sa talpÄt tÅ«rṇam utthÄya
kÄlo 'yam iti vihvalaḥ
sÅ«tÄ«-gá¹›ham agÄt tÅ«rṇaá¹
praskhalan mukta-mūrdhajaḥ
saḥ - he (King Kaá¹sa); talpÄt - from the bed; tÅ«rṇam - very quickly; utthÄya - getting up; kÄlaḥ ayam - here is my death, the supreme time; iti - in this way; vihvalaḥ - overwhelmed; sÅ«tÄ«-gá¹›ham - to the maternity home; agÄt - went; tÅ«rṇam - without delay; praskhalan - scattering; mukta - had become opened; mÅ«rdha-jaḥ - the hair on the head.
The word kÄlaḥ is significant. Although the child was born to kill Kaá¹sa, Kaá¹sa thought that this was the proper time to kill the child so that he himself would be saved. KÄla is actually another name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He appears only for the purpose of killing. When Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa in His universal form, “Who are You?†the Lord presented Himself as kÄla, death personified to kill. By nature’s law, when there is an unwanted increase in population, kÄla appears, and by some arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, people are killed wholesale in different ways, by war, pestilence, famine and so on. At that time, even atheistic political leaders go to a church, mosque or temple for protection by God or gods and submissively say, “God willing.†Before that, they pay no attention to God, not caring to know God or His will, but when kÄla appears, they say “God willing.†Death is but another feature of the supreme kÄla, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the time of death, the atheist must submit to this supreme kÄla, and then the Supreme Personality of Godhead takes away all his possessions (má¹›tyuḥ sarva-haraÅ› cÄham) and forces him to accept another body (tathÄ dehÄntara-prÄptiḥ). This the atheists do not know, and if they do know, they neglect it so that they may go on with their normal life. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to teach them that although for a few years one may act as a great protector or great watchman, with the appearance of kÄla, death, one must take another body by the laws of nature. Not knowing this, they unnecessarily waste their time in their occupation as watchdogs and do not try to get the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is clearly said, aprÄpya mÄá¹ nivartante má¹›tyu-saá¹sÄra-vartmani: without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one is condemned to continue wandering in birth and death, not knowing what will happen in one’s next birth.