Text 21
tadā śuci-vanodbhūto
dāvāgniḥ sarvato vrajam
suptaṁ niśītha āvṛtya
pradagdhum upacakrame
tadā — then; śuci — of the summer; vana — in the forest; udbhūtaḥ — arising; dāva-agniḥ — a conflagration; sarvataḥ — on all sides; vrajam — the people of Vṛndāvana; suptam — sleeping; niśīthe — in the middle of the night; āvṛtya — surrounding; pradagdhum — to burn; upacakrame — began.
During the night, while all the people of Vṛndāvana were asleep, a great fire blazed up within the dry summer forest. The fire surrounded the inhabitants of Vraja on all sides and began to scorch them.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura have commented that perhaps a loyal friend of Kāliya had assumed the form of a forest fire to avenge his friend, or perhaps the forest fire was manifest by a demon who was a follower of Kaṁsa’s.