Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.24.14

tam āha sātikaruṇaḿ

mahā-kāruṇikaḿ nṛpam

yādobhyo jñāti-ghātibhyo

dīnāḿ māḿ dīna-vatsala

kathaḿ visṛjase rājan

bhītām asmin sarij-jale

SYNONYMS

tam — unto him (Satyavrata); āha — said; sā — that small fish; ati-karuṇam — extremely compassionate; mahā-kāruṇikam — extremely merciful; nṛpam — unto King Satyavrata; yādobhyaḥ — to the aquatics; jñāti-ghātibhyaḥ — who are always eager to kill the smaller fish; dīnām — very poor; mām — me; dīna-vatsala — O protector of the poor; katham — why; visṛjase — you are throwing; rājan — O King; bhītām — very much afraid; asmin — within this; sarit-jale — in the water of the river.

TRANSLATION

With an appealing voice, the poor small fish said to King Satyavrata, who was very merciful: My dear King, protector of the poor, why are you throwing Me in the water of the river, where there are other aquatics who can kill Me? I am very much afraid of them.

PURPORT

In the Matsya Purāṇa it is said:

ananta-śaktir bhagavān

matsya-rūpī janārdanaḥ

krīḍārthaḿ yācayām āsa

svayaḿ satyavrataḿ nṛpam

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses unlimited potency. Nonetheless, in His pastime in the form of a fish He begged protection from King Satyavrata."

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