divyāmbara-srań-maṇibhiḥ
parārdhyair api bhūṣaṇaiḥ
divya-gandhānulepaiś ca
mahatyotpala-mālayā
pūjayitvā jagan-nāthaḿ
prasādya garuḍa-dhvajam
tataḥ prīto 'bhyanujñātaḥ
parikramyābhivandya tam
sa-kalatra-suhṛt-putro
dvīpam abdher jagāma ha
tadaiva sāmṛta-jalā
yamunā nirviṣābhavat
anugrahād bhagavataḥ
krīḍā-mānuṣa-rūpiṇaḥ
divya -- divine; ambara -- with clothing; srak -- garlands; manibhih -- and jewels; para-ardhyaih -- most valuable; api -- also; bhushanaih -- ornaments; divya -- divine; gandha -- with scents; anulepaih -- and ointments; ca -- as well; mahatya -- fine; utpala -- of lotuses; malaya -- with a garland; pujayitva -- worshiping; jagat-natham -- the Lord of the universe; prasadya -- satisfying; garuda-dhvajam -- Him whose flag is marked with the emblem of Garuda; tatah -- then; pritah -- feeling happy; abhyanujnatah -- given permission to leave; parikramya -- circumambulating; abhivandya -- offering obeisances; tam -- to Him; sa -- along with; kalatra -- his wives; suhrit -- friends; putrah -- and children; dvipam -- to the island; abdheh -- in the sea; jagama -- he went; ha -- indeed; tada eva -- at that very moment; sa-amrita -- nectarean; jala -- her water; yamuna -- the river Yamuna; nirvisha -- free from poison; abhavat -- she became; anugrahat -- by the mercy; bhagavatah -- of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; krida -- for pleasure pastimes; manusha -- humanlike; rupinah -- manifesting a form.
Kaliya worshiped the Lord of the universe by offering Him fine garments, along with necklaces, jewels and other valuable ornaments, wonderful scents and ointments, and a large garland of lotus flowers. Having thus pleased the Lord, whose flag is marked with the emblem of Garuda, Kaliya felt satisfied. Receiving the Lord's permission to leave, Kaliya circumambulated Him and offered Him obeisances. Then, taking his wives, friends and children, he went to his island in the sea. The very moment Kaliya left, the Yamuna was immediately restored to her original condition, free from poison and full of nectarean water. This happened by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was manifesting a humanlike form to enjoy His pastimes.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has commented extensively on this verse. To explain the word manibhih -- "(Kaliya worshiped the Lord) with jewels" -- the acarya has quoted from the Sri Radha-krishna-ganoddesa-dipika, by Rupa Gosvami, as follows:
kaustubhakhyo manir yena
pravisya hradam auragam
kaliya-preyasi-vrinda-
hastair atmopaharitah
"The Lord had made His Kaustubha gem enter the serpent's lake, and then He arranged for it to be presented to Himself by the hands of Kaliya's wives." In other words, because Lord Krishna wanted to act just like an ordinary human being, He made the transcendental Kaustubha gem invisible and caused it to enter within Kaliya's treasury. Then when the appropriate moment came for Kaliya to worship the Lord with many different jewels and ornaments, the serpent's wives, unaware of the Lord's transcendental trick, presented Him with the Kaustubha gem, thinking it was simply one of the jewels in their possession.
The acarya has further commented that the reason Lord Krishna is described in this verse as garuda-dhvaja, "He whose flag is marked by the symbol of His carrier, Garuda," is that Kaliya also desired to become Lord Krishna's carrier. Garuda and the serpents are originally related as brothers, and therefore Kaliya wanted to indicate to Lord Krishna, "If You ever have to go to a distant place, You should also think of me as Your personal carrier. I am the servant of Your servant, and in the wink of an eye I can travel hundreds of millions of yojanas." Thus the Puranas narrate that in the course of Lord Krishna's eternal cycle of pastimes, when Kamsa orders the Lord to come to Mathura, He sometimes goes there mounted upon Kaliya.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to the Tenth Canto, Sixteenth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled "Krishna Chastises the Serpent Kaliya."
