SB 10.39.5 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.39.5

किं नु न: कुशलं पृच्छे एधमाने कुलामये । कंसे मातुलनाम्नाङ्ग स्वानां नस्तत्प्रजासु च ॥ ५ ॥

kiṁ nu naḥ kuśalaṁ pṛcche

[kim nu nah kushalam prichche]

edhamāne kulāmaye

[edhamaane kulaamaye]

kaṁse mātula-nāmnāṅga

[kamse maatula-naamnaanga]

svānāṁ nas tat-prajāsu ca

[svaanaam nas tat-prajaasu cha]

Word-for-word

kim — what nu — rather naḥ — our kuśalam — about the well-being pṛcche — I should inquire edhamāne — when he is prospering kula — of our family āmaye — the disease kaṁse — King Kaṁsa mātula - nāmnā — by the name “maternal uncle” aṅga — my dear svānām — of the relatives naḥ — our tat — his prajāsu — of the citizens ca — and .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

kiṁ nu naḥ kuśalaṁ pṛcche

kim

what

rather

naḥ

our

kuśalam

about the well-being

pṛcche

I should inquire

edhamāne kulāmaye

edhamāne

when he is prospering

kula

of our family

āmaye

the disease

kaṁse mātula-nāmnāṅga

kaṁse

King Kaṁsa

mātula - nāmnā

by the name “maternal uncle”

aṅga

my dear

svānāṁ nas tat-prajāsu ca

svānām

of the relatives

naḥ

our

tat

his

prajāsu

of the citizens

and .

Important Words

kula — family / dynasty
The Yadu kula is Kṛṣṇa's own appearance-lineage. To diagnose its disease is to claim it as His own; He speaks not as outsider but as kinsman taking responsibility.
āmaye — in the disease
Same root that gave anāmayam in v.4. Kaṁsa is called the literal sickness of the family — a Vaiṣṇava ācārya's clinical language for the duṣṭa whose removal will be Kṛṣṇa's stated mission.
mātula - nāmnā — by the name 'maternal uncle'
Mātula = mother's brother, a relation of natural affection. Kṛṣṇa stresses 'by name only' — the title remains, the substance has rotted. A blood-tie without dharma is no tie.
edhamāne — while prospering / flourishing
Locative absolute — 'while he is flourishing.' Adharma's apparent prosperity is the standard Bhāgavata diagnosis (cf. Bhīṣma at 1.9, Yudhiṣṭhira's lament): seeming success is the disease's growth phase.

But, my dear Akrūra, as long as King Kaṁsa — that disease of our family who goes by the name “maternal uncle” — is still prospering, why should I even bother to ask about the well-being of our family members and his other subjects?

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

But, my dear Akrūra, as long as King Kaṁsa—that disease of our family who goes by the name "maternal uncle"—is still prospering, why should I even bother to ask about the well-being of our family members and his other subjects?

Commentary

"Asking about their welfare is not an intelligent question. Oh Akrura (anga), should I ask about the welfare of relatives when Kamsa, the disease of our family, is present?"

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Kṛṣṇa asked if Akrūra was free of disease. Here he reveals the meaning of the question, by stating the Kaṁsa is the disease in the family. When Kaṁsa stops his persecution, Akrūra will be free of disease. He is a maternal uncle in name only since he is actually a disease. He has appeared to create problems within the family, not from outside. It is not a disease afflicting one person, but the whole dynasty. Therefore he should be destroyed. Until this time he was not noticed because he went by the name of “uncle.” Why ask about our family or his subjects (tat-prajāsu)? Or why ask about his followers who are like his younger brothers (tat-prajāsu), who are also prospering?

Related values & verses

Related values

Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)

Concepts

Jiva

Personal Guidance

But, Kṛṣṇa asks, as long as Kaṁsa — that 'disease of our family who goes by the name maternal uncle' — prospers, why even ask about well-being? Honest naming of toxic relatives is part of even the Lord's family conversation.

Reflection Questions

Whom in your family system has been quietly called by a polite title when 'disease' would be more honest?
How does naming the disease change what you do next?

Analogy

When a chronic ulcer is eating the body from within, asking after the patient's hair and teeth is mockery — first the ulcer must be cut out. So Kṛṣṇa, having performed the courtesy of verse 4, immediately names Kaṁsa as the kula-āmaya, the family-disease, refusing to keep up the polite fiction.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io