FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.55.17

स च शम्बरमभ्येत्य संयुगाय समाह्वयत् । अविषह्यैस्तमाक्षेपै: क्षिपन् सञ्जनयन् कलिम् ॥ १७ ॥
sa ca śambaram abhyetya
[sa cha shambaram abhyetya]
saṁyugāya samāhvayat
[samyugaaya samaahvayat]
aviṣahyais tam ākṣepaiḥ
[avishahyais tam aakshepaih]
kṣipan sañjanayan kalim
[kshipan sanjanayan kalim]
Word-for-word
saḥ — He ca — and śambaram — Śambara abhyetya — approaching saṁyugāya — to battle samāhvayat — called him aviṣahyaiḥ — intolerable tam — him ākṣepaiḥ — with insults kṣipan — reviling sañjanayan — inciting kalim — a fight .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa ca śambaram abhyetya
saḥ
He
ca
and
śambaram
Śambara
abhyetya
approaching
saṁyugāya samāhvayat
saṁyugāya
to battle
samāhvayat
called him
aviṣahyais tam ākṣepaiḥ
aviṣahyaiḥ
intolerable
tam
him
ākṣepaiḥ
with insults
kṣipan sañjanayan kalim
kṣipan
reviling
sañjanayan
inciting
kalim
a fight .
Important Words
  • abhyetya — approaching
    Gerund of abhi-√i — to come directly toward. He does not ambush; He walks up. Compare Arjuna at Kurukṣetra: dharma-yuddha requires face-to-face confrontation.
  • saṁyugāya-samāhvayat — called him to battle
    Compound: saṁyugāya (for battle, dat.) + samāhvayat (he called out). Formal challenge — the Kṣatriya code. The Bhāgavatam keeps Pradyumna squarely inside dharma even when fighting an asura.
  • aviṣahyaiḥ — with intolerable insults
    Compound: a-viṣahya (unbearable) + ākṣepaiḥ (with reproaches). The insults are calibrated — Pradyumna chooses words Śambara cannot ignore so that the asura must come out to fight rather than retreat into his palace.
  • kalim — a fight, quarrel
    Kali — strife, contention. (Distinct from Kali-yuga's eponym but etymologically related.) The Lord's son provokes kali to end kali — a structural irony the Bhāgavatam enjoys.
Pradyumna approached Śambara and called him to battle, hurling intolerable insults at him to foment a conflict.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Pradyumna approached Śambara and called him to battle, hurling intolerable insults at him to foment a conflict.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Called him loudly (sam—āhvayat), criticizing him with abusive words in order to cause (sañjanayan) a quarrel even to death

Related values & verses
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Pradyumna approaches Śambara, calls him to battle, hurls intolerable insults to foment conflict. Strategic provocation can be part of a just confrontation; speech is initiating tactic.
Reflection Questions
  • Where could provocative speech draw out an enemy who refuses to fight openly?
  • How do you distinguish strategic provocation from idle insult?
Analogy

Pradyumna approaches Śambara not by stealth but by insult — He provokes the duel openly. The Lord's līlā includes verbal challenge; dharma-yuddha begins with declared cause. He will not slay an enemy who has not first been called to face Him.

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Source: vedabase.io

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