Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.36.38
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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manīṣitam
—
(your) thinking, considered plan
Past participle of √man — thought-through, considered. Akrūra grants Kaṁsa intellectual respect even while declining his moral frame. Devotee speech is precisely this two-layered.
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siddhi - asiddhyoḥ
—
in success and failure
Siddhi (success) + asiddhi (failure) in dual genitive. The exact Gītā 2.48 phrase. The Bhāgavatam is in deliberate intertext with the Gītā here.
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samam
—
equally, with equanimity
Sama — even, equal. Samatva — the equanimity that is the gateway to yoga (Gītā 2.48). Akrūra speaks the technical term inside a political conversation.
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daivam
—
fate, divine providence
Daiva — what comes from the devas, from Bhagavān. Akrūra names daiva as the actual cause of fruits. For Gauḍīyas, daiva is finally Kṛṣṇa's will — the answer Akrūra gives is theologically denser than Kaṁsa can hear.
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phala - sādhanam
—
the producer of results
Phala (fruit) + sādhana (means, producer). Daiva produces phala — the agent of results is not the schemer. The whole of Kaṁsa's chapter-long speech is gently dismantled by these two words.
You have thoroughly considered how to avoid your death. But now hear the words of niti sastra. In regards to success or failure, one should perform the action with cool head, since fate alone will determine the result.
After hearing this, with a desire to accomplish seeing the Lord and as a result, to bring about the death of Kaṁsa which he long desired, he desired to announce his friendship with Kaṁsa by praising him. That is expressed in two verses. You have considered correctly because you are the king. It is permitted in the scriptures for the king to use force. “Why did Akrūra, follower of dharma, permit punishment?” Hearing all of Kaṁsa’s false words he hid his true intentions and simply repeated Kaṁsa’s views in praise. One should endeavor (kuryāt) for solutions to such problems by taking the advice of scriptures. If one ignores this, one becomes sinful. Without joy or sorrow (samaḥ), one should do this. Another version has samam instead of samaḥ. Then it is an adverb (do this with composure).
I am satisfied with this result, after acting favorably to this wicked person for so long. Actually it is done for my benefit. Therefor I should act for his benefit. In not saying it is benefical, he will worry that I am indifferent. If, not trusting me, he does not send me, my long-held desire will not be fulfilled. I will thus speak some encouraging words to him. This he does with two verses. O king, you should protect your body and your kingdom (rājan)! Or this act should follow nīti-śāstra for kings, not karma scriptures. One should perform actions whether successful or a failure. One should not rejoice on success and one should not feel pain on failure. Why? Your fate produces the result. What will effort accomplish? Samam acts as an adverb, or the word bhāvam should be added after samam. The meaning is the same.
- Where could a more philosophical equanimity protect you from getting pulled into others' schemes?
- How do you tell another person hard truth in a form they can almost hear?
Akrūra answers gently — yes, your plan is well-crafted, but a wise man treats success and failure as equal because daiva produces the fruit. He sounds like a courtier and reads like a sage. He is already inside niṣkāma-karma, sitting in front of the very man who has never known it.
Kṛṣṇa's instruction to Arjuna — perform your duty, abandon attachment to results, be equipoised in success and failure (Gītā 2.47–48) — is anticipated, almost word-for-word, by Akrūra here: siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samaṁ kuryāt.
Gauḍīya commentators note that the doctrine of niṣkāma-karma was alive in great devotees long before it was formally spoken at Kurukṣetra. Akrūra speaks it to the man least able to hear it — which is perhaps why Kṛṣṇa later speaks it to the man most able to.
My note
Source: vedabase.io