FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.61.37

कलिङ्गराजं तरसा गृहीत्वा दशमे पदे । दन्तानपातयत् क्रुद्धो योऽहसद् विवृतैर्द्विजै: ॥ ३७ ॥
kaliṅga-rājaṁ tarasā
[kalinga-raajam tarasaa]
gṛhītvā daśame pade
[griheetvaa dashame pade]
dantān apātayat kruddho
[dantaan apaatayat kruddho]
yo ’hasad vivṛtair dvijaiḥ
[yo ’hasad vivritair dvijaih]
kaliṅga - rājam — the King of Kaliṅga tarasā — quickly gṛhītvā — seizing daśame — on his tenth pade — step (as he tried to run away) dantān — his teeth apātayat — He knocked out kruddhaḥ — angry yaḥ — who ahasat — laughed vivṛtaiḥ — with openly displayed dvijaiḥ — teeth .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kaliṅga-rājaṁ tarasā
kaliṅga - rājam
the King of Kaliṅga
tarasā
quickly
gṛhītvā daśame pade
gṛhītvā
seizing
daśame
on his tenth
pade
step (as he tried to run away)
dantān apātayat kruddho
dantān
his teeth
apātayat
He knocked out
kruddhaḥ
angry
yaḥ
who
ahasat
laughed
yo ’hasad vivṛtair dvijaiḥ
vivṛtaiḥ
with openly displayed
dvijaiḥ
teeth .
  • tarasā — quickly
    Instrumental of taras, 'swiftness, force.' Bhāgavata-Sanskrit's word for the speed of righteous action — used elsewhere for Hanumān's leaps, Garuḍa's flight.
  • daśame-pade — on his tenth step
    daśama (tenth) + pada (step). The number ten resonates: ten sons per queen (verse 1), ten avatāras of Viṣṇu, and now ten steps before retribution. Sanskrit narrators use such number-echoes structurally.
  • dantān — his teeth
    Plural of danta. The same teeth he had shown in verse 29 (dantān sandarśayan). Bhāgavata-narrative closes its loops: the laughing teeth become the broken teeth, one syllable repaying the other.
  • vivṛtaiḥ — with openly displayed
    Past participle of vi + √vṛ, 'to uncover.' Names the rude exposure of the teeth in laughter — vivṛta-danta-darśana is a classical breach of decorum. Balarāma's response is precisely fitted to the offence.
The King of Kaliṅga, who had laughed at Lord Balarāma and shown his teeth, tried to run away, but the furious Lord quickly seized him on his tenth step and knocked out all his teeth.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The King of Kaliṅga, who had laughed at Lord Balarāma and shown his teeth, tried to run away, but the furious Lord quickly seized him on his tenth step and knocked out all his teeth.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The king of Kaliṅga fled in fear ten steps but Balarāma, because of his anger, knocked his teeth out since they king had laughed showing his teeth. “This wicked person desires great suffering for me. Why should I not fulfill his desire?” He then fulfilled the king’s desire by knocking out his teeth.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Prema (Divine Love)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
Balarāma chased the fleeing King of Kaliṅga and knocked out the very teeth he had bared in mockery. The faculties we misuse to insult the Lord are often the ones reclaimed first.
Reflection Questions
  • Which of my faculties — speech, sight, hands — am I using to mock rather than to serve?
  • What gift might I lose by misusing it, and how can I redirect it toward devotion today?

Like a man counting his own teeth on the run — one, two, three — the Kaliṅga king reaches step ten and finds Balarāma's hand already on his jaw, the teeth he showed in laughter (verse 29) now spilling onto Bhojakaṭa's floor.

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