अथाप्यभिभवन्त्येनं नैव ते घोरदर्शनाः जिघांसयैनमासाद्य नश्यन्त्यग्नौ पतंगवत्
athāpy abhibhavanty enaṁ naiva te ghora-darśanāḥ jighāṁsayainam āsādya naśyanty agnau pataṅgavat
Synonyms
atha api—although they come to attack; abhibhavanti—they are able to kill; enam—this boy; na—not; eva—certainly; te—all of them; ghora-darśanāḥ—very fierce looking; jighāṁsayā—because of envy; enam—unto Kṛṣṇa; āsādya—approaching; naśyanti—are vanquished (death occurs to the aggressor); agnau—in fire; pataṅga-vat—like flies..
Translation
Although the causes of death, the daityas, were very fierce, they could not kill this boy Kṛṣṇa. Rather, because they came to kill innocent boys, as soon as they approached they themselves were killed, exactly like flies attacking a fire.
Purport
Nanda Mahārāja innocently thought, "Perhaps this boy Kṛṣṇa formerly killed all these demons, and therefore in this life they are envious and are attacking Him. But Kṛṣṇa is a fire, and they are flies, and in a fight between fire and flies, the fire is always victorious." Fighting is always taking place between the demons and the power of the Supreme Personality. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (Bg. 4.8). Anyone who is against the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be killed, life after life. Ordinary living beings are subject to karma, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always victorious over the demons.