FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.57.29

अक्रूर: कृतवर्मा च श्रुत्वा शतधनोर्वधम् । व्यूषतुर्भयवित्रस्तौ द्वारकाया: प्रयोजकौ ॥ २९ ॥
akrūraḥ kṛtavarmā ca
[akroorah kritavarmaa cha]
śrutvā śatadhanor vadham
[shrutvaa shatadhanor vadham]
vyūṣatur bhaya-vitrastau
[vyooshatur bhaya-vitrastau]
dvārakāyāḥ prayojakau
[dvaarakaayaah prayojakau]
akrūraḥ kṛtavarmā ca — Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā śrutvā — hearing about śatadhanoḥ — of Śatadhanvā vadham — the killing vyūṣatuḥ — they went into exile bhaya - vitrastau — seized with overwhelming fear dvārakāyāḥ — from Dvārakā prayojakau — the engagers .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
akrūraḥ kṛtavarmā ca
akrūraḥ kṛtavarmā ca
Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā
śrutvā śatadhanor vadham
śrutvā
hearing about
śatadhanoḥ
of Śatadhanvā
vadham
the killing
vyūṣatur bhaya-vitrastau
vyūṣatuḥ
they went into exile
bhaya - vitrastau
seized with overwhelming fear
dvārakāyāḥ prayojakau
dvārakāyāḥ
from Dvārakā
prayojakau
the engagers .
  • prayojakau — the two who engaged / instigated
    From pra-√yuj — to engage, set into motion. The technical word for the cause behind a cause; in Mīmāṁsā vocabulary, the instigator of an action. Bhāgavata's verdict on Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā: they are not bystanders but engineers.
  • bhaya - vitrastau — seized with fear, terrified
    Compound: bhaya (fear) + vitrasta (extremely frightened). Same fear-vocabulary as verse 11's bhīta but intensified. Gauḍīyas note: pāpa-karma's natural climate is bhaya — the conspirators end the chapter in the same emotional weather as their victim.
  • vyūṣatuḥ — they went into exile / departed
    Perfect dual of vi-√vas (to dwell apart). The verb of voluntary exile. Bhāgavata's narrative pattern: those who break with Kṛṣṇa eventually depart from His dhāma, even if no one banishes them.
  • dvārakāyāḥ — from Dvārakā
    Ablative of Dvārakā — 'the city of gates,' Bhagavān's seat. Gauḍīyas read leaving Dvārakā as a form of self-imposed asat-saṅga: removing oneself from the place where Kṛṣṇa walks is its own punishment.
When Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā, who had originally incited Śatadhanvā to commit his crime, heard that he had been killed, they fled Dvārakā in terror and took up residence elsewhere.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā, who had originally incited Śatadhanvā to commit his crime, heard that he had been killed, they fled Dvārakā in terror and took up residence elsewhere.
Commentary

They quickly fled from Dvaraka to somewhere else, because they were the instigators (prayojika) for Satadhanva killing Satrajit.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The two previously believed that Śatadhanvā would not be killed since he was known as a Yādava. Now, hearing that he had been killed, they were even more terrified (vi—trastau).

Related values
Bhakti (Devotion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
When Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā hear Śatadhanvā is killed, they flee Dvārakā in terror and take residence elsewhere. The inciters realize their exposure and flee; complicity has its own consequences.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have you fled rather than facing complicity?
  • How does location-change function as soft confession?

Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā, who set the conspiracy in motion, slip out of Dvārakā the way smoke leaves a closing window — Śatadhanvā's death frightens them into the same exile they had imagined for their target. Gauḍīyas read this as the lawful symmetry of pāpa: the engagers (prayojakau) inherit the fate they engineered.

📝 My note

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