Text 12
tatheti mīlitākṣeṣu
bhagavān agnim ulbaṇam
pītvā mukhena tān kṛcchrād
yogādhīśo vyamocayat
tathā — all right; iti — thus speaking; mīlita — closing; akṣeṣu — their eyes; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord; agnim — the fire; ulbaṇam — terrible; pītvā — drinking; mukhena — with His mouth; tān — them; kṛcchrāt — from the danger; yoga-adhīśaḥ — the supreme controller of all mystic power; vyamocayat — delivered.
“All right,” the boys replied, and immediately closed their eyes. Then the Supreme Lord, the master of all mystic power, opened His mouth and swallowed the terrible fire, saving His friends from danger.
The cowherd boys were suffering from extreme fatigue, hunger and thirst, and were about to be consumed by a horrible forest fire. All this is indicated here by the word kṛcchrāt.