FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.2

हस्ताभ्यां हस्तयोर्बद्ध्वा पद्‌भ्यामेव च पादयो: । विचकर्षतुरन्योन्यं प्रसह्य विजिगीषया ॥ २ ॥
hastābhyāṁ hastayor baddhvā
[hastaabhyaam hastayor baddhvaa]
padbhyām eva ca pādayoḥ
[padbhyaam eva cha paadayoh]
vicakarṣatur anyonyaṁ
[vichakarshatur anyonyam]
prasahya vijigīṣayā
[prasahya vijigeeshayaa]
Word-for-word
hastābhyām — with their hands hastayoḥ — by the hands baddhvā — seizing padbhyām — with their legs eva ca — also pādayoḥ — by the legs vicakarṣatuḥ — they (Kṛṣṇa paired with Cāṇūra, and Balarāma with Muṣṭika) dragged anyonyam — each other prasahya — with force vijigīṣayā — with desire for victory .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
hastābhyāṁ hastayor baddhvā
hastābhyām
with their hands
hastayoḥ
by the hands
baddhvā
seizing
padbhyām eva ca pādayoḥ
padbhyām
with their legs
eva ca
also
pādayoḥ
by the legs
vicakarṣatur anyonyaṁ
vicakarṣatuḥ
they (Kṛṣṇa paired with Cāṇūra, and Balarāma with Muṣṭika) dragged
anyonyam
each other
prasahya vijigīṣayā
prasahya
with force
vijigīṣayā
with desire for victory .
Important Words
  • baddhvā — having bound, having seized
    From √bandh (to bind). The same root that gives bandha — the bondage Kṛṣṇa is here un-doing for Devakī. He lets Himself be 'bound' in wrestler's grip to break the binding of His parents.
  • vicakarṣatuḥ — they dragged each other forcibly
    Dual perfect of vi + √kṛṣ — the same root that gives Kṛṣṇa His name (the all-attractive one who pulls). Here the wrestler pulls; in the next breath, the All-Attractive will pull the demon to his death.
  • vijigīṣayā — out of desire to conquer
    Desiderative noun from √ji (to win). Cāṇūra's desire is for victory; Kṛṣṇa's posture has no such desiderative weight — He has no want, only saṅkalpa. The grammar quietly marks the asymmetry.
  • prasahya — powerfully, forcibly
    Indeclinable from pra + √sah. Force pitted against force is the wrestler's frame; Kṛṣṇa allows that frame for the sake of the spectacle, but it is not the frame in which He acts.
Seizing each other’s hands and locking legs with each other, the opponents struggled powerfully, eager for victory.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Seizing each other's hands and locking legs with each other, the opponents struggled powerfully, eager for victory.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Four verses describe how they played. The word ca indicates that they locked other limbs as well. The word eva should be supplied after hastābhyām as well. If there is inequality in confronting the opponent, the sporting aspect of wrestling will dwindle. This applies to later verses also. Both sides desired to win. Since Kṛṣṇa was acting like an ordinary wrestler he also desired victory, though he is the Lord whose victory is always guaranteed.

Related values & verses
Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Bhakti (Devotion)
Concepts
RasaJiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Seizing each other's hands and locking legs, the opponents struggle powerfully for victory. Engagement is total; spiritual combat does not happen at arm's length.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you fight from arm's length when full engagement is required?
  • What would 'locking legs' look like in your current struggle?
Analogy

Hands grip hands and feet lock feet — the Lord lets His body be drawn into the conventions of a wrestling match the way a king consents to be addressed by his servant's small name. The infinite agrees to the rules of finitude so that finitude has somewhere to break.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 44