निरीक्ष्य तद्बलं कृष्ण उद्वेलमिव सागरम् । स्वपुरं तेन संरुद्धं स्वजनं च भयाकुलम् ॥ ५ ॥ चिन्तयामास भगवान् हरि: कारणमानुष: । तद्देशकालानुगुणं स्वावतारप्रयोजनम् ॥ ६ ॥
nirīkṣya tad-balaṁ kṛṣṇa udvelam iva sāgaram sva-puraṁ tena saṁruddhaṁ sva-janaṁ ca bhayākulam cintayām āsa bhagavān hariḥ kāraṇa-mānuṣaḥ tad-deśa-kālānuguṇaṁ svāvatāra-prayojanam
- nirīkṣya
- observing
- tat
- of him (Jarāsandha)
- balam
- the military force
- kṛṣṇaḥ
- Lord Kṛṣṇa
- udvelam
- having overflowed its boundaries
- iva
- like
- sāgaram
- an ocean
- sva
- His own
- puram
- city, Mathurā
- tena
- by it
- saṁruddham
- besieged
- sva-janam
- His subjects
- ca
- and
- bhaya
- by fear
- ākulam
- disturbed
- cintayām āsa
- He thought
- bhagavān
- the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- hariḥ
- Lord Hari
- kāraṇa
- the cause of everything
- mānuṣaḥ
- appearing as a human being
- tat
- for that
- deśa
- place
- kāla
- and time
- anuguṇam
- suitable
- sva-avatāra
- of His descent to this world
- prayojanam
- the purpose
Although Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original cause of this world, when He descended to the earth He played the role of a human being. Thus when He saw Jarāsandha’s assembled army surrounding His city like a great ocean overflowing its shores, and when He saw how this army was striking fear into His subjects, the Lord considered what His suitable response should be according to the time, place and specific purpose of His current incarnation.