FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.65.30

ततो व्यमुञ्चद् यमुनां याचितो भगवान् बल: । विजगाह जलं स्‍त्रीभि: करेणुभिरिवेभराट् ॥ ३० ॥
tato vyamuñcad yamunāṁ
[tato vyamunchad yamunaam]
yācito bhagavān balaḥ
[yaachito bhagavaan balah]
vijagāha jalaṁ strībhiḥ
[vijagaaha jalam streebhih]
kareṇubhir ivebha-rāṭ
[karenubhir ivebha-raat]
tataḥ — then vyamuñcat — released yamunām — the Yamunā yācitaḥ — begged bhagavān — the Supreme Lord balaḥ — Balarāma vijagāha — He submerged Himself jalam — in the water strībhiḥ — with the women kareṇubhiḥ — with his she-elephants iva — as ibha — of elephants rāṭ — the king .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tato vyamuñcad yamunāṁ
tataḥ
then
vyamuñcat
released
yamunām
the Yamunā
yācito bhagavān balaḥ
yācitaḥ
begged
bhagavān
the Supreme Lord
balaḥ
Balarāma
vijagāha jalaṁ strībhiḥ
vijagāha
He submerged Himself
jalam
in the water
strībhiḥ
with the women
kareṇubhir ivebha-rāṭ
kareṇubhiḥ
with his she-elephants
iva
as
ibha
of elephants
rāṭ
the king .
  • vyamuñcat — released
    Imperfect of vi-√muc (to release, liberate). Same root that names mokṣa. Bhagavān releases Yamunā — Gauḍīyas note that this very verb supplies the doctrinal vocabulary for liberation in general.
  • yācitaḥ — begged
    Past participle of √yāc (to beg). Bhagavān responds to begging. Gauḍīya doctrine: yācana — the prayer of need — is itself a form of bhakti; Bhagavān is structurally responsive to it.
  • vijagāha — He submerged Himself
    Perfect of vi-√gāh (to plunge into). The same Yamunā that He had just threatened He now enters — and the river holds Him. Gauḍīyas read this as the model for guru-correction: the corrected becomes the host.
  • strībhiḥ — with the women
    Instrumental plural of strī. The gopīs accompany Him into the water — jala-keli, water-play, is a stock līlā in mādhurya literature. Rūpa Gosvāmī treats jala-vihāra as one of the canonical līlā-categories.
  • ibha — of elephants
    Elephant. Same simile-frame as v. 21 (kareṇu-yūtha) — the Bhāgavatam keeps returning to the gaja imagery for Balarāma's slow, massive grace among the gopīs.
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Thereupon Lord Balarāma released the Yamunā and, like the king of the elephants with his entourage of she-elephants, entered the river’s water with His female companions.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Thereupon Lord Balarāma released the Yamunā and, like the king of the elephants with his entourage of she-elephants, entered the river's water with His female companions.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He then released her while consoling her (vy—amuñcat). Śāntiṁ vraja mahābhāge gamyatāṁ ca yathāsukham: O fortunate one, go peacefully as you please. (Hari-vaṁśa) It also implies he had pulled her quite far when freeing her. Vṛndāvanasya madhye tu sā nītā yamunā-nādī: he brought the Yamunā to the middle of Vṛndāvana. (Hari-vaṁśa) Viṣṇu Purāṇa says: sākṛṣṭā sahasā tena mārgaṁ saṁtyajya nimnagā / yatrāste balabhadro 'sau plāvayām āsa tadvanam // He pulled the river suddenly from its path. The river now flows in Vṛndāvana where he made it flow. Balarāma then entered that portion of the river which he had pulled close.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
Balarāma releases the Yamunā as a kindly king. The Lord's discipline is always temporary — it lasts only as long as it takes to teach. He does not hold grudges.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I hold onto a grudge that God Himself has already released?
  • What forgiveness am I withholding that God has already extended?

Once the offender has fallen and prayed and trembled, the king does what the king always meant to do — he goes in the water, the river now still, and plays. Discipline in Vraja exists in order that play may resume. The plow's anger was a brief footnote inside a long afternoon of līlā.

📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 65