Text 25
taṁ jihvayā dvi-śikhayā parilelihānaṁ
dve sṛkvaṇī hy ati-karāla-viṣāgni-dṛṣṭim
krīḍann amuṁ parisasāra yathā khagendro
babhrāma so ’py avasaraṁ prasamīkṣamāṇaḥ
tam — him, Kāliya; jihvayā — with his tongue; dvi-śikhayā — having two points; parilelihānam — repeatedly licking; dve — his two; sṛkvaṇī — lips; hi — indeed; ati-karāla — most terrible; viṣa-agni — full of poisonous fire; dṛṣṭim — whose glance; krīḍan — playing; amum — him; parisasāra — moved around; yathā — just as; khaga-indraḥ — the king of birds, Garuḍa; babhrāma — wandered around; saḥ — Kāliya; api — also; avasaram — the opportunity (to strike); prasamīkṣamāṇaḥ — carefully looking for.
Again and again Kāliya licked his lips with his bifurcated tongues as He stared at Kṛṣṇa with a glance full of terrible, poisonous fire. But Kṛṣṇa playfully circled around him, just as Garuḍa would play with a snake. In response, Kāliya also moved about, looking for an opportunity to bite the Lord.
Lord Kṛṣṇa moved around the serpent so skillfully that Kāliya could find no opportunity to bite Him. Thus the snake was defeated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental agility.