tataḥ kṛṣṇaḿ ca rāmaḿ ca
jñātayo dhenukasya ye
kroṣṭāro 'bhyadravan sarve
saḿrabdhā hata-bāndhavāḥ
tatah -- then; krishnam -- at Lord Krishna; ca -- and; ramam -- Lord Rama; ca -- and; jnatayah -- the intimate companions; dhenukasya -- of Dhenuka; ye -- who; kroshtarah -- the asses; abhyadravan -- attacked; sarve -- all samrabdhah -- enraged; hata-bandhavah -- their friend having been killed.
The other ass demons, close friends of Dhenukasura, were enraged upon seeing his death, and thus they all immediately ran to attack Krishna and Balarama.
Srila Sanatana Gosvami makes the following comment on this verse: "It is stated here that the ass demons first attacked Krishna and then Balarama (krishnam ca ramam ca). One reason for this is that the demons, having seen the prowess of Lord Balarama, thought it wise to attack Krishna first. Or it may be that out of affection for His elder brother, Lord Krishna placed Himself between Balarama and the ass demons. The words krishnam ca ramam ca may also be understood to indicate that Lord Balarama, out of affection for His younger brother, went to Lord Krishna's side.
