Pasuram 6.4.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

நிகர் இல் மல்லரைச் செற்றதும் நிரை மேய்த்ததும் நீள் நெடும் கைச்,
சிகர மா களிறு அட்டதும் இவை போல்வனவும் பிறவும்,
புகர்கொள் சோதிப் பிரான்தன் செய்கை நினைந்து புலம்பி என்றும்
நுகர வைகல் வைகப்பெற்றேன் எனக்கு என் இனி நோவதுவே?

nikar il mallaraic ceṟṟatum nirai mēyttatum nīḷ neṭum kaic,
cikara mā kaḷiṟu aṭṭatum ivai pōlvaṉavum piṟavum,
pukarkoḷ cōtip pirāṉtaṉ ceykai niṉaintu pulampi eṉṟum
nukara vaikal vaikappeṟṟēṉ eṉakku eṉ iṉi nōvatuvē?

English translation of verse 6.4.3:

Could there be any affliction for me, who time does eke
With mind and tongue steeped in the deeds miraculous
Of (Kṛṣṇa), the radiant Lord, His killing the wrestlers peerless,
Tending the cows and slaying the elephant, tall and huge, with long trunk?

Notes

(i) Śrī Kṛṣṇa had to encounter hostile wrestlers on two different occasions. The first was when Akrūra escorted Him and Balarāma to Kaṃsa’s court, all the way from Vrindāvan. Right at the entrance to the palace was stationed a frenzied elephant of formidable size, in must, so as to pull down the Divine Brothers and trample them to death. But Kṛṣṇa pulled out the tusk and slew the animal with it, effortlessly. After overcoming this initial hurdle, they advanced towards the palace, only to be confronted, very soon, by two heavy-weight wrestlers, Cāṇūra and Muṣṭika, of enormous proportions. These were also vanquished, in no time, by Kṛṣṇa, the divine lad.

The next occasion, when Śrī Kṛṣṇa had to face wrestlers, was in Duryodhana’s palace. The Lord went to Duryodhana’s court, as a messenger from the Pāṇḍavas but the evil-minded Duryodhana had put up a nicely decorated throne for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, on a fake dais, with a false floor. As soon as Kṛṣṇa took His seat, the flimsy floor gave way and He went deep into the hollow beneath, where remained hidden a band of wrestlers, ready to pounce upon Him. Assuming a gigantic form (Viśva Rūpa), He quelled them all, with perfect ease.

(ii) The radiance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, referred to, in this song, is the one, contemporaneously enjoyed and given expression to, by the fortunate damsels in Mathurā city, who beheld the special glow on the Lord’s face after He vanquished the huge elephant and the mighty wrestlers.