Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.56.16
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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karṇe karṇe ajapan
—
they whispered in one another's ears
Repetition of karṇa (ear) + ajapan (from √jap). Jap normally means silent recitation of a mantra; here perverted into gossip. The Bhāgavatam uses the same root for the highest practice and its shadow — choose which jap fills your karṇa.
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prāyaḥ
—
probably
The single most damning syllable in the chapter. The accusation is hedged — 'probably' — and yet it spreads as if certain. Suspicion masquerading as caution is the texture of vaiṣṇava-aparādha.
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kṛṣṇena nihataḥ
—
killed by Kṛṣṇa
Instrumental + past participle. The grammatical form of slander. The Lord who killed Pūtanā and Kaṁsa is now accused of killing a man over a gem — the same verb, the same agent, the offense is in the imputed motive.
Prāyaḥ (probably) indicates that he speculated in this way because, though Kṛṣṇa had great power, he had asked for the gem but had been refused. Satrājit’s followers, not everyone in Dvārakā, spread gossip, since in the First Canto the inhabitants are described as having great devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
As a brother, Satrājit had great affection for Prasena. Not seeing him he lamented. He assumed Kṛṣṇa took it because he was the Lord or because he had asked for it. He must have killed him by cutting off his head (nihataḥ). His followers in the city began to speak rumors.
- Where have you accused the Lord (or His representatives) when your own offense was the cause?
- How does honest acknowledgment of your offense replace blaming others?
A whispered accusation against Bhagavān travels faster than truth — and lodges in the public ear, where it festers. The chapter shows that even Kṛṣṇa's reputation among His own citizens is not auto-protected; bhakti must be actively defended, and only by Bhagavān Himself.
When the Four Kumāras were turned away at Vaikuṇṭha's gate by Jaya and Vijaya, their curse fell — three births as demons. The offense was not a violent act but a slight against devotees with Bhagavān's tacit name.
Satrājit's whisper here is the same category of subtle offense. The Bhāgavatam consistently shows that whispers, suspicions and accusations against Kṛṣṇa or His devotees carry weight as heavy as the jewel itself.
My note
Source: vedabase.io