आक्रीड बालवद्देव यथाशीविषमुत्थितम् ॥२४॥
mainaá¹ mÄyÄvinaá¹ dá¹›ptaá¹
niraṅkuśam asattamam
ÄkrÄ«á¸a bÄlavad deva
yathÄśīviá¹£am utthitam
mÄ - do not; enam - him; mÄyÄ-vinam - skilled in conjuring tricks; dá¹›ptam - arrogant; niraá¹…kuÅ›am - self-sufficient; asat-tamam - most wicked; ÄkrÄ«á¸a - play with; bÄla-vat - like a child; deva - O Lord; yathÄ - as; Äśīviá¹£am - a serpent; utthitam - aroused.
Lord BrahmÄ continued: My dear Lord, there is no need to play with this serpentine demon, who is always very skilled in conjuring tricks and is arrogant, self-sufficient and most wicked.
No one is unhappy when a serpent is killed. It is a practice among village boys to catch a serpent by the tail and play with it for some time and then kill it. Similarly, the Lord could have killed the demon at once, but He played with him in the same way as a child plays with a snake before killing it. BrahmÄ requested, however, that since the demon was more wicked and undesirable than a serpent, there was no need to play with him. It was his wish that he be killed at once, without delay.
