Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.74.31
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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duratyayaḥ
—
unavoidable
Dur (difficult) + ati + √i (to cross over) — that which cannot be transgressed. A śruti-word for kāla; ironically Śiśupāla is about to demonstrate exactly how unavoidable kāla is — for himself.
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satya - vatī
—
truthful
Satya + suffix -vat — 'truth-possessing' (feminine, agreeing with śruti). Śiśupāla cites śruti as 'satyavatī' — but the truth that śruti is voicing here will fall on his own head. The Bhāgavatam's irony is exact.
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srutiḥ
—
the revealed statement of the Vedas
From √śru (to hear). Śiśupāla appeals to śruti to refute Sahadeva. Gauḍīyas note: nothing prevents an adharmika from quoting śruti; the demons in the Bhāgavatam regularly do. What's missing is the heart that surrenders to what is heard.
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bāla
—
of a boy
From √bāl. Śiśupāla weaponises 'boy' against Sahadeva twice (verses 31, 32). Gauḍīyas note the inversion — in Vraja, bāla is Kṛṣṇa's most loved epithet. Śiśupāla uses as insult what the gopīs use as endearment.
Here was the intention of Sisupala in speaking after the worship was over instead of speaking before the worship. "If I object before the worship and supply many reasons why Krsna is inelegilbe for the worship, I certainly cannot be defeated in argument. The assembly, hearing my points, will then not worship Krsna and select someone else for the worship who is qualified. Then the sacrifice will proceed properly. But I want to stop the sacrifice. So I will remain silent now, After he is worshipped I will establish his lack of qualification. It is said that if one worships who is not qualified then it is a violation for the worshipped person. Where there is such violation then all auspiciousness is prevented. This is the statement of scripture. I will then announce that the sacrifice of Yudhisthira is destroyed. Departing with my associates, many kings, learned brahmanas, and his relatives like Duryodhana, and laughing, my desire will be fulfilled."
To conciliate the assembly he first spoke in order to give his own interpretation to Sahadeva’s words and in order to scold. Time is capable of doing the impossible (īśaḥ) and it is not possible to avoid (duratyayaḥ). The Vedas or tradition speaks the truth. Why? Something astonishing has happened. Because of time, the intelligence of elders has been diverted by a child’s words.
- Where do I let cynicism dismiss spiritual recognition I quietly feel?
- What would it cost to side openly with the 'child's' clear seeing?
When a child taps a temple bell at the wrong hour, the priests still wince. Śiśupāla calls Sahadeva 'mere boy' and the Vedic word kāla — to deflect from the truth Sahadeva has just spoken. He weaponises śruti against itself.
My note
Source: vedabase.io