FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.56.18

हतं प्रसेनं अश्वं च वीक्ष्य केशरिणा वने । तं चाद्रिपृष्ठे निहतमृक्षेण दद‍ृशुर्जना: ॥ १८ ॥
hataṁ prasenaṁ aśvaṁ ca
[hatam prasenam ashvam cha]
vīkṣya keśariṇā vane
[veekshya kesharinaa vane]
taṁ cādri-pṛṣṭhe nihatam
[tam chaadri-prishthe nihatam]
ṛkṣeṇa dadṛśur janāḥ
[rikshena dadrishur janaah]
Word-for-word
hatam — killed prasenam — Prasena aśvam — his horse ca — and vīkṣya — seeing keśariṇā — by a lion vane — in the forest tam — that (lion) ca — also adri — of a mountain pṛṣṭhe — on the side nihatam — killed ṛkṣeṇa — by Ṛkṣa (Jāmbavān) dadṛśuḥ — they saw janāḥ — the people .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
hataṁ prasenaṁ aśvaṁ ca
hatam
killed
prasenam
Prasena
aśvam
his horse
ca
and
vīkṣya keśariṇā vane
vīkṣya
seeing
keśariṇā
by a lion
vane
in the forest
taṁ cādri-pṛṣṭhe nihatam
tam
that (lion)
ca
also
adri
of a mountain
pṛṣṭhe
on the side
nihatam
killed
ṛkṣeṇa dadṛśur janāḥ
ṛkṣeṇa
by Ṛkṣa (Jāmbavān)
dadṛśuḥ
they saw
janāḥ
the people .
Important Words
  • ṛkṣeṇa — by Ṛkṣa (Jāmbavān)
    Instrumental of ṛkṣa, 'bear'. Jāmbavān is repeatedly called ṛkṣa-rāja, king of the bears. Bears in the Rāmāyaṇa fought alongside Hanumān's monkeys for Rāma — the same species now fights Rāma's later avatāra. The text is layering identity.
  • vīkṣya — seeing
    Gerund of vi + √īkṣ. The Lord and citizens together see — public witness, not private claim. The Bhāgavatam consistently legitimates dharma through shared darśana.
  • janāḥ — the people
    Nominative plural. The citizens themselves see the evidence — the rumour cannot survive their eyes. Bhakti restored by saṅkīrtana-style public witness.
In the forest they found Prasena and his horse, both killed by the lion. Further on they found the lion dead on a mountainside, slain by Ṛkṣa [Jāmbavān].
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
In the forest they found Prasena and his horse, both killed by the lion. Further on they found the lion dead on a mountainside, slain by Ṛkṣa [Jāmbavān].
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

They concluded a lion had killed Prasena and his horse by examining the evidence (vi—ikṣya). The people then saw on top of the mountain inhabited by Jāmbavān the lion (tam) killed by Jāmbavān. Thus Kṛṣṇa was cleared of the accusations.

Related values & verses
Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Bhakti (Devotion)
Concepts
RasaJiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
They find Prasena and his horse killed by the lion; further on, the lion dead, slain by Ṛkṣa. Each step of investigation confirms the sequence; the truth emerges as the path is walked.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you stop at the first dead body and miss the second?
  • How does patient investigation reveal what one stop wouldn't?
Analogy

The forensic line of the forest tells its own story: a body, a horse, a dead lion. Truth left to itself leaves a trail; the Lord need only walk it slowly to expose the whisper. Saṁsāra is loud, but the actual evidence is quiet.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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