FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.36.33

तयोर्निहतयोस्तप्तान् वसुदेवपुरोगमान् । तद्बन्धून् निहनिष्यामि वृष्णिभोजदशार्हकान् ॥ ३३ ॥
tayor nihatayos taptān
[tayor nihatayos taptaan]
vasudeva-purogamān
[vasudeva-purogamaan]
tad-bandhūn nihaniṣyāmi
[tad-bandhoon nihanishyaami]
vṛṣṇi-bhoja-daśārhakān
[vrishni-bhoja-dashaarhakaan]
tayoḥ — the two of Them nihatayoḥ — when They are killed taptān — tormented vasudeva - purogamān — led by Vasudeva tad - bandhūn — Their relatives nihaniṣyāmi — I will kill vṛṣṇi - bhoja - daśārhakān — the Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas and Daśārhas .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tayor nihatayos taptān
tayoḥ
the two of Them
nihatayoḥ
when They are killed
taptān
tormented
vasudeva-purogamān
vasudeva - purogamān
led by Vasudeva
tad-bandhūn nihaniṣyāmi
tad - bandhūn
Their relatives
nihaniṣyāmi
I will kill
vṛṣṇi-bhoja-daśārhakān
vṛṣṇi - bhoja - daśārhakān
the Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas and Daśārhas .
  • taptān — (those) afflicted, lamenting
    Past participle of √tap — to be heated, pained. Kaṁsa anticipates the family's grief and treats it as cause for further killing. Asura-logic: their pain proves they love what I want destroyed; therefore destroy them too.
  • vasudeva - purogamān — headed by Vasudeva
    Vasudeva + puroga (going in front, foremost). Vasudeva is named the leader of the relatives — the same Vasudeva Nārada has just exposed as Bhagavān's father. Kaṁsa's full extermination-target.
  • vṛṣṇi - bhoja - daśārhakān — the Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas, and Daśārhas
    Three Yadu sub-clans. The Bhāgavatam names them because the Yadu-vaṁśa is the Lord's own appearance-lineage; Kaṁsa's plan is to annihilate it entirely, which makes it the chapter's most pointed adharma.
  • nihaniṣyāmi — I shall kill
    Future of ni + √han. The first-person killing-verb in Kaṁsa's mouth is in the future tense — a future Bhagavān has already cancelled.
When these two have been killed, I will kill Vasudeva and all Their lamenting relatives — the Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas and Daśārhas.

Even today there are wicked political leaders throughout the world who make such plans and even carry them out.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When these two have been killed, I will kill Vasudeva and all Their lamenting relatives—the Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas and Daśārhas.
Commentary

When these two boys are killed, Vasudeva, the Vrsnis and their friends of the Bhoja and Dasarha dynsasties will become weak.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

“You will get trouble from his friends.” Kaṁsa responds in two verses. I will kill his friends such as Vasudeva. “Why do you not kill them before killing the two boys?” They will be in a state of lamentation after the two are killed. This shows Kaṁsa’s great anger. The other meaning is “Having approached the two for my liberation, I will also approach his friends since they are faithful to him.”

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

“You will get trouble from his friends.” Kaṁsa responds in two verses. I will kill his friends such as Vasudeva. “Why do you not kill them before killing the two boys?” They will be in a state of lamentation after the two are killed. It will be easy to kill them. “They are your relatives.” They are friends of the two boys. I will destroy them completely--along with their wealth (ni-haniṣyāmi).

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
Kaṁsa intends to then kill Vasudeva and all the lamenting Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas and Daśārhas. Wickedness doesn't stop at its declared target — it expands to consume everyone connected. Even today such leaders make and execute these plans.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is a destructive habit in your life expanding beyond its original target?
  • Whom are you in danger of harming through escalation you haven't yet named?

Kaṁsa's list is generational: kill the boys, then the parents, then every relative who mourns them. Hatred without an off-switch is its own form of theology — a perfect inverse of bhakti's all-inclusive love. The Bhāgavatam puts the speech in his mouth so we can hear the contour exactly.

📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 36