Text 40
śrī-kṛṣṇa vṛṣṇi-kula-puṣkara-joṣa-dāyin
kṣmā-nirjara-dvija-paśūdadhi-vṛddhi-kārin
uddharma-śārvara-hara kṣiti-rākṣasa-dhrug
ā-kalpam ārkam arhan bhagavan namas te
śrī-kṛṣṇa — O Lord Kṛṣṇa; vṛṣṇi-kula — of the Yadu dynasty; puṣkara — to the lotus; joṣa — pleasure; dāyin — O You who bestow; kṣmā — of the earth; nirjara — the demigods; dvija — the brāhmaṇas; paśu — and of the animals; udadhi — of the great oceans; vṛddhi — the increase; kārin — O You who cause; uddharma — of atheistic principles; śārvara — of the darkness; hara — O dispeller; kṣiti — upon the earth; rākṣasa — of the demons; dhruk — the opponent; ā-kalpam — until the end of the universe; ā-arkam — as long as the sun shines; arhan — O supremely worshipable Deity; bhagavan — O Supreme Personality of Godhead; namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances; te — unto You.
My dear Śrī Kṛṣṇa, You bestow happiness upon the lotuslike Vṛṣṇi dynasty and expand the great oceans consisting of the earth, the demigods, the brāhmaṇas and the cows. You dispel the dense darkness of irreligion and oppose the demons who have appeared on this earth. O Supreme Personality of Godhead, as long as this universe exists and as long as the sun shines, I will offer my obeisances unto You.
According to Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Lord Brahmā is here engaged in the ecstasy of nāma-saṅkīrtana, glorifying various holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa that indicate His variegated pastimes. Lord Kṛṣṇa expertly suppressed the demoniac population of the earth, which became unbearable with the advent of demoniac politicians like Kaṁsa, Jarāsandha and Śiśupāla. Similarly, in modern society there are many so-called God-fearing people who are actually attracted to demoniac existence. Such persons become enlivened with the setting of the sun and go out in the darkness to enjoy life in restaurants, nightclubs, discotheques, hotels and so on, which are all simply meant for illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating. Then there are those who openly defy God and His laws, declaring themselves atheists and demons. Both the covert and the overt enemies of the Lord constitute an unholy burden for the earth, and Lord Kṛṣṇa descends to expertly remove this burden.
Here Lord Brahmā indirectly states that Lord Kṛṣṇa should remove Brahmā’s own subtle atheism, which had led him to try to exert illusory power over Lord Kṛṣṇa. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Lord Brahmā, in his shame, felt himself to be like a brahma-rākṣasa from Satyaloka who had come to the earth to disturb Lord Kṛṣṇa and His intimate friends and calves. Brahmā is lamenting that although Lord Kṛṣṇa is most exalted, the Lord of all lords, because He had appeared before Brahmā in such a simple and innocent feature — decorated with a stick, a conchshell, ornaments, red clay, a peacock feather and so on, and sporting with His cowherd boyfriends — Brahmā dared to challenge Him. Concerning Brahmā’s prayers, of which this verse is the conclusion, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura states, “May these prayers of Brahmā, which take away all doubts and broadcast all the definitive conclusions of devotional service, become the expert craftsmanship of the foundation of my consciousness.”