SB 10.76.20 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.76.20

तदद्भुचतं महत् कर्म प्रद्युम्नस्य महात्मन: । द‍ृष्ट्वा तं पूजयामासु: सर्वे स्वपरसैनिका: ॥ २० ॥

tad adbhutaṁ mahat karma

[tad adbhutam mahat karma]

pradyumnasya mahātmanaḥ

[pradyumnasya mahaatmanah]

dṛṣṭvā taṁ pūjayām āsuḥ

[drishtvaa tam poojayaam aasuh]

sarve sva-para-sainikāḥ

[sarve sva-para-sainikaah]

Word-for-word

tat — that adbhutam — amazing mahat — mighty karma — feat pradyumnasya — of Pradyumna mahā - ātmanaḥ — the great personality dṛṣṭvā — seeing tam — Him pūjayām āsuḥ — honored sarve — all sva — of His own side para — and of the enemy side sainikāḥ — the soldiers .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

tad adbhutaṁ mahat karma

tat

that

adbhutam

amazing

mahat

mighty

karma

feat

pradyumnasya mahātmanaḥ

pradyumnasya

of Pradyumna

mahā - ātmanaḥ

the great personality

dṛṣṭvā taṁ pūjayām āsuḥ

dṛṣṭvā

seeing

tam

Him

pūjayām āsuḥ

honored

sarve sva-para-sainikāḥ

sarve

all

sva

of His own side

para

and of the enemy side

sainikāḥ

the soldiers .

Important Words

adbhutam — amazing
Vibhāva of adbhuta-rasa (wonder). The Bhāgavatam returns to adbhuta — the chapter's framing rasa, named again in verse 1 — to mark this as a līlā-moment, not a bare military datum.
karma — feat
Same word that names every Bhāgavata 'wonderful deed' of Bhagavān (cf. SB 10.14, karmāṇy adbhutāni). Pradyumna's karma is rated by the same yardstick because he is Kṛṣṇa's expansion.
mahā-ātmanaḥ — of the great personality
Contiguous join (mahā + ātmanaḥ). Mahātmā in Gītā 9.13 is the devotee under Kṛṣṇa's divine prakṛti. Pradyumna is mahātmā in the strict sense — a soul within Bhagavān's intimate retinue.
pūjayām āsuḥ — honored
Periphrastic perfect of √pūj. Pūjā is normally directed to the deity; here both armies pūjā the warrior. Gauḍīyas read this as a faint preview of the future when both 'sides' acknowledge Bhagavān.
sva-para-sainikāḥ — the soldiers of His own side and of the enemy
Contiguous join (sva + para + sainikāḥ). The Bhāgavatam compresses sva and para — own and other — into one phrase, and then dissolves the line by their shared awe. Rasa erases the dvandva for a moment.

When they saw the glorious Pradyumna perform that amazing and mighty feat, all the soldiers on both sides praised Him.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

When they saw the glorious Pradyumna perform that amazing and mighty feat, all the soldiers on both sides praised Him.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Seeing his extraordinary, most excellent (mahat) feat, they all praised him. However it was not amazing for him since he had unlimited śakti (mahātmanaḥ).

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Seeing his extraordinary, most excellent (mahat) feat, they all praised Pradyumna. Or it was most astonishing, since in a moment all the illusions were destroyed and since at the same time he shot down Śalva’s chariot drivers etc. However it was not amazing for him since he had unlimited śakti (mahātmanaḥ).

Related values & verses

Related values

Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Kartavya (Duty / Responsibility)Prema (Divine Love)

Concepts

Jiva

Personal Guidance

Soldiers on both sides praised Pradyumna's feat. Genuine excellence is acknowledged even by adversaries; we do not have to seek their applause, but it often comes anyway.

Reflection Questions

Whose excellence in opposition to me have I been unable to acknowledge?
What is the cost to me of withholding that recognition?

Analogy

Like a banquet at which even rival guests cannot help applauding the cook, the soldiers of both sides praise Pradyumna's feat — bhakti-prabhāva spills over the line dividing the armies. Even the asura's men have a moment of darśana.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io