Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.74.37
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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brahma - ṛṣi - sevitān
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lands graced by great brāhmaṇa sages
Compound: brahma-ṛṣi (brāhmaṇa-sage) + sevita (served, frequented). Śiśupāla means Mathurā and the Madhuvana belt that the Yādavas left to settle Dvārakā. Gauḍīyas: the move was strategic (Jarāsandha's attacks, SB 10.50); but Mathurā remains Kṛṣṇa's birthplace and Vraja remains His heart.
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samudram
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the ocean
From sam + udra (water) — 'thoroughly watery'. The setting of Dvārakā. The Bhāgavatam will later describe the city sinking into this same samudra (11.31), so the verse's geography is layered with foreshadowing.
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durgam
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a fortress
From dur (difficult) + √gam (to approach). Hard-to-reach. Dvārakā is durga in the technical sense — sea-fortified, accessible only by sanction. Śiśupāla means 'hiding-place'; the truth is 'sanctuary for those Jarāsandha hunted'.
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dasyavaḥ
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thieves
From √das (to spoil, to plunder). Vedic word for marauders. The accusation is exact in its slander and exactly inverted in fact — the Yādavas saved kingdoms from the actual dasyu Jarāsandha.
The words brahmarṣi-sevitān deśān (“holy lands inhabited by saintly sages”) allude to the district of Mathurā. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Śiśupāla went crazy because of Kṛṣṇa’s being elected the supreme, first worshiped person in that meeting, and he spoke so irresponsibly that it appeared that he had lost all his good fortune.”
These dacoit Yadavas without the luster of Brahman, have taken shelter of Dvaraka, a fort in the ocean and imprisoned the citizens there. The other meaning is : Leaving the land of Mathura, served by the brahmarsis, because it did not have protection, they took shelter of Dvaraka in the ocean which is effulgent with Brahman, with a fort, and they surpress the unlawful persons, such as Sisupala who have been born (ja) with great power ( pra).
The Yādavas have taken shelter in the sea, devoid of the Vedas and act like thieves, plundering all properties. The real meaning is as follows. Someone may say, “Taking shelter of the sea, they are like Rāvaṇa.” In response the verse says that Rāvaṇa and others, not having come from Manu’s line, are thieving descendants (dasyavaḥ prajāḥ). Giving up lands served by brahmarṣis, taking shelter of the sea, Rāvaṇa and his descendents stop actions of the brāhmaṇas or the Vedas (brahma-varcasam). But why would the Yādavas stop the actions? They protect such activities.
“By being attached to enjoyment, Yayati cursed Yadu though Yadu was without offense. But then he was given mercy by the Lord in the form of Dattatreya (the avadhūta brāhmaṇa instructs Yadu SB 11.7) and is most worthy of worship. His dynasty is similar.” To counteract this, he criticizes in another way. The Yadus gave up a holy place, Mathurā, most excellent because it was in the middle of Āryāvarta. They have taken shelter of a place devoid of the Vedas, the ocean. They loot life itself (dasyavaḥ).
- What apparent setback of mine has later turned into a deeper good?
- Where could I extend trust to changes I once labeled retreats?
A merchant defamed by a rival watches the rival point at his sea-fortress and call it a pirate's lair. Śiśupāla turns Dvārakā — built by Viśvakarmā at the Lord's word, refuge from Jarāsandha — into a thieves' den in his speech. The Bhāgavatam lets the slander stand un-rebutted, knowing the city's true description fills earlier cantos.
My note
Source: vedabase.io