Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.26.2
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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ati-adbhutāni
—
most amazing
Ati (exceedingly) + adbhuta (wonderful). Adbhuta-rasa is one of the seven secondary rasas in Rūpa Gosvāmī's Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu; here it is the gopas' presenting bhāva, but it serves their underlying vātsalya rather than displacing it.
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bālakasya
—
of the boy
Genitive of bālaka (small child). The gopas keep the diminutive even as they list cosmic feats — Vraja never lets Kṛṣṇa stop being a boy. This is the acintya of acintya-bhedābheda: aiśvarya hidden inside mādhurya.
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janma
—
birth
From √jan. In Gauḻīya theology Kṛṣṇa's janma is not karma-baddha but a-prākṛta — He appears, He is not born. BG 4.9 (janma karma ca me divyam) is the doctrinal anchor the gopas do not yet possess.
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grāmyeṣu
—
among worldly men
From grāma (village). Connotes the ordinary, rural-mundane plane. The gopas' question carries an unintended humility — they reckon themselves grāmya while sensing their son is not.
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jugupsitam
—
contemptible
From √gup with desiderative — 'to be wished hidden, to be despised.' A strong word. The gopas cannot reconcile such a low-seeming birth with such high deeds; the answer (chapter's punchline at v.22) is that Nārāyaṇa Himself elected this 'low' birth out of love.
An ordinary living being cannot avoid unpleasant circumstances, but the supreme controller can always make perfect arrangements for His pleasure.
"Since this boy has performed such astonishing activities he cannot be an ordinary boy. He must be God. But if that is so, how could he be born in a cowherd family and become the object of criticism?" Use of the word asau to denote Krsna indicates that he was not present but had gone to the forest. The full expression of feelings could take place only in his absence. "Even the lesser avataras are not born in such low family as ours , what to speak of the outstanding avataras."
He is only a boy (vai) but performs these astonishing activities. Sometimes the word ca is seen instead of vai. Ca means “even though.” How could he take birth in a lowly family which would make him subject to criticism? The word asau indicates that he was not present, since he had gone to the forest. His presence when they spoke would be contrary to rasa.
- Where am I assuming someone is 'too ordinary' to be the Lord's expression in my life?
- What recent disproportion between someone's form and their effect have I been ignoring?
A prince raised in a forester's hut may eat from clay bowls and run barefoot, but the moment he draws the royal bow the cottage feels too small for him. The gopas sense the same here: Kṛṣṇa's deeds have outgrown the category 'our boy,' and they cannot understand why the prince consented to the cottage at all.
My note
Source: vedabase.io