Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.60.12
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bibhyataḥ
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afraid
Genitive participle of √bhī. The Fearless One (cf. Abhayaṁ in Gītā 16.1) claims fear — the impossible attribution is the heart of the tease. Gauḍīyas read this as pralambha-līlā: Bhagavān adopts contrary appearance to draw out the devotee's bhāva.
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śaraṇam
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for shelter
From √śri. Śaraṇa — the standard term for taking refuge in the Lord. He uses the bhakti-verb against Himself: 'We took refuge,' as if a refugee, when in truth He IS the refuge of all who take śaraṇa.
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samudram
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to the ocean
The ocean is also where Viṣṇu lies on Śeṣa (kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu). His 'fleeing to the ocean' is a sly self-reference — the cosmic posture told as a refugee's choice.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments on this verse as follows: “The Lord’s mentality here can be understood as follows: ‘When I gave Rukmiṇī a single flower from the heavenly pārijāta tree, Satyabhāmā showed such a torrent of fury that I could not pacify her even by bowing down at her feet. Only when I gave her a whole pārijāta tree was she satisfied. Rukmiṇī, however, did not display any anger even when she saw Me give Satyabhāmā the whole tree. So how can I enjoy the nectar of angry words from this wife, who never feels jealousy, who is supremely sober and who always speaks pleasingly?’ Thus considering, the Supreme Lord decided, ‘If I speak like this to her, I will be able to provoke her anger.’ This is how some authorities explain Kṛṣṇa’s speech to Rukmiṇī.” According to the ācārya, here the words balavadbhiḥ kṛta-dveṣān prāyaḥ indicate that Lord Kṛṣṇa opposed almost all the contemporary kings during His incarnation, befriending only a few, such as the Pāṇḍavas and loyal members of His dynasty. Of course, as stated in the beginning of the Tenth Canto, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared specifically because the earth was overburdened by innumerable bogus kings and He wanted to remove this burden. Finally Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that the word tyakta-nṛpāsanān, “giving up the king’s throne,” indicates that after Lord Kṛṣṇa killed Kaṁsa He humbly gave the royal throne to His grandfather Ugrasena, although the Lord Himself was entitled to it.
By seeing the Lord’s statements later on, one can understand his thinking at this moment. "When I gave Rukmini one parijata flower, Satyambhama became full of anger and pride, so much so that I was unable to pacify her even by falling at her feet. Only when I brought a whole tree and gave it to her was she satisfied. However, though Rukmini saw me give her a whole tree, she showed no anger. How will I be able to taste the sweetness of her anger, when anger is not possible in her, being always sober and speaking sweet words? By these words I will make her angry." According to some this was the thinking in Krsna’s mind. Others explain it that Krsna spoke as he did with a desire to see how his beloved would act if he pulled out the root of the tree of prema. "You think that you are very intelligent. Though you are endowed with all good qualities, you are ignorant of your own welfare. Therefore you are not intelligent. Why do I say this? Just listen. (He then speaks eleven verses.) O princess, you are the daughter of a king and I am a penniless son of Vasudeva. Why did you accept me (nah plural) as your husband? You cannot say that you accepted me because there was no alternative, for many kings wanted you as their wife. Nor can you say that those kings were inferior in wealth, beauty and qualities to me, for they were endowed with wealth, power, beauty and courage like the lokapalas. They were not devoid of wealth and enjoyment like Rantideva and others. You cannot say that they were far away. They came to your place to request you (praptan). Nor can you say that your relatives were opposed, for your brother and father wanted to give you them. And you also failed to notice my cowardly nature, a great fault in one born as a ksatriya. I fled from the kings out of fear and now live in the ocean. You cannot say that though I showed fear, I have proper conduct, for I made enemies with many strong forces, having only a few friends like Arjuna. Being a Yadava, it was not proper for me to be a king just by killing Kamsa, rather than by being born as a Yadava, and therefore I gave the throne to Ugrasena."
He explains why he is not their equal. I have created difficulties for myself because of my incompetence. I have become enemies with many power men because I stole you. And they are kings but I am not. I have almost given up the throne. I temporarily accepted to be the king and Ugrasena and others accepted because I used force. O Rukmiṇī with beautiful brows! Hearing his words she frowned. By saying this he intended to scold her as well as praise her. He uses this technique later also.
I am not suitable as your husband since I have faults like fear. Out of fear of kings I have taken shelter of the ocean. “Why be afraid of the kings?” I have made enemies of powerful kings. “But you are also strong.” I have given up the throne because I have no kingdom and no army. Or I am without the accoutrements of a king. Or a princess should marry a prince. I am not suitable since I have given up the throne. This is general, since sometimes I accept the accoutrements of a king. The word general should be applied to whole statement. O beautiful woman (subhru)! You have beauty. Why consider this marriage at all?
- Where do you take Kṛṣṇa's apparent vulnerabilities literally when He is teasing?
- How does playful lover-language belong in serious devotion?
A king who once moved His capital from one fortress to another to avoid pointless slaughter — and did so coolly, on His own terms — later tells his beloved, 'You see, We ran away in fear.' She knows He did not; the joke is that He says it. Dvārakā is the strategic move, not the cowering one.
In SB 10.50, after Jarāsandha's seventeenth assault on Mathurā, Kṛṣṇa builds Dvārakā in the western sea by Viśvakarmā's hand and transports the entire city of Mathurā there overnight. The move is presented as kṛpā — sparing His subjects further siege — not flight.
In the present verse He retells that strategic withdrawal as if it were terror: 'afraid of these kings, We took shelter in the ocean.' The pralambha (teasing) lies precisely in the gap between what happened and how He narrates it.
My note
Source: vedabase.io