Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.53.7
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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putra - sneha - vaśa - anugaḥ
—
obeying the control of affection for his son
Compound: putra (son) + sneha (affection) + vaśa (control) + anugaḥ (following). Sneha here is not vātsalya-rasa; it is the conditioned attachment Gauḍīyas warn against. The verse diagnoses the difference: pure vātsalya is Yaśodā's; conditioned sneha is Bhīṣmaka's.
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śiśupālāya
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to Śiśupāla
Dative. Śiśupāla is one of three nitya-baddha demons whose hate eventually liberates them through Kṛṣṇa's hand. SB 7.1 lays out the pattern; this chapter is its sub-plot.
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kanyām dāsyan
—
about to give his daughter
Object + future participle. Kanyā-dāna is the great sacrament a father performs; here the wrong recipient is chosen, and Kṛṣṇa will correct the gift by stealing it. The chapter is a long meditation on what counts as a legitimate marriage when the father errs.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī points out in this connection that King Bhīṣmaka had no particular liking for Śiśupāla but rather acted out of attachment for his son Rukmī.
According to the will of his son, Bhismaka decided to marry his daughter ot Sisupala, and decorated the city accordingly
Though the king was famous for being of good character he made arrangements through his servants and priests for the marriage of his daughter who was dependent on him, to Śiśupāla. The king followed his son’s desire (vaśa) out of affection for him. This is clear from the text since it was stated that other members of the family wanted her marriage with Kṛṣṇa (SB 10.52.25) and his son hated Kṛṣṇa (verse 2). Out of affection, the king prepared for his son’s death or his living in the forest.
- Where does affection for one party override discernment in your decisions?
- What good intention currently has you preparing the wrong wedding?
A wise king ruled by his foolish son — the throne behind the throne. Bhīṣmaka knows better than to give his daughter to Śiśupāla, but putra-sneha clouds the kṣatriya's vision. Affection without discrimination becomes the engine of disaster.
The blind king of Hastināpura also gave way to his son's worst impulses, allowing the dice-game and the burning of Lākṣā-gṛha. Mahābhārata names putra-sneha as the great wound of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and the entire Kuru tragedy follows.
Gauḍīyas read Bhīṣmaka similarly: a basically pious king destroyed in judgment by attachment to a vicious son. Sneha is rasa only when anchored in dharma; otherwise it is the door to anartha.
My note
Source: vedabase.io