FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.32

केचिदाहुरजं जातं पुण्यश्लोकस्य कीर्तये । यदो: प्रियस्यान्ववाये मलयस्येव चन्दनम् ॥ ३२ ॥
kecid āhur ajaṁ jātaṁ
[kechid aahur ajam jaatam]
puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye
[punya-shlokasya keertaye]
yadoḥ priyasyānvavāye
[yadoh priyasyaanvavaaye]
malayasyeva candanam
[malayasyeva chandanam]
kecit — someone āhuḥ — says ajam — the unborn jātam — being born puṇya-ślokasya — of the great pious king kīrtaye — for glorifying yadoḥ — of King Yadu priyasya — of the dear anvavāye — in the family of malayasya — Malaya hills iva — as candanam — sandalwood.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kecid āhur ajaṁ jātaṁ
kecit
someone
āhuḥ
says
ajam
the unborn
jātam
being born
puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye
puṇya-ślokasya
of the great pious king
kīrtaye
for glorifying
yadoḥ priyasyānvavāye
yadoḥ
of King Yadu
priyasya
of the dear
anvavāye
in the family of
malayasyeva candanam
malayasya
Malaya hills
iva
as
candanam
sandalwood.
Some say that the Unborn is born for the glorification of pious kings, and others say that He is born to please King Yadu, one of Your dearest devotees. You appear in his family as sandalwood appears in the Malaya hills.

Because the Lord’s appearance in this material world is bewildering, there are different opinions about the birth of the Unborn. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He takes His birth in the material world, although He is the Lord of all creations and He is unborn. So there cannot be any denial of the birth of the Unborn because He Himself establishes the truth. But still there are different opinions as to why He takes His birth. That is also declared in the Bhagavad-gītā. He appears by His own internal potency to reestablish the principles of religion and to protect the pious and to annihilate the impious. That is the mission of the appearance of the Unborn. Still, it is said that the Lord is there to glorify the pious King Yudhiṣṭhira. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa certainly wanted to establish the kingdom of the Pāṇḍavas for the good of all in the world. When there is a pious king ruling over the world, the people are happy. When the ruler is impious, the people are unhappy. In the Age of Kali in most cases the rulers are impious, and therefore the citizens are also continuously unhappy. But in the case of democracy, the impious citizens themselves elect their representative to rule over them, and therefore they cannot blame anyone for their unhappiness. Mahārāja Nala was also celebrated as a great pious king, but he had no connection with Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is meant here to be glorified by Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Lord had already glorified King Yadu, having taken birth in his family. Although He is known as Yādava, Yaduvīra, Yadunandana, etc., He is always independent of such obligation. He is just like the sandalwood that grows in the Malaya hills. Trees can grow anywhere and everywhere, yet because the sandalwood trees grow mostly in the area of the Malaya hills, the name sandalwood and the Malaya hills are interrelated. Therefore, the conclusion is that the Lord is ever unborn like the sun, and yet He appears as the sun rises on the eastern horizon. As the sun is never the sun of the eastern horizon, so the Lord is no one’s son, but He is the father of everything that be.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Some say that you, though unborn, have taken birth in the Yadu family to give fame to Yudhiṣṭhira, just as sandalwood, originating in the Malaya Hills gives fame to those hills.
Commentary

If you were not to appear in this world how would we be able to relish your enchanting pastimes? There are many opinions about the cause of your appearance. Puṇya-śloka here refers to Yudhiṣṭhira, since he was famous by that name at that time. puṇya-śloko nalo rājā puṇya-śloko yudhiṣṭhiraḥ: puṇya-ṣloka means King Nala, a famous person or Yudhiṣṭhira. You appeared in the Yadu dynasty to glorify dear Yudhiṣṭhira. Or the sentence can mean “You appeared in that dynasty to glorify the famous Yadu.”

Some say You are born for the glory of pious kings, others to please the Yadu dynasty. You appear in Yadu's family as sandalwood in Malaya hills. The Lord's reasons for appearing are many and overlapping.
Reflection Questions
  • What multiple purposes might the Lord be serving through one event in my life?
  • Where do I insist on single explanations?
📝 My note

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