Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.7.52

niśamya bhīma-gaditam

draupadyāś ca catur-bhujah

ālokya vadanam sakhyur

idam āha hasann iva

SYNONYMS

niśamya — just after hearing; bhīma — Bhīma; gaditam — spoken by; draupadyāh — of Draupadī; ca — and; catuh-bhujah — the four-handed (Personality of Godhead); ālokya — having seen; vadanam — the face; sakhyuh — of His friend; idam — this; āha — said; hasan — smiling; iva — as it.

TRANSLATION

Caturbhuja [the four-armed one], or the Personality of Godhead, after hearing the words of Bhīma, Draupadī and others, saw the face of His dear friend Arjuna, and He began to speak as if smiling.

PURPORT

Lord Śrī Krishna had two arms, and why He is designated as four-armed is explained by Śrīdhara Svāmī. Both Bhīma and Draupadī held opposite views about killing Aśvatthāmā. Bhīma wanted him to be immediately killed, whereas Draupadī wanted to save him. We can imagine Bhīma ready to kill while Draupadī is obstructing him. And in order to prevent both of them, the Lord discovered another two arms. Originally, the primeval Lord Śrī Krishna displays only two arms, but in His Nārāyana feature He exhibits four. In His Nārāyana feature He resides with His devotees in the Vaikuntha planets, while in His original Śrī Krishna feature He resides in the Krishnaloka planet far, far above the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky. Therefore, if Śrī Krishna is called caturbhujah, there is no contradiction. If need be He can display hundreds of arms, as He exhibited in His viśva-rūpa shown to Arjuna. Therefore, one who can display hundreds and thousands of arms can also manifest four whenever needed.

When Arjuna was perplexed about what to do with Aśvatthāmā, Lord Śrī Krishna, as the very dear friend of Arjuna, voluntarily took up the matter just to make a solution. And He was smiling also.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness