SB 10.63.48 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.63.48

दर्पोपशमनायास्य प्रवृक्णा बाहवो मया । सूदितं च बलं भूरि यच्च भारायितं भुव: ॥ ४८ ॥

darpopaśamanāyāsya

[darpopashamanaayaasya]

pravṛkṇā bāhavo mayā

[pravriknaa baahavo mayaa]

sūditaṁ ca balaṁ bhūri

[sooditam cha balam bhoori]

yac ca bhārāyitaṁ bhuvaḥ

[yach cha bhaaraayitam bhuvah]

Word-for-word

darpa — the false pride upaśamanāya — for subduing asya — his pravṛkṇāḥ — severed bāhavaḥ — arms mayā — by Me sūditam — slain ca — and balam — the military force bhūri — huge yat — which ca — and bhārāyitam — having become a burden bhuvaḥ — for the earth .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

darpopaśamanāyāsya

darpa

the false pride

upaśamanāya

for subduing

asya

his

pravṛkṇā bāhavo mayā

pravṛkṇāḥ

severed

bāhavaḥ

arms

mayā

by Me

sūditaṁ ca balaṁ bhūri

sūditam

slain

and

balam

the military force

bhūri

huge

yac ca bhārāyitaṁ bhuvaḥ

yat

which

and

bhārāyitam

having become a burden

bhuvaḥ

for the earth .

Important Words

darpa-upaśamanāya — for the subduing of pride
Compound: darpa (pride) + upaśamana (subduing, calming). Bhagavān's cakra-action on Bāṇa's arms is named here as darpa-upaśamana — therapeutic, not retributive. Gauḍīyas read this as the proper Vaiṣṇava reading of every chastisement: it cools darpa.
bāhavaḥ — the arms were cut
Past participle of pra-√vṛj (to lop, cut off). Bāṇa's many arms — symbols of inflated agency — are pruned. Gauḍīyas note the symbolism: the asura's bāhu-bala (arm-strength, i.e. self-effort apart from Bhagavān) is what bhakti specifically chops back.
bhārāyitam — having become a burden
Denominative past participle from bhāra (burden) — 'made into a burden'. Bāṇa's army had grown into a bhāra. Kṛṣṇa repeats the avatāra-rationale from v. 27. Gauḍīyas read this consistency as the chapter's interior auditing: Kṛṣṇa and the Śiva-jvara agree on the descent's purpose.
sūditam — destroyed
Past participle of √sūd (to put to death). Kṛṣṇa uses sūdita of the army, not of Bāṇa himself — the verb's distribution preserves the chapter's grammar of mercy. Army: sūdita. Bāṇa: pravṛkṇa-arms-only.

It was to subdue Bāṇāsura’s false pride that I severed his arms. And I slew his mighty army because it had become a burden upon the earth.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

It was to subdue Bāṇāsura's false pride that I severed his arms. And I slew his mighty army because it had become a burden upon the earth.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

He was proud that you gave him a thousand arms. To take away that pride quickly I cut off those arms. I slaughtered his army (balam).

Related values & verses

Related values

Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)

Concepts

Jiva

Personal Guidance

Kṛṣṇa explains He cut off Bāṇa's arms to subdue false pride and slew his army because it had become a burden upon the earth. Divine action is precise, never gratuitous — it addresses a specific spiritual disease.

Reflection Questions

What 'arms' of mine might Kṛṣṇa be aiming to prune to subdue my false pride?
Where is my activity quietly becoming a burden rather than a service?

Analogy

A surgeon explains, after the operation, why each cut was necessary: 'Your arms were severed to reduce pride; your army was destroyed to lift the earth's burden.' Kṛṣṇa's pruning is purposive — every chinned limb has its diagnostic name.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io