FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.66.20

त्याजयिष्येऽभिधानं मे यत्त्वयाज्ञ मृषा धृतम् । व्रजामि शरनं तेऽद्य यदि नेच्छामि संयुगम् ॥ २० ॥
tyājayiṣye ’bhidhānaṁ me
[tyaajayishye ’bhidhaanam me]
yat tvayājña mṛṣā dhṛtam
[yat tvayaajna mrishaa dhritam]
vrajāmi śaranaṁ te ’dya
[vrajaami sharanam te ’dya]
yadi necchāmi saṁyugam
[yadi nechchaami samyugam]
tyājayiṣye — I will make (you) renounce abhidhānam — designation me — My yat — which tvayā — by you ajña — O fool mṛṣā — falsely dhṛtam — assumed vrajāmi — I will go śaraṇam — to the shelter te — your adya — today yadi — if na icchāmi — I do not desire saṁyugam — battle .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tyājayiṣye ’bhidhānaṁ me
tyājayiṣye
I will make (you) renounce
abhidhānam
designation
me
My
yat tvayājña mṛṣā dhṛtam
yat
which
tvayā
by you
ajña
O fool
mṛṣā
falsely
dhṛtam
assumed
vrajāmi śaranaṁ te ’dya
vrajāmi
I will go
śaraṇam
to the shelter
te
your
yadi necchāmi saṁyugam
adya
today
yadi
if
na icchāmi
I do not desire
saṁyugam
battle .
  • tyājayiṣye — I will make (you) renounce
    Future causative of √tyaj. Echoes Pauṇḍroaka's tyaja (verse 5: 'give up Your false name'). The grammar is precise — Pauṇḍraka said an imperative; Kṛṣṇa replies in the causative future, 'I will make you give up' — the chapter's central reversal compressed into a single verbal form.
  • abhidhānam — designation
    From abhi-√dhā (to name). The word for a proper name and, in Gauḍīya theology, the second of the three Vedānta categories (sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana — abhidheya = the practice of bhakti). The very vocabulary of the tradition resurfaces in the duel — and on Bhagavān's tongue.
  • mṛṣā — falsely
    Adverb. Picks up mithyā of verse 5. Pauṇḍroaka had said Kṛṣṇa's name was mithyā-abhidhā; Kṛṣṇa now says Pauṇḍraka has assumed Kṛṣṇa's name mṛṣā. Two near-synonyms for falsehood, exchanged between accuser and accused — the diction of the chapter is itself the trial.
  • vrajāmi śaraṇam — I will go for shelter
    Phrase: vrajāmi (present of √vraj, to go) + śaraṇam (refuge, accusative). The exact Gītā 18.66 form (mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja). Kṛṣṇa uses śaraṇāgati-language sardonically: 'I will take śaraṇa of you' — only if I don't choose battle. The phrase is meant ironically; doctrinally it is the very thing no one but Kṛṣṇa can offer (śaraṇa goes to Him, not from Him).
  • saṁyugam — battle
    From sam-√yuj (to be yoked together). The 'yoking' of two warriors. Note the verbal echo with yoga — saṁyuga and yoga share a root. In Kṛṣṇa's mouth, even battle is yoga; it is yoking-with that ends in the deliverance the chapter eventually grants Pauṇḍraka.
O fool, now I shall make you renounce My name, which you have falsely assumed. And I will certainly take shelter of you if I do not wish to fight you.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes as follows: “Now, Pauṇḍraka, I shall force you to give up this false representation. You wanted Me to surrender unto you. Now this is your opportunity. We shall fight, and if I am defeated and you become victorious, I shall certainly surrender unto you.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O fool, now I shall make you renounce My name, which you have falsely assumed. And I will certainly take shelter of you if I do not wish to fight you.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

You told me to give up my false name. I will make you renounce your false name. Tyājya (give up) can have a causative meaning (make you give up). Thus Kṛṣṇa says that he is giving another meaning to Pauṇḍraka’s words. “You should act according the messenger’s words.” Yes, on seeing you today, I will surrender according to your words, if I do not fight. Instead of adya (today) sometimes ajña (fool) is seen. By this Kṛṣṇa mocks him.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Kṛṣṇa playfully echoes Pauṇḍraka's own challenge back to him: 'I will surrender to you if I lose.' The Lord meets us in our own language while gently exposing how empty it really was.
Reflection Questions
  • What demand have I made of God that I would be embarrassed to have repeated to me?
  • Where am I bargaining with reality rather than receiving it?

A king strips a thief of the borrowed crown and gives him the gallows in exchange — the throne the thief had asked for, in its true form. Kṛṣṇa's promise to make Pauṇḍraka renounce 'My name' will be kept on the battlefield, with steel for instructor.

📝 My note

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