Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.54.51
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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prāṇa-avaśeṣaḥ
—
with only his life air remaining
Prāṇa (life air) + avaśeṣa (remainder). Same sheśa as v. 17's hata-śeṣāḥ. Rukmī is reduced to bare prāṇa — the minimal residue. Yet even that minimum is mercy: Kṛṣṇa preserves his life so Rukmiṇī's sorrow is not finalized.
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vitatha-ātma-manaḥ-rathaḥ
—
whose personal desires are frustrated
Triple compound: vitatha (futile) + ātma (own) + manas (mind) + ratha (chariot). 'Mind-chariot' is a Sanskrit idiom for desire/ambition. Rukmī's chariot was broken in v. 27; here his mind-chariot is broken too. Body and mind both collapse.
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bhoja-kaṭam
—
Bhojakaṭa (the city he built)
Bhoja (experience) + kaṭa (vow, mat) — per Viśvanātha (in purport): 'the place where the vow was experienced.' The city is named for the very humiliation Rukmī cannot exit. Even his geography is karma.
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virūpa-karaṇam
—
his disfigurement
Virūpa (deformed) + karaṇa (making). Echoes v. 35's vyarūpayat. Rukmī's central injury is to his form, his appearance, his social rūpa. Hence his entire future is dedicated to maintaining a city of his self-image.
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hata-bala-prabhaḥ
—
whose strength and bodily radiance are destroyed
Hata (destroyed) + bala (strength) + prabhā (effulgence). The same body that was 'naṣṭa-tviṣam' in Śiśupāla's case (v. 10) now belongs to Rukmī. Vyāsa is repeating the diagnosis: the asura's defeat shows first in the body's light going out.
While walking away from Krsna Rukmi was insulted by the Yadu soldiers with abuse, curses, and chastisement. (dvidbhir hata bala prabhah).
He had previously lost his strength, armies and luster because of his enemies. Then he felt his desires thwarted. Then because of being disfigured, he was left in only his life airs. Then he was freed. Then he began remembering his disfigurement. That is the order. The verse does not list the events in order because of feelings of disrespect in describing his condition. The verse shows that he was completely disrespected. Balam means his armies and strength. Bhoja means one who enjoys-- a prince or a member of a royal family of Vidarbha. Tatreśvareṇa kratha-kaiśikānāṁ bhojena dūto raghave visṛṣṭa: King Bhoja, the lord of Kratha-kaishika province, namely Vidarbha kingdom, sent an invitation through a devoted messenger to Raghu. (Raghu-vaṁśa) Kaṭa means an agreement or oath according to Nānārtha-varga. Thus the meaning of Bhoja-kaṭa is the place where the Bhoja king made an oath. Kaṭa also means the cremation place of the Vidarbha prince as in the following example. Kaṭa-dhūmasya saurabhyam: there was the smell of smoke from the burning of Pūtanā. (SB 10.6.41)
He was left with only his life because his strength and abilities or army had been destroyed. His desire to defeat Kṛṣṇa was made false (vitatha). These were successively greater causes for constructing his city. This city was bigger than Bhīṣmaka’s city. It was called Bhojakaṭa because it was caused by an oath to conquer the Yadus (Bhojas). Kaṭa means an agreement or oath according to the dictionary. Actually it was as insignificant as straw (kaṭa) for the Yadus.
- What 'city' have you constructed around an old humiliation?
- Could you leave that residence?
Reduced to breath alone, half-shaved, cast out — Rukmī builds an entire city to encase his shame. Bhojakaṭa is the architecture of unprocessed humiliation. The Bhāgavatam shows: when a man cannot accept defeat to Kṛṣṇa, he constructs a metropolis to maintain the appearance of having not been defeated.
My note
Source: vedabase.io