Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.57.31
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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vismṛtya
—
having forgotten
Gerund of vi-√smṛ. The opposite of smaraṇa (one of the nine limbs of bhakti). Gauḍīyas treat vismṛti as the structural disease of conditioned existence — the elders themselves had spoken Kṛṣṇa's glories before; they have simply forgotten what they said.
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muni - vāsa
—
the residence of sages
Compound: muni (sage) + vāsa (dwelling). One of Kṛṣṇa's titles — He in whom all sages reside. Gauḍīyas note: where Bhagavān lives, the company of sages is automatic; therefore calamity at His residence is a contradiction in terms.
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ariṣṭa - darśanam
—
the appearance of calamities
Compound: ariṣṭa (ill omen) + darśana (sight, appearance). Śuka's rhetorical question: how can ariṣṭa-darśana arise where Bhagavān is? Gauḍīyas: the verse is a teaching about the impossibility of calamity at Kṛṣṇa's dhāma — the elders' theory is wrong even before its premise.
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upadiśanti
—
they were proposing / advising
Present plural of upa-√diś (to point out, instruct). The verb that should belong to Bhagavān or guru is here used (with a touch of irony) for the bewildered elders. Bhāgavata's grammar: upadeśa misapplied is the symptom of forgetting.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī provides the following insight on this verse: In Benares Akrūra became famous for performing sacrifices on golden altars and for his abundant charity to the brāhmaṇas. When the citizens of Dvārakā heard about this, some of them gossiped that Kṛṣṇa, considering Akrūra a rival, had sent him into exile. To dispel this new and incredible stain on His reputation, Lord Kṛṣṇa created various calamities in Dvārakā, thus inducing the citizens to call for Akrūra’s return, which the Lord then ordered.
As a result of his offenses to the gopis of Vraja by taking Krsna , Akrura also had to experience many years of separation from Krsna, and to live in Kasi among Krsna’s enemies. As many years as Baladeva stayed in Mithila, Akrura stayed in Kasi. Hearing how he was giving charity to many brahmanas and doing sacrifices on an altar of gold, people began to gossip that Krsna had Akrura sent to Kasi. Though Balarama, Rukmini and others did not believe the rumors, in order to clear his name, Krsna created many calamities in Dvaraka in order to bring Akrura back. After stating the munis' proposition that Dvaraka was suffering due to the influence of time mentioned in verse 30 it is defeated in verse 31. Some (eke) such as vaisampayana muni, forgetting their previous words (prag udahrtam) in praise of Krsna, began to speak. However, if a muni residing in a village prevents calamity, what calamity to happen in the abode of Krsna who is the shelter of all munis (muni vasa)?
Some like Vaiśampāyana, forgetting what they had previously said in praise of the Lord, not remembering this, attributed the calamities to Akrūra’s absence. How could calamities happen in the continual residence of the Lord (nivāse), who gives shelter (vāsa) to all sages? Even if one sage lived there, such calamities could not happen. Even one calamity should not happen, what to speak of many varieties. It should be understood that this was the will of the Lord. He produced these calamities in order to provide a pretext for bringing back Akrūra.
- Where do you forget what you yourself have often described about Kṛṣṇa's protection?
- How do you re-anchor in basic theology when distressed?
Some Dvārakā elders blame Akrūra's absence — and the Bhāgavata, in Śuka's voice, gently calls this a forgetting. They have praised Kṛṣṇa Himself as the residence of all sages and now look elsewhere for the cause of calamity. Gauḍīyas read this as the chronic forgetfulness even of associates: bhakti not held tight returns to looking past Bhagavān.
My note
Source: vedabase.io