Text 33
taṁ śastra-pūgaiḥ praharantam ojasā
śālvaṁ śaraiḥ śaurir amogha-vikramaḥ
viddhvācchinad varma dhanuḥ śiro-maṇiṁ
saubhaṁ ca śatror gadayā ruroja ha
tam — Him; śastra — of weapons; pūgaiḥ — with torrents; praharantam — attacking; ojasā — with great force; śālvam — Śālva; śaraiḥ — with His arrows; śauriḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; amogha — never exhibited in vain; vikramaḥ — whose prowess; viddhvā — piercing; acchinat — He broke; varma — the armor; dhanuḥ — the bow; śiraḥ — on the head; maṇim — the jewel; saubham — the Saubha vehicle; ca — and; śatroḥ — of His enemy; gadayā — with His club; ruroja — He broke; ha — indeed.
While Śālva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at Him with great force, Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose prowess never fails, shot His arrows at Śālva, wounding him and shattering his armor, bow and crest jewel. Then with His club the Lord smashed His enemy’s Saubha airship.
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Then Śālva thought that Kṛṣṇa had been bewildered by his mystic representations, he became encouraged and began to attack the Lord with greater strength and energy by showering volumes of arrows upon Him. But the enthusiasm of Śālva can be compared to the speedy march of flies into a fire. Lord Kṛṣṇa, by hurling His arrows with unfathomable strength, injured Śālva, whose armor, bow and jeweled helmet all scattered into pieces. With a crashing blow from Kṛṣṇa’s club, Śālva’s wonderful airplane burst into pieces and fell into the sea.”
The fact that Śālva’s insignificant mystic power could not bewilder Lord Kṛṣṇa is here emphatically demonstrated.