SB 10.41.11 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.41.11

श्रीअक्रूर उवाच नाहं भवद्‌भ्यां रहित: प्रवेक्ष्ये मथुरां प्रभो । त्यक्तुं नार्हसि मां नाथ भक्तं ते भक्तवत्सल ॥ ११ ॥

śrī-akrūra uvāca

[shree-akroora uvaacha]

nāhaṁ bhavadbhyāṁ rahitaḥ

[naaham bhavadbhyaam rahitah]

pravekṣye mathurāṁ prabho

[pravekshye mathuraam prabho]

tyaktuṁ nārhasi māṁ nātha

[tyaktum naarhasi maam naatha]

bhaktaṁ te bhakta-vatsala

[bhaktam te bhakta-vatsala]

Word-for-word

śrī - akrūraḥ uvāca — Śrī Akrūra said na — cannot aham — I bhavadbhyām — of the two of You rahitaḥ — deprived pravekṣye — enter mathurām — Mathurā prabho — O master tyaktum — abandon na arhasi — You should not mām — me nātha — O Lord bhaktam — devotee te — Your bhakta - vatsala — O You who have parental affection for Your devotees .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

śrī-akrūra uvāca

śrī - akrūraḥ uvāca

Śrī Akrūra said

nāhaṁ bhavadbhyāṁ rahitaḥ

cannot

aham

bhavadbhyām

of the two of You

rahitaḥ

deprived

pravekṣye mathurāṁ prabho

pravekṣye

enter

mathurām

Mathurā

prabho

O master

tyaktuṁ nārhasi māṁ nātha

tyaktum

abandon

na arhasi

You should not

mām

nātha

O Lord

bhaktaṁ te bhakta-vatsala

bhaktam

devotee

Your

bhakta - vatsala

O You who have parental affection for Your devotees .

Important Words

bhakta-vatsala — O You who have parental affection for Your devotees
Compound vocative: bhakta + vatsala (calf-loving, hence parentally affectionate). One of Kṛṣṇa's most-invoked names. Vatsala is the cow's love for the calf — Gauḍīyas read this as Bhagavān reversing the directionality of love: not just the devotee yearning for Him, but Him yearning for the devotee.
rahitaḥ — deprived
Past participle of √rah — to abandon, leave behind. Akrūra cannot bear the verb being applied to himself. The dāsya-devotee's primary terror is separation, not death.
tyaktum — to abandon
Infinitive of √tyaj. Akrūra inverts the verse's bhakta-vatsala: 'You who love Your devotee — You cannot now abandon him.' The grammar holds Bhagavān to His own name.
nātha — O Lord
Vocative of nātha — master, protector, one to whom one belongs. Pairs with bhakta: nātha-bhakta is the standard relational frame of dāsya-rasa. Akrūra speaks as one who has already given Kṛṣṇa the title.

Śrī Akrūra said: O master, without the two of You I shall not enter Mathurā. I am Your devotee, O Lord, so it is not fair for You to abandon me, since You are always affectionate to Your devotees.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Because of great pain, he calls out to Kṛṣṇa many times with “O Lord! O giver! O Kṛṣṇa, affection to your devotees!” I cannot enter the city without you because you give shelter to all beings, since you are most powerful (prabho)! “Enter with my permission.” I cannot leave you, since you give a person whatever he desires (nātha). “But detached, neutral persons can be given up.” I am your devotee (te bhaktam), surrendered completely to you. “I cannot give you up, but for a short time you should go to your house from relaxing in the city.” It is not proper for you to give up your devotee for even a moment, since you are most affection to them (bhakti-vatsala).

Related values & verses

Related values

Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)

Personal Guidance

Akrūra protests: without You two I will not enter Mathurā; it is not fair to abandon Your devotee, since You are always affectionate to devotees. Real devotion negotiates with the Lord rather than passively accepting separation.

Reflection Questions

Where could honest protest 'I won't go without You' be the right response to a command of separation?
Are you treating Kṛṣṇa as someone you can negotiate with at all?

Analogy

A bee, having found the lotus, will not enter a stone city without it. Akrūra clings to Kṛṣṇa's companionship — refusing the journey's reward if its center is missing.

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Source: vedabase.io