SB 10.75.39 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.75.39

स व्रीडितोऽवाग‍्वदनो रुषा ज्वलन् निष्क्रम्य तूष्णीं प्रययौ गजाह्वयम् । हाहेति शब्द: सुमहानभूत् सता- मजातशत्रुर्विमना इवाभवत् । बभूव तूष्णीं भगवान् भुवो भरं समुज्जिहीर्षुर्भ्रमति स्म यद् द‍ृशा ॥ ३९ ॥

sa vrīḍito ’vag-vadano ruṣā jvalan

[sa vreedito ’vag-vadano rushaa jvalan]

niṣkramya tūṣṇīṁ prayayau gajāhvayam

[nishkramya tooshneem prayayau gajaahvayam]

hā-heti śabdaḥ su-mahān abhūt satām

[haa-heti shabdah su-mahaan abhoot sataam]

ajāta-śatrur vimanā ivābhavat

[ajaata-shatrur vimanaa ivaabhavat]

babhūva tūṣṇīṁ bhagavān bhuvo bharaṁ

[babhoova tooshneem bhagavaan bhuvo bharam]

samujjihīrṣur bhramati sma yad-dṛśā

[samujjiheershur bhramati sma yad-drishaa]

Word-for-word

saḥ — he, Duryodhana vrīḍitaḥ — embarrassed avāk — held down vadanaḥ — whose face ruṣā — with anger jvalan — burning niṣkramya — exiting tūṣṇīm — silently prayayau — he went off gaja - āhvayam — to Hastināpura hā - hā iti — “alas, alas” śabdaḥ — the sound su - mahān — very great abhūt — arose satām — from the saintly persons ajāta - śatruḥ — King Yudhiṣṭhira vimanāḥ — depressed iva — somewhat abhavat — became babhūva — was tūṣṇīm — silent bhagavān — the Supreme Lord bhuvaḥ — of the earth bharam — the burden samujjihīrṣuḥ — wanting to remove bhramati sma — (Duryodhana) became deluded yat — whose dṛśā — by the glance .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

sa vrīḍito ’vag-vadano ruṣā jvalan

saḥ

he, Duryodhana

vrīḍitaḥ

embarrassed

niṣkramya tūṣṇīṁ prayayau gajāhvayam

hā-heti śabdaḥ su-mahān abhūt satām

ajāta-śatrur vimanā ivābhavat

avāk

held down

babhūva tūṣṇīṁ bhagavān bhuvo bharaṁ

vadanaḥ

whose face

ruṣā

with anger

jvalan

burning

niṣkramya

exiting

tūṣṇīm

silently

prayayau

he went off

gaja - āhvayam

to Hastināpura

hā - hā iti

“alas, alas”

samujjihīrṣur bhramati sma yad-dṛśā

śabdaḥ

the sound

su - mahān

very great

abhūt

arose

satām

from the saintly persons

ajāta - śatruḥ

King Yudhiṣṭhira

vimanāḥ

depressed

iva

somewhat

abhavat

became

babhūva

was

tūṣṇīm

silent

bhagavān

the Supreme Lord

bhuvaḥ

of the earth

bharam

the burden

samujjihīrṣuḥ

wanting to remove

bhramati sma

(Duryodhana) became deluded

yat

whose

dṛśā

by the glance .

Important Words

vrīḍitaḥ — embarrassed
Past participle of √vrīḍ. The word also names the chaste shyness of devotees (sa-vrīḍa-hāsa, verse 16). The same emotion in two hearts: bhakta-vrīḍā ornaments; envy's vrīḍā burns. Substance equal, direction opposite.
ruṣā-jvalan — burning with anger
Phrase: ruṣā (with anger) + jvalan (burning, pres. part. of √jval). Atapyat in verse 31 was a smolder; here it is open flame. The chapter has tracked his heat from spark to fire.
gaja-āhvayam — to Hastināpura
Compound: gaja (elephant) + āhvaya (named). 'Elephant-named city' — Hastināpura. He returns to his own kingdom carrying the war's seed home.
bhagavān — the Supreme Lord
Named again at the verse's end. Gauḍīyas note: every time Kṛṣṇa is called Bhagavān in this chapter, the chapter is asking us to remember WHO has just allowed what.
dṛśā — with His glance
Instrumental of dṛś (sight, glance). The Lord's glance is the active agent of the bewilderment. Asura-māyā built the hall; Bhagavān's glance let it operate. Gauḍīya reading: Maya's craft is real, but Kṛṣṇa's anumati is the deeper cause.
bhuvaḥ-bharam-samujjihīrṣuḥ — desiring to remove the burden of the earth
Phrase: bhuvaḥ (of the earth, gen.) + bharam (burden) + samujjihīrṣuḥ (desiring to lift up well, desid. of sam-ud-√hṛ). The verse states the cosmic motive openly. The Bhāgavatam refuses to apologize for the Lord's silence: His silence serves a larger lifting.
tūṣṇīm — silent
Adverb. Used twice in this verse — Duryodhana leaves silently; Bhagavān remains silent. Two silences mirror each other. One is humiliation's; the other is providence's.

Humiliated and burning with anger, Duryodhana turned his face down, left without uttering a word and went back to Hastināpura. The saintly persons present loudly cried out, “Alas, alas!” and King Yudhiṣṭhira was somewhat saddened. But the Supreme Lord, whose mere glance had bewildered Duryodhana, remained silent, for His intention was to remove the burden of the earth.

Purport

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “When Duryodhana left in such an angry mood, everyone regretted the incident, and King Yudhiṣṭhira also became very sorry. But despite all occurrences, Kṛṣṇa was silent. He did not say anything against or in favor of the incident. It appeared that Duryodhana had been put into illusion by the supreme will of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and this was the beginning of the enmity between the two sects of the Kuru dynasty. This appeared to be a part of Kṛṣṇa’s plan in His mission to decrease the burden of the world.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Humiliated and burning with anger, Duryodhana turned his face down, left without uttering a word and went back to Hastināpura. The saintly persons present loudly cried out, "Alas, alas !" and King Yudhiṣṭhira was somewhat saddened. But the Supreme Lord, whose mere glance had bewildered Duryodhana, remained silent, for His intention was to remove the burden of the earth.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Duryodhana left the assembly in silence because he was ashamed. Because of his shame, he hung his head. He was also angry. He returned to Hastināpura with pomp (pra-yayau), with Yudhiṣṭhira’s servants, or quickly, being consoled by his brothers People cried out because they worried about some mischief, since Duryodhana was most evil. Yudhiṣṭhira, being without an enemy, was somewhat (iva) saddened because of his natural compassion. The Lord who appeared to show unlimited powers to spread bhakti, by destroying the demons and protecting the righteous, directly the supreme (bhagavān), was silent because his desire was fulfilled: removing the burden of the earth. Or the Lord, omniscient (bhagavān), knowing the seed of suffering for the Pāṇḍavas, remained silent, because he desired to remove the burned of the earth. Or the Lord, possessing all powers (bhagavān), able to bewilder Duryodhana by his glance, remained silent. The maker of the hall Maya did not have the power of such bewilderment on his own.

Related values & verses

Related values

Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)

Personal Guidance

Humiliated, Duryodhana left silently and went to Hastināpura. Saints lamented, Yudhiṣṭhira was saddened, Kṛṣṇa stayed silent — His plan to remove earth's burden was in motion. Some humiliations are seeds the Lord lets sprout.

Reflection Questions

What humiliation in my past was the seed of a larger arc I didn't see at the time?
Where am I asked to trust the Lord's silence over my discomfort?

Analogy

Duryodhana leaves silent and burning; the saintly cry 'hā hā'; Yudhiṣṭhira is heartsick; Kṛṣṇa says nothing — and Kṛṣṇa's silence is the loudest sound in the chapter. The Lord whose mere glance had bewildered Duryodhana now lets him go, because the earth's burden is going with him.

Stories

Bhū-devī's complaint

The frame of the entire Kṛṣṇa-avatāra (SB 10.1.17–22) is Bhū-devī's complaint: the earth groans under arrogant kṣatriyas. Kṛṣṇa descends bhuvaḥ bharam samujjihīrṣuḥ — desiring to lift the earth's burden.

Verse 39 names this directly. Duryodhana's silent rage is not a defeat for Kṛṣṇa — it is the agency by which the war that thins the kṣatra burden becomes inevitable. The chapter ends with the Lord's silent gaze; that gaze is the Mahābhārata war already underway.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io