Text 9
mukhaṁ tad apidhāyājña
kaṅka-gṛdhra-vaṭair vṛtaḥ
śayiṣyase hatas tatra
bhavitā śaraṇaṁ śunām
mukham — face; tat — that; apidhāya — being covered; ajña — O ignorant man; kaṅka — by herons; gṛdhra — vultures; vaṭaiḥ — and vaṭa birds; vṛtaḥ — surrounded; śayiṣyase — you will lie; hataḥ — killed; tatra — thereupon; bhavitā — you will become; śaraṇam — shelter; śunām — for dogs.
“When you lie dead, O fool, your face covered by vultures, herons and vaṭa birds, you will become the shelter of dogs.”
Pauṇḍraka foolishly told the Supreme Lord to come to him for shelter, but here Lord Kṛṣṇa tells him, “You are not My shelter, but rather you will become the shelter of dogs when they happily feast on your dead body.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda vividly describes this scene as follows: “[Lord Kṛṣṇa told Pauṇḍraka, “When I shall destroy you,] foolish King, you will then have to conceal your face in disgrace, and when your head is severed from your body by My disc, it will be surrounded by meat-eating birds like vultures, hawks and eagles. At that time, instead of becoming My shelter, as you have demanded, you will be subject to the mercy of these lowborn birds. At that time your body will be thrown to the dogs, who will eat it with great pleasure.’”