tam -- him, Kaliya; canda-vega -- of fearsome power; visha -- the poison; viryam -- whose strength; avekshya -- seeing; tena -- by him; dushtam -- contaminated; nadim -- the river; ca -- and; khala -- the envious demons; samyamana -- for subduing; avatarah -- whose descent from the spiritual world; krishnah -- Lord Krishna; kadambam -- a kadamba tree; adhiruhya -- climbing up on; tatah -- from it; ati-tungam -- very high; asphotya -- slapping His arms; gadha-rasanah -- tying His belt firmly; nyapatat -- He jumped; visha-ude -- into the poisoned water.

Lord Krishna saw how the Kaliya serpent had polluted the Yamuna River with his terribly powerful poison. Since Krishna had descended from the spiritual world specifically to subdue envious demons, the Lord immediately climbed to the top of a very high kadamba tree and prepared Himself for battle. He tightened His belt, slapped His arms and then jumped into the poisonous water.