tad-aṅga-prabhavaṠśaṅkham
ÄdÄya ratham Ägamat
tataḥ saá¹yamanīṠnÄma
yamasya dayitÄá¹ purÄ«m
gatvÄ janÄrdanaḥ Å›aá¹…khaá¹
pradadhmau sa-halÄyudhaḥ
Å›aá¹…kha-nirhrÄdam Äkarṇya
prajÄ-saá¹yamano yamaḥ
tayoḥ saparyÄá¹ mahatÄ«á¹
cakre bhakty-upabá¹›á¹hitÄm
uvÄcÄvanataḥ kṛṣṇaá¹
sarva-bhÅ«tÄÅ›ayÄlayam
lÄ«lÄ-manuá¹£yayor viṣṇo
yuvayoḥ karavÄma kim

 tat - his (the demon's); aá¹…ga - from the body; prabhavam - grown; Å›aá¹…kham - the conchshell; ÄdÄya - taking; ratham - to the chariot; Ägamat - He returned; tataḥ - then; saá¹yamanÄ«m nÄma - known as Saá¹yamanÄ«; yamasya - of Lord YamarÄja; dayitÄm - beloved; purÄ«m - to the city; gatvÄ - going; jana-ardanaḥ - Lord Kṛṣṇa, the abode of all persons; Å›aá¹…kham - the conchshell; pradadhmau - blew loudly; sa - accompanied by; hala-Äyudhaḥ - Lord BalarÄma, whose weapon is a plow; Å›aá¹…kha - of the conchshell; nirhrÄdam - the resounding; Äkarṇya - hearing; prajÄ - of those who take birth; saá¹yamanaḥ - the restrainer; yamaḥ - YamarÄja; tayoḥ - of Them; saparyÄm - worship; mahatÄ«m - elaborate; cakre - performed; bhakti - with devotion; upabá¹›á¹hitÄm - overflowing; uvÄca - he said; avanataḥ - bowing down humbly; kṛṣṇam - to Lord Kṛṣṇa; sarva - of all; bhÅ«ta - living beings; ÄÅ›aya - the minds; Älayam - whose residence; lÄ«lÄ - as Your pastime; manuá¹£yayoḥ - appearing as human beings; viṣṇo - O Supreme Lord Viṣṇu; yuvayoḥ - for the two of You; karavÄma - I should do; kim - what.


Text

Lord JanÄrdana took the conchshell that had grown around the demon’s body and went back to the chariot. Then He proceeded to Saá¹yamanÄ«, the beloved capital of YamarÄja, the lord of death. Upon arriving there with Lord BalarÄma, He loudly blew His conchshell, and YamarÄja, who keeps the conditioned souls in check, came as soon as he heard the resounding vibration. YamarÄja elaborately worshiped the two Lords with great devotion, and then he addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa, who lives in everyone’s heart: “O Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, what shall I do for You and Lord BalarÄma, who are playing the part of ordinary humans?â€

Purport

The conchshell the Lord took from Pañcajana, which is called PÄñcajanya, is the same one He sounded at the beginning of the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ. According to the ÄcÄryas, Pañcajana had become a demon in a way similar to that of Jaya and Vijaya. In other words, though appearing in the form of a demon, he was actually a devotee of the Lord. The Skanda PurÄṇa, Avanti-khaṇá¸a, describes the wonderful things that happened when Lord Kṛṣṇa sounded His conchshell:

asipatra-vanaá¹ nÄma
 śīrṇa-patram ajÄyata
rauravaá¹ nÄma narakam
 arauravam abhÅ«t tada
abhairavaá¹ bhairavÄkhyaá¹
 kumbhÄ«-pÄkam apÄcakam

“The hell known as Asipatra-vana lost the sharp, swordlike leaves on its trees, and the hell named Raurava became free of its ruru beasts. The Bhairava hell lost its fearfulness, and all cooking stopped in the KumbhÄ«pÄka hell.â€

The Skanda PurÄṇa further states:

pÄpa-ká¹£ayÄt tataḥ sarve
vimuktÄ nÄrakÄ narÄḥ
padam avyayam ÄsÄdya

“Their sinful reactions eradicated, all the inhabitants of hell attained liberation and approached the spiritual world.â€