Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.36.28
भो भो दानपते मह्यं क्रियतां मैत्रमादृत: ।
नान्यस्त्वत्तो हिततमो विद्यते भोजवृष्णिषु ॥ २८ ॥
bho bho dāna-pate mahyaṁ
[bho bho daana-pate mahyam]
kriyatāṁ maitram ādṛtaḥ
[kriyataam maitram aadritah]
nānyas tvatto hitatamo
[naanyas tvatto hitatamo]
vidyate bhoja-vṛṣṇiṣu
[vidyate bhoja-vrishnishu]
Word-for-word
bhoḥ bhoḥ
—
my dear
dāna
—
of charity
pate
—
master
mahyam
—
for me
kriyatām
—
please do
maitram
—
a friendly favor
ādṛtaḥ
—
out of respect
na
—
none
anyaḥ
—
other
tvattaḥ
—
than yourself
hita - tamaḥ
—
who acts most favorably
vidyate
—
exists
bhoja - vṛṣṇiṣu
—
among the Bhojas and Vṛṣṇis .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bho bho dāna-pate mahyaṁ
bhoḥ bhoḥ
my dear
dāna
of charity
pate
master
mahyam
for me
kriyatāṁ maitram ādṛtaḥ
kriyatām
please do
maitram
a friendly favor
ādṛtaḥ
out of respect
nānyas tvatto hitatamo
na
none
anyaḥ
other
tvattaḥ
than yourself
hita - tamaḥ
who acts most favorably
vidyate bhoja-vṛṣṇiṣu
vidyate
exists
bhoja - vṛṣṇiṣu
among the Bhojas and Vṛṣṇis .
Important Words
-
dāna - pate
—
O master of charity
Dāna (charity) + pati (master). Akrūra's lineage of giving — he is famed as a great dānī. Kaṁsa praises him for the very virtue Kaṁsa lacks, in order to use it.
-
maitram
—
a friendly favor
From mitra (friend). The mitra-bhāva Kaṁsa asks for is, in the bhakti-rasa-śāstra, the foundation of sakhya-bhakti — but applied here in mockery, between conspirators. The word resonates against its rasa-meaning.
-
bhoja - vṛṣṇiṣu
—
among the Bhojas and Vṛṣṇis
Bhoja (Kaṁsa's clan) + Vṛṣṇi (Vasudeva-Akrūra's clan). Both branches of the Yadus. Kaṁsa names the family-spectrum across which he is asking Akrūra to act.
-
hita - tamaḥ
—
the most well-wishing
Hita (beneficial) + superlative -tama. The same root that gave a-hita in verse 25 (where Kaṁsa named Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma as his enemies). The word-pair brackets the chapter: Kaṁsa labels people who help him with hita and people who threaten him with ahita — a moral grammar built entirely around his own survival.
My dear Akrūra, most charitable one, please do me a friendly favor out of respect. Among the Bhojas and Vṛṣṇis, there is no one else as kind to us as you.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
My dear Akrūra, most charitable one, please do me a friendly favor out of respect. Among the Bhojas and Vṛṣṇis, there is no one else as kind to us as you.
Commentary
In order to please me, undertake this action easy for a friend to do.
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
Kaṁsa repeats bho bho out of respect. O best of the generous (dāna-pate)! You must do something for my benefit! You should do what is worthy of a friend. “O king of the Bhojas! Why do you send me?” You are the order bearer among all the Yadus. I respect you.
Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Personal Guidance
Kaṁsa calls Akrūra 'most charitable one' and the kindest of the Bhojas and Vṛṣṇis — soliciting a friendly favor 'out of respect.' Demons appeal to a devotee's good qualities to enlist him in evil; recognizing this is part of discernment.
Reflection Questions
- Where has someone praised your virtue to get you to do something quietly harmful?
- Can virtue itself become a vulnerability when un-anchored in Kṛṣṇa?
Analogy
Kaṁsa flatters Akrūra as 'most charitable, most kind' — accurate adjectives, used cynically. The asura's mode is to manipulate the genuine virtues of devotees toward his ends; the līlā permits this because the manipulation will deliver Akrūra exactly where his heart already wants to go.
My note
Source: vedabase.io