Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
upahÄryaiḥ sarpa-janair
mÄsi mÄsÄ«ha yo baliḥ
vÄnaspatyo mahÄ-bÄho
nÄgÄnÄá¹ prÄá¹…-nirÅ«pitaḥ
svaá¹ svaá¹ bhÄgaá¹ prayacchanti
nÄgÄḥ parvaṇi parvaṇi
gopÄ«thÄyÄtmanaḥ sarve
suparṇÄya mahÄtmane
Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; upahÄryaiḥ - who were qualified to make offerings; sarpa-janaiḥ - by the serpent race; mÄsi mÄsi - each month; iha - here (in NÄgÄlaya); yaḥ - which; baliḥ - offering of tribute; vÄnaspatyaḥ - at the base of a tree; mahÄ-bÄho - O mighty-armed ParÄ«ká¹£it; nÄgÄnÄm - for the serpents; prÄk - previously; nirÅ«pitaḥ - ordained; svam svam - each his own; bhÄgam - portion; prayacchanti - they present; nÄgÄḥ - the serpents; parvaṇi parvaṇi - once each month; gopÄ«thÄya - for the protection; Ätmanaḥ - of themselves; sarve - all of them; suparṇÄya - to Garuá¸a; mahÄ-Ätmane - the powerful .
Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said: To avoid being eaten by Garuá¸a, the serpents had previously made an arrangement with him whereby they would each make a monthly offering of tribute at the base of a tree. Thus every month on schedule, O mighty-armed King ParÄ«ká¹£it, each serpent would duly make his offering to that powerful carrier of Viṣṇu as a purchase of protection.
ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« has given an alternate explanation of this verse. UpahÄryaiḥ may also be translated as “by those who are to be eaten,†and sarpa-janaiḥ as “those human beings who were dominated by or who belonged to the serpent race.†According to this reading, a group of human beings had fallen under the control of the serpents and were prone to be eaten by them. To avoid this, the human beings would make a monthly offering to the serpents, who in turn would offer a portion of that offering to Garuá¸a so that he would not eat them. The particular translation given above is based on the commentary of ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« and the translation by ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda in his Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In any case, all the ÄcÄryas agree that the serpents purchased protection from Garuá¸a.
