Text 13
maitreya uvāca
so ’dhikṣipto bhagavatā
pralabdhaś ca ruṣā bhṛśam
ājahārolbaṇaṁ krodhaṁ
krīḍyamāno ’hi-rāḍ iva
maitreyaḥ — the great sage Maitreya; uvāca — said; saḥ — the demon; adhikṣiptaḥ — having been insulted; bhagavatā — by the Personality of Godhead; pralabdhaḥ — ridiculed; ca — and; ruṣā — angry; bhṛśam — greatly; ājahāra — collected; ulbaṇam — great; krodham — anger; krīḍyamānaḥ — being played with; ahi-rāṭ — a great cobra; iva — like.
Śrī Maitreya said: The demon, being thus challenged by the Personality of Godhead, became angry and agitated, and he trembled in anger like a challenged cobra.
A cobra is very fierce before ordinary persons, but before an enchanter who can play with him, he is a plaything. Similarly, a demon may be very powerful in his own domain, but before the Lord he is insignificant. The demon Rāvaṇa was a fierce figure before the demigods, but when he was before Lord Rāmacandra he trembled and prayed to his deity, Lord Śiva, but to no avail.