃgītayoginaḥ tatheti sa samābhāṣya punar gopān samāsadat gopān kṛṣṇaḥ samāsādya vrajam eva viveṣa ha

Verse commentary

Keśin-vadha

केशिवध

Verses 14–17: the moment Kṛṣṇa, cried to for refuge, advances on the demon-horse. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

The Keśin-vadha chapter of the Harivaṃśa is the moment the word abhayam, "do not fear," is spoken over a frightened village. It is the smallest unit of all bhakti theology: a child, a cry, a god who moves. The four verses that open the combat, HV 67.14 through 67.17, carry the whole teaching of the chapter in their order. First, the village flees and takes refuge. Second, Kṛṣṇa grants fearlessness and goes out to meet what was feared. Third, the terror comes on fully, undiminished. Fourth, the terror is met — as a cloud moves toward the moon. The terror is not explained away. It is answered. These four verses are worth lingering in because they anchor a pattern the Haripāṭh itself rests on: the devotee does not need to be brave. The devotee needs to be crying to the right door.

HV 67.14

तं दृष्ट्वा दुद्रुवुर् गोपाः स्त्रियश् च शिशुभिः सह । क्रन्दमाना जगन्नाथं कृष्णं नाथम् उपाश्रिताः ॥

taṃ dṛṣṭvā dudruvur gopāḥ striyaś ca śiśubhiḥ saha | krandamānā jagannāthaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ nātham upāśritāḥ

Seeing him, the cowherds fled, and the women with their children. Wailing, they took refuge in Kṛṣṇa, Lord of the worlds, as their protector.

The Living Words

Three verbs carry the verse: *dudruvuḥ* (they ran), *krandamānāḥ* (crying out), *upāśritāḥ* (they took refuge). The first two are gestures of terror. The third is a theological act. Upa-√śri, "to take refuge in," is the oldest vocabulary of śaraṇāgati. And the verse makes an astonishing identification: the refuge is a boy. The cowherds call him *jagannātha*, Lord of the worlds; they also call him *nātha*, simply, "protector." The cosmic title and the village title sit side by side. The one is not a theological upgrade to the other. The same child who tended calves is the same child who holds the worlds, and the village knows both at once, which is why they run to him.

The Heart of It

The verse shows the first, indispensable step of bhakti: to *run*. To stop trying to manage the thing that frightens you. The cowherds do not organise a counter-attack. They do not debate whether they deserve help. They take their children and run to the one they love. The whole chapter's teaching hangs on this small domestic movement. A demon will be killed in a few verses. But before that, a theology is performed: the frightened look at each other, pick up what is most precious to them, and run toward the one whose name is on their tongues. That is enough to start.

HV 67.15

तासां रुदितशब्देन गोपानां क्रन्दितेन च । दत्त्वाभयं तु कृष्णो वै केशिनं सो ऽभिदुद्रुवे ॥

tāsāṃ ruditaśabdena gopānāṃ kranditena ca | dattvābhayaṃ tu kṛṣṇo vai keśinaṃ so 'bhidudruve

At the sound of the women weeping and the cowherds crying out, Kṛṣṇa gave them abhayam, "do not fear," and rushed upon Keśin.

The Living Words

The verse's hinge is *dattvābhayam* — "having given fearlessness." *Abhayam* is the noun most often placed in Viṣṇu's upraised hand. In the Gītā Kṛṣṇa will name it first among divine qualities (16.1: *abhayaṃ sattvasaṃśuddhiḥ*). Here it is given not from a throne but in the middle of a panic, as the god turns from the frightened village and runs at the thing they feared. The gift is not the removal of the demon; the demon is still there. The gift is the removal of the fear. Kṛṣṇa's grammar is *abhidudruve*: he ran toward. The same verb the gopas used to run from Keśin, Kṛṣṇa uses to run at him.

The Heart of It

This half-verse is the Haripāṭh in miniature. Jñāneśvar's promise, *devāciye dvārīṃ ubhā kṣaṇabharī*, that a single moment at the door is enough, is the same promise as *dattvābhayaṃ kṛṣṇaḥ*. The refuge is taken; the reply is given; the reply precedes the victory. Fear is answered before the demon is slain. This is why the Varkari saints could sing without guarantees. They were not singing to become safe. They were singing because the one they sang to had already said *abhayam* before the fight had started.

HV 67.16

केशी चाभ्युद्यतग्रीवः प्रकाशदशनेक्षणः । हेषमाणो जवोदग्रो गोविन्दाभिमुखो ययौ ॥

keśī cābhyudyatagrīvaḥ prakāśadaśanekṣaṇaḥ | heṣamāṇo javodagro govindābhimukho yayau

And Keśin, neck raised high, teeth bared, eyes blazing, neighing, terrible in his onrush, charged straight at Govinda.

The Living Words

A four-part terror: *abhyudyata-grīvaḥ* (neck raised), *prakāśa-daśana-īkṣaṇaḥ* (bared teeth and flashing eyes), *heṣamāṇaḥ* (neighing), *java-udagraḥ* (speed-fierce). The chapter makes no attempt to make the demon smaller. Every limb is drawn at full scale. The one word that shifts the register is at the end: *govinda-abhimukhaḥ* — "face-toward Govinda." The demon's momentum has been taken up into Govinda's name. Everything Keśin is doing, he is now doing toward the cowherd.

The Heart of It

The verse refuses the usual consolation of making the enemy smaller. Fear is not an illusion to be dispelled by clearer thinking. The demon really is charging, really is terrifying. What the verse does instead is re-orient the charge. *Govindābhimukho yayau*: his rush has become motion toward Govinda. In Vaiṣṇava reading, every demon is in this condition, whether he knows it or not. Even anger, even the arrogance of running at God, is already under God's gravitational pull. The fight is already happening inside the one who is said to be the battleground.

HV 67.17

तम् आपतन्तं संप्रेक्ष्य केशिनं हयदानवम् । प्रत्युज्जगाम गोविन्दस् तोयदः शशिनं यथा ॥

tam āpatantaṃ saṃprekṣya keśinaṃ hayadānavam | pratyujjagāma govindas toyadaḥ śaśinaṃ yathā

Seeing Keśin the horse-demon hurtling upon him, Govinda advanced to meet him, as a cloud advances toward the moon.

The Living Words

The simile is a piece of classical Sanskrit poetry concentrated into three words: *toyadaḥ śaśinaṃ yathā*, "as a cloud toward the moon." *Toyada*, "water-giver," is a kenning for the rain-cloud; it does two jobs in the line. First, cloud-colour is Kṛṣṇa-colour: *meghavarṇa*, the great iconographic dye. Second, cloud meets moon in the sky not to illuminate it but to cover it. The poetic convention assumes the reader will know what happens next. The moon, Keśin's dangerous brightness, is about to be dimmed.

The Heart of It

The whole chapter could have rested on this single image, and almost does. Fear is the moon: high, bright, inescapable, everywhere you look. And the one the frightened call on is a cloud moving across the sky. The cloud does not argue with the moon; it crosses it. Where Kṛṣṇa has been invoked, the obsessive visibility of the feared thing begins to dim. The cowherds on the bank will not see Keśin vanish in a burst of light. They will see a dark shape meet a bright shape and the bright shape grow soft. This is what bhakti feels like from the inside, long before the last verse of any chapter.

Thread

Across all four verses one pattern: refuge → fearlessness → the full size of the fear → the dark shape moving toward the bright one. Every element of the Haripāṭh's teaching is already there in miniature. The devotee is not required to be brave. The devotee is required to run toward. The god's first gift is not the disappearance of what frightens; it is *abhayam*. The final image is neither bloody victory nor empty sky. It is a cloud meeting a moon. You know what will happen. You do not have to argue the moon out of existence.

Echo in the saints

The Varkari saints heard this pattern and sang it in their own language. Tukaram returned again and again to the moment when the Name precedes the change in circumstance: "Keep saying His name; do not ask what He will do." Namdev's abhangas insist that the cowherd-god moves toward the devotee before the devotee has worked out a strategy. The Harivaṃśa does not name the village's faith. It names their running. The saints, reading, understood: running is faith's smallest unit, and the Name is what you run with. *Dattvābhayaṃ kṛṣṇaḥ* is not a doctrine in their songs. It is a posture: the god always already faces you, cloud toward moon, before the fight.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 16.1

Abhayam as the first of Kṛṣṇa's divine qualities.

अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिः ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः ।

abhayaṃ sattva-saṃśuddhiḥ jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ

Fearlessness, purity of being, steadfastness in the yoga of knowledge.

The Gītā lists abhayam as the first daiva quality. The Harivaṃśa shows it being given, not listed: dattvābhayaṃ kṛṣṇaḥ.

EchoesHaripāṭh, Abhaṅga 18, verse 1

Haripāṭh 18.1 names the Harivaṃśa by title; its promise rests on exactly this pattern of refuge-and-reply.

हरिवंशपुराण हरिनाम संकीर्तन । हरिविण सौजन्य नेणे काही ॥

harivaṃśapurāṇa harināma saṃkīrtana | hariviṇa saujanya neṇe kāhī

The Harivaṃśa-Purāṇa, and the singing of Hari's name. Apart from Hari, he knows no other goodness.

Jñāneśvar's twin practice — hearing the Harivaṃśa, singing Hari's Name — is precisely the configuration of this chapter: a village crying out is answered.

BORI critical edition, ed. P. L. Vaidya (1969). Digital text from the GRETIL Zurich constituted text. Distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.