FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.28

चाणूरे मुष्टिके कूटे शले तोशलके हते । शेषा: प्रदुद्रुवुर्मल्ला: सर्वे प्राणपरीप्सव: ॥ २८ ॥
cāṇūre muṣṭike kūṭe
[chaanoore mushtike koote]
śale tośalake hate
[shale toshalake hate]
śeṣāḥ pradudruvur mallāḥ
[sheshaah pradudruvur mallaah]
sarve prāṇa-parīpsavaḥ
[sarve praana-pareepsavah]
cāṇūre muṣṭike kūṭe — Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika and Kūṭa śale tośalake — Śala and Tośala hate — being killed śeṣāḥ — those remaining pradudruvuḥ — ran away mallāḥ — wrestlers sarve — all prāṇa — their lives parīpsavaḥ — hoping to save .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
cāṇūre muṣṭike kūṭe
cāṇūre muṣṭike kūṭe
Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika and Kūṭa
śale tośalake hate
śale tośalake
Śala and Tośala
hate
being killed
śeṣāḥ pradudruvur mallāḥ
śeṣāḥ
those remaining
pradudruvuḥ
ran away
mallāḥ
wrestlers
sarve prāṇa-parīpsavaḥ
sarve
all
prāṇa
their lives
parīpsavaḥ
hoping to save .
  • pradudruvuḥ — they fled
    Plural perfect of pra + √dru (to run). The verb of flight. The Bhāgavatam uses it for Kṛṣṇa's enemies again and again — when the front rank falls, the rest run. The doctrine: demoniac collectives have no internal cohesion.
  • prāṇa - parīpsavaḥ — desirous of saving their lives
    Compound: prāṇa (life-breath) + parīpsu (desiderative of √āp, 'wishing to obtain'). Lives become the only object once power has been broken. Gauḍīyas note: the demon, denied dominance, instantly becomes a mere body wanting to keep its breath.
  • śeṣāḥ — the remaining ones
    Plural of śeṣa — what is left over. The remnant. The five chiefs being named makes the unnamed simply 'remainders' — the Bhāgavatam will not catalogue cowards individually.
  • mallāḥ — the wrestlers
    Plural of malla. The class of professional wrestlers — paid champions of the king. The poet groups them by class as soon as they lose their leaders; demoniac identity disappears into anonymity once the head is removed.
Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kūṭa, Śala and Tośala having been killed, the remaining wrestlers all fled for their lives.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kūṭa, Śala and Tośala having been killed, the remaining wrestlers all fled for their lives.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The wrestlers fled from fighting with Kṛṣṇa and from Kaṁsa for not fighting, out of fear for their lives.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The remaining wrestlers fled quickly. Why did they give fame and their fear of Kaṁsa? They desired to save their lives. They wanted to avoid death. They ignored everything else.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
With Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kūṭa, Śala and Tośala killed, the remaining wrestlers flee. Once the alpha demons fall, the rest of the demonic crew loses its nerve.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'remaining wrestlers' in your inner life would simply flee if the alphas fell?
  • Where could focusing on the head of a problem disperse its support staff?

The five named wrestlers dead, the rest run for their lives — like soldiers who, the moment the standard-bearers fall, remember they are mortal. Demoniac courage was always a borrowed courage; when the borrowers fall, the lenders flee.

📝 My note

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