tathÄ kÄśī-pateḥ kÄyÄc
chira utkṛtya patribhiḥ
nyapÄtayat kÄśī-puryÄá¹
padma-koÅ›am ivÄnilaḥ
tathÄ - similarly; kÄśī-pateḥ - of the King of KÄśī; kÄyÄt - from his body; Å›iraḥ - the head; utká¹›tya - severing; patribhiḥ - with His arrows; nyapÄtayat - He sent it flying; kÄÅ›i-puryÄm - into the city of KÄśī; padma - of a lotus; koÅ›am - the flower cup; iva - as; anilaḥ - the wind.
With His arrows, Lord Kṛṣṇa similarly severed KÄÅ›irÄja’s head from his body, sending it flying into KÄśī city like a lotus flower thrown by the wind.
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« explains why Kṛṣṇa threw KÄÅ›irÄja’s head into the city: “As he went off to battle, the King of KÄśī had promised the citizens: ‘My dear residents of KÄśī, today I will bring the enemy’s head into the midst of the city. Have no doubt of this.’ The King’s sinful queens had also boasted to their maids-in-waiting: ‘Today our master will certainly bring the head of the Lord of DvÄrakÄ.’ Therefore the Supreme Lord threw the King’s head into the city to astonish the inhabitants.â€
