Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.43.19
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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naṭau
—
two actors
Bhagavān as naṭa — actor — is a recurring Bhāgavata register (cf. 10.33.39, where Kṛṣṇa dances rāsa with the gopīs as naṭa-rāja). The world is His stage, but the cosmic play is real for those inside it; only the līlā-vit (Caitanya-line ācāryas) sees the staging.
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uttama-veṣa
—
excellent costumes
The Bhāgavatam pauses on dress and ornament even at the threshold of combat — because vigraha-tattva matters. Kṛṣṇa's veṣa is itself a śāstra; the Gosvāmīs catalogued each detail as object of meditation. A contiguous-token join of synonyms 'uttama' and 'veṣa'.
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manaḥ-kṣipantau
—
striking the minds
A startling verb — Kṛṣṇa kṣipati manaḥ, casts the mind aside. Cf. mano-haraḥ, mano-mohanaḥ — His standard epithets are forms of seizure. The Gauḍīya reading: bhakti's gateway is the mind being lifted out of saṁsāra by His sheer appearance. A contiguous-token join of synonyms 'manaḥ' and 'kṣipantau'.
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prabhayā
—
with Their effulgences
Plural-singular — one prabhā, but seen as two streams. Brahma-jyoti is named in Brahma-saṁhitā 5.40 as the radiance of Kṛṣṇa's own body; here it is visibly mobile, walking into Kaṁsa's hall.
Krsna and Balarama embraced (sprsantau) the minds of those who were looking at them.
Their dress and ornaments were of great variety and were most astonishing. The dress consisted of their tilaka etc. And their ornaments were their tilaka, earrings and bracelets. The ornaments manifested particular beauty by not being disturbed even during the great contest. The various onlookers’ minds were agitated by his strength manifesting as a thunderbolt to the wrestlers etc. in the ten types of persons. They were like actors (naṭau) dressed in the best costumes. One costume appeared different at different times, or they were like magicians (naṭau), showing simultaneously true and false images by their limbs and their magical powers.
When they entered the arena they appeared very beautiful. Their huge arms represent the attractiveness and strength of other limbs also. They had various or astonishing appearance, ornaments garlands, and manner of dressing. Everyone’s minds were attracted by their beauty by looking at them on the road or secretly. Or they were like actors wearing astonishing ornaments and dress. Ordinary actors could not be compared.
- Where do you under-dress for spiritually significant moments?
- How could intentional adornment serve worship rather than vanity?
Two mighty actors in matchless costume — that is what Bhagavān and Balarāma look like, even to the Bhāgavatam's own narrator. The arena is a stage, the līlā a play, the audience's minds already struck (kṣipta) before a single wrestler steps forward. Bhakti's first stage is exactly this: the mind is hijacked by His form.
My note
Source: vedabase.io