cailena - with a strip of cloth; baddhvā - tying up; tam - him; asādhu-kāriṇam - the evil-doer; sa-śmaśru-keśam - leaving some of his mustache and hair remaining; pravapan - by shaving him; vyarūpayat - made him disfigured; tāvat - by then; mamarduḥ - they had crushed; para - opposing; sainyam - the army; adbhutam - extraordinary; yadu-pravīrāḥ - the heroes of the Yadu dynasty; nalinīm - a lotus flower; yathā - as; gajāḥ - elephants.

Lord Kṛṣṇa tied up the evil-doer with a strip of cloth. He then proceeded to disfigure Rukmī by comically shaving him, leaving parts of his mustache and hair. By that time the Yadu heroes had crushed the extraordinary army of their opponents, just as elephants crush a lotus flower.