Text 15
evaṁ kukudminaṁ hatvā
stūyamānaḥ dvijātibhiḥ
viveśa goṣṭhaṁ sa-balo
gopīnāṁ nayanotsavaḥ
evam — thus; kukudminam — the humped (bull demon); hatvā — killing; stūyamānaḥ — being praised; dvijātibhiḥ — by the brāhmaṇas; viveśa — He entered; goṣṭham — the cowherd village; sa-balaḥ — together with Lord Balarāma; gopīnām — of the gopīs; nayana — for the eyes; utsavaḥ — who is a festival.
Having thus killed the bull demon Ariṣṭa, He who is a festival for the gopīs’ eyes entered the cowherd village with Balarāma.
This verse exemplifies the sublime contrast of spiritual qualities within Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In one four-line verse we simultaneously learn that Lord Kṛṣṇa killed a powerful and wicked demon and that His boyish beauty gave festive pleasure to His young girlfriends. Lord Kṛṣṇa is as hard as a thunderbolt or as soft as a rose, depending on our attitude toward Him. The demon Ariṣṭa wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa and all His friends, so the Lord beat him into a wet rag and killed him. The gopīs, however, loved Kṛṣṇa, and thus the Lord boyishly reciprocated their conjugal feelings.