Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.51.7
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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hariṇā
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by Lord Kṛṣṇa
Instrumental of Hari — He who steals (harati) the hearts of His devotees and the sins of the surrendered. Even when fleeing, Kṛṣṇa is the active agent; Kālayavana imagines he is the hunter, but Hari is the one leading.
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pade pade
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at each step
Reduplication for emphasis — at every single footfall. Bhagavān's līlā is not coarse-grained; He calibrates each step so that the asura's hope is renewed and then frustrated, drawing him exactly to Mucukunda's cave.
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darśayatā
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by Him who was showing
Present participle of √dṛś, causative. Kṛṣṇa is darśayitā — the One who shows. He shows Himself as catchable so He can show Mucukunda as the burner. Every darśana He grants is itself a teaching.
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yavana-īśaḥ
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the king of the Yavanas
Compound: yavana (barbarian, foreigner) + īśaḥ (lord). Kālayavana is 'lord' of the mlecchas but is being led like a beast by the actual Īśvara. The repeated īśa-vocabulary in this chapter is deliberate — Mucukunda will later use īśa for Kṛṣṇa, contrasting true lordship with pretended lordship.
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kandaram
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cave
The cave is Bhagavān's chosen instrument. Gauḍīyas read this as a paradigm: Kṛṣṇa pre-arranges the geography of His līlā so that the devotee Mucukunda — sleeping for ages — is exactly where He needs him at the precise moment. Nothing in His pastimes is accidental.
Krsna led Kalayavana far off to a cave in the mountain, by letting himself almost get caught, and then running away time and time again.
This verse shows the dexterity of the Lord. Kālayavana was led by Kṛṣṇa whom he saw at every moment, almost in his hands, far away to a mountain cave.
Though he was king of the Yavanas, he was led away by Kṛṣṇa, who encouraged him by showing himself to be at arm’s length.
- Where do you imagine yourself pursuing when you are actually being led?
- How could the cave you're heading toward be the Lord's plan?
A cowherd leading a strong but blind bull by holding a stick just past its horns — always within reach, never reached. Kṛṣṇa lets His hand seem to brush Kālayavana's grasp at every step, drawing the doomed king exactly to the cave-mouth He has chosen. The 'flight' of Bhagavān is a route, not a retreat.
My note
Source: vedabase.io