Texts 1-2
śrī-śuka uvāca
keśī tu kaṁsa-prahitaḥ khurair mahīṁ
mahā-hayo nirjarayan mano-javaḥ
saṭāvadhūtābhra-vimāna-saṅkulaṁ
kurvan nabho heṣita-bhīṣitākhilaḥ
taṁ trāsayantaṁ bhagavān sva-gokulaṁ
tad-dheṣitair vāla-vighūrṇitāmbudam
ātmānam ājau mṛgayantam agra-ṇīr
upāhvayat sa vyanadan mṛgendra-vat
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; keśī — the demon named Keśī; tu — and then; kaṁsa-prahitaḥ — sent by Kaṁsa; khuraiḥ — with his hooves; mahīm — the earth; mahā-hayaḥ — a huge horse; nirjarayan — ripping apart; manaḥ — like that of the mind; javaḥ — whose speed; saṭā — by the hairs of his mane; avadhūta — scattered; abhra — with the clouds; vimāna — and the airplanes (of the demigods); saṅkulam — crowded; kurvan — making; nabhaḥ — the sky; heṣita — by his neighing; bhīṣita — frightened; akhilaḥ — everyone; tam — him; trāsayantam — terrifying; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord; sva-gokulam — His cowherd village; tat-heṣitaiḥ — by that neighing; vāla — by the hairs of his tail; vighūrṇita — shaken; ambudam — the clouds; ātmānam — Himself; ājau — for a fight; mṛgayantam — searching after; agra-nīḥ — coming forward; upāhvayat — called out; saḥ — he, Keśī; vyanadan — roared; mṛgendra-vat — like a lion.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The demon Keśī, sent by Kaṁsa, appeared in Vraja as a great horse. Running with the speed of the mind, he tore up the earth with his hooves. The hairs of his mane scattered the clouds and the demigods’ airplanes throughout the sky, and he terrified everyone present with his loud neighing.
When the Supreme Personality of Godhead saw how the demon was frightening His village of Gokula by neighing terribly and shaking the clouds with his tail, the Lord came forward to meet him. Keśī was searching for Kṛṣṇa to fight, so when the Lord stood before him and challenged him to approach, the horse responded by roaring like a lion.