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ŚB 10.6.4

Devanagari

सा खेचर्येकदोत्पत्य पूतना नन्दगोकुलम् ।
योषित्वा माययात्मानं प्राविशत् कामचारिणी ॥ ४ ॥

Text

sā khe-cary ekadotpatya
pūtanā nanda-gokulam
yoṣitvā māyayātmānaṁ
prāviśat kāma-cāriṇī

Synonyms

— that (Pūtanā); khe-carī — who traveled in outer space; ekadā — once upon a time; utpatya — was flying; pūtanā — the demon Pūtanā; nanda-gokulam — at the place of Nanda Mahārāja, Gokula; yoṣitvā — converting into a very beautiful woman; māyayā — by mystic power; ātmānam — herself; prāviśat — entered; kāma-cāriṇī — one who could move according to her own desire.

Translation

Once upon a time, Pūtanā Rākṣasī, who could move according to her desire and was wandering in outer space, converted herself by mystic power into a very beautiful woman and thus entered Gokula, the abode of Nanda Mahārāja.

Purport

Rākṣasīs learn mystic powers by which they can travel in outer space without machines. In some parts of India there are still such mystical witches, who can sit on a stick and use it to fly from one place to another in a very short time. This art was known to Pūtanā. Assuming the feature of a very beautiful woman, she entered Nanda Mahārāja’s abode, Gokula.