FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.67.24

स बाहू तालसङ्काशौ मुष्टीकृत्य कपीश्वर: । आसाद्य रोहिणीपुत्रं ताभ्यां वक्षस्यरूरुजत् ॥ २४ ॥
sa bāhū tāla-saṅkāśau
[sa baahoo taala-sankaashau]
muṣṭī-kṛtya kapīśvaraḥ
[mushtee-kritya kapeeshvarah]
āsādya rohiṇī-putraṁ
[aasaadya rohinee-putram]
tābhyāṁ vakṣasy arūrujat
[taabhyaam vakshasy aroorujat]
Word-for-word
saḥ — he bāhū — both his arms tāla — palm trees saṅkāśau — as big as muṣṭī — into fists kṛtya — making kapi — of apes īśvaraḥ — the most powerful āsādya — confronting rohiṇī - putram — the son of Rohiṇī, Balarāma tābhyām — with them vakṣasi — upon His chest arūrujat — he beat .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa bāhū tāla-saṅkāśau
saḥ
he
bāhū
both his arms
tāla
palm trees
saṅkāśau
as big as
muṣṭī-kṛtya kapīśvaraḥ
muṣṭī
into fists
kṛtya
making
kapi
of apes
īśvaraḥ
the most powerful
āsādya rohiṇī-putraṁ
āsādya
confronting
rohiṇī - putram
the son of Rohiṇī, Balarāma
tābhyāṁ vakṣasy arūrujat
tābhyām
with them
vakṣasi
upon His chest
arūrujat
he beat .
Important Words
  • tāla-saṅkāśau — resembling palm trees
    Compound: tāla (palm tree) + saṅkāśa (resembling). The same trees the demon was uprooting now serve as simile for his own arms — body and weapon collapse into one. Maximum śarīra-bala.
  • muṣṭī-kṛtya — making fists
    Muṣṭi (fist) + kṛtya (making). Asuric clenching. The hand that should be open in añjali (joined palms before the Lord) is closed against Him. Mudrās invert in asura-bhāva.
  • kapi-īśvaraḥ — the lord of apes
    Compound: kapi (ape) + īśvara (lord). A paradoxical title: lord of beasts. SB uses it just before Bhagavān strikes, to make the asymmetry vivid — kapi-īśvara meets Yādava-indra.
  • rohiṇī-putram — the son of Rohiṇī
    Compound: Rohiṇī + putra. Balarāma's matronymic — Rohiṇī is His birth-mother (Devakī's transferred-embryo līlā in SB 10.2). Even at the moment of striking, the verse names Him by intimate, family designation.
  • vakṣasi-arūrujat — beat upon (His) chest
    Locative vakṣas (chest) + imperfect of ā- + √ruj (to crush, break). The śrīvatsa-bearing chest is what the asura strikes. SB will avenge precisely this in the next verse — the chest-blow is the trigger for the bare-hand reply.
Dvivida, the most powerful of apes, now clenched his fists at the end of his palm-tree-sized arms, came before Lord Balarāma and beat his fists against the Lord’s body.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Dvivida, the most powerful of apes, now clenched his fists at the end of his palm-tree-sized arms, came before Lord Balarāma and beat his fists against the Lord's body.
Commentary

Making fists (musti krya) he beat (arurujat) Balarama.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

When he ran out of stones he attacked with his fists. Śukadeva, remembering Rohiṇī’s love for him, calls Balarāma the son of Rohiṇī.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

When the stones were exhausted, he clenched his fists, on his arms which were like tāla trees. This indicates his fists were strong and heavy since he was the best of the apes. He approached the son of Rohiṇī. Śukadeva, with great bhakti, laments Dvivida’s action. He should not have attacked the son of Rohiṇī. Or just as Kṛṣṇa was born to Devakī to show his strength, Balarāma was born to Rohiṇī to show strength. He possessed all powers.

Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Bhakti (Devotion)Vinaya (Humility / Modesty)Prema (Divine Love)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)
Related verses
BG 17.14 BG 4.34 BG 2.62 BG 3.11 BG 12.3 BG 7.8 BG 6.1 BG 16.4 BG 18.55 BG 6.13
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Dvivida clenches his fists and rushes in for direct combat. When weapons fail, the wicked turn to raw self — but raw self against God is the smallest match of all.
Reflection Questions
  • When my strategies fail, do I surrender or double down with sheer ego?
  • What in me is still convinced it can outmatch God by trying harder?
Analogy

Arms like palm-trees, fists balled, the demon comes in finally with his own body — every implement gone, only bāhu left. There is something honest in this last attack: the asura has been reduced to himself. And against the Lord, the self alone is not enough.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 67