FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.69.32

पुत्राणां दुहितृणां च काले विध्युपयापनम् । दारैर्वरैस्तत्सद‍ृशै: कल्पयन्तं विभूतिभि: ॥ ३२ ॥
putrāṇāṁ duhitṝṇāṁ ca
[putraanaam duhitreenaam cha]
kāle vidhy-upayāpanam
[kaale vidhy-upayaapanam]
dārair varais tat-sadṛśaiḥ
[daarair varais tat-sadrishaih]
kalpayantaṁ vibhūtibhiḥ
[kalpayantam vibhootibhih]
putrāṇām — of sons duhitṝṇām — of daughters ca — and kāle — at the suitable time vidhi — according to religious principles upayāpanam — getting them married dāraiḥ — with wives varaiḥ — and with husbands tat — for them sadṛśaiḥ — compatible kalpayantam — so arranging vibhūtibhiḥ — in terms of opulences .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
putrāṇāṁ duhitṝṇāṁ ca
putrāṇām
of sons
duhitṝṇām
of daughters
ca
and
kāle vidhy-upayāpanam
kāle
at the suitable time
vidhi
according to religious principles
upayāpanam
getting them married
dārair varais tat-sadṛśaiḥ
dāraiḥ
with wives
varaiḥ
and with husbands
tat
for them
sadṛśaiḥ
compatible
kalpayantaṁ vibhūtibhiḥ
kalpayantam
so arranging
vibhūtibhiḥ
in terms of opulences .
  • kalpayantam — arranging, ordaining
    Present participle of √kḷp (to arrange, make fit). The verb of orderly assembly. Kṛṣṇa kalpayati — He fits the suitable bride to the suitable bridegroom, exercising the cosmic ordering function on the domestic scale.
  • vidhi-upayāpanam — marriage according to scripture
    Compound: vidhi (rule, scripture) + upayāpana (causing to marry). Marriage is performed by śāstric rule, not by personal choice. Gauḍīyas: even Bhagavān's own children are married vidhi-pūrvakam, dignifying scripture above sentiment.
  • sadṛśaiḥ — compatible, suitable
    From sa + √dṛś (to look). Like-with-like. Marriages are matched for compatibility — kula, varṇa, guṇa. Kṛṣṇa as paterfamilias respects the same calculus śāstra prescribes for any householder.
  • vibhūtibhiḥ — with opulences, pomp
    Vibhūti — manifestation of glory. Compare BG 10's vibhūti-yoga: Kṛṣṇa's opulence is itself sevā when offered up in dharmic ceremony. The marriages are vibhūti-yukta — performed with grandeur, but the grandeur is offered, not displayed.
Nārada saw Lord Kṛṣṇa engaged in getting His sons and daughters married to suitable brides and bridegrooms at the appropriate time, and the marriage ceremonies were being performed with great pomp.

This translation is based on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kṛṣṇa. The word kāle here means that Kṛṣṇa arranged for His sons and daughters to be married when each of them reached the proper age.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Nārada saw Lord Kṛṣṇa engaged in getting His sons and daughters married to suitable brides and bridegrooms at the appropriate time, and the marriage ceremonies were being performed with great pomp.
Commentary

He got his sons and daughters married using many materials.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Two verses describe affairs in the family. He arranged brides of similar nature to his sons and similar grooms for his daughters and arranged for gifts along with the daughters’ marriages. In some houses he married his sons and in some houses he married his daughters.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Two verses describe affairs in the family. He arranged brides of similar nature for his sons and similar grooms for his daughters and arranged for gifts along with the daughters’ marriages. In some houses he married his sons and in some houses he married his daughters. Or he did this all in one house along with Balarāma. Though there was only one daughter in each house, the plural is used. This would indicate daughters of his sons and brother.

Concepts
Jiva
Kṛṣṇa arranged marriages for His children at the proper time, with great pomp. The Lord models attentive, joyful householder duty; timing and celebration are part of dharma.
Reflection Questions
  • What duty of mine has been waiting for the right time and the right celebration?
  • How can ordinary obligations be lifted into joyful occasion?

A father presiding over the betrothal of his children to suitable spouses — checking lineage, age, character, the auspicious muhūrta — is not a ceremonial figurehead; he is the chief architect of two new dharmic households. Kṛṣṇa, even at the head of the universe, takes that office seriously enough to do it Himself.

📝 My note

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