Text 31
badhyamānaṁ hatārātiṁ
pāśair vāruṇa-mānuṣaiḥ
vārayām āsa govindas
tena kārya-cikīrṣayā
badhyamānam — in the process of being tied up; hata — who had killed; arātim — his enemies; pāśaiḥ — with ropes; vāruṇa — those of the demigod Varuna; mānuṣaiḥ — and those of ordinary humans; vārayām āsa — checked Him; govindaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; tena — by him (Jarāsandha); kārya — some need; cikīrṣayā — desiring to fulfill.
With the divine noose of Varuṇa and other, mortal ropes, Balarāma began tying up Jarāsandha, who had killed so many foes. But Lord Govinda still had a purpose to fulfill through Jarāsandha, and thus He asked Balarāma to stop.
The word hatārātim means “who has killed his enemies,” or “through whom his enemies would be killed.” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī has provided this thoughtful note.