Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.8.34
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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adānta - ātman
—
O restless boy (uncontrolled self)
A (not) + dānta (subdued, from √dam) + ātman (self). Vocative. The same word that in Gītā 6.36 describes the uncontrolled mind. Yaśodā lovingly uses the contemplative vocabulary on her toddler — comic juxtaposition with rasa-density.
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mṛdam
—
dirt, earth
Accusative of mṛd. The substance of the universe Kṛṣṇa has supposedly eaten. The verse turns on the irony: the Lord who supports earth is accused of eating a clod. Earth-in-mouth foreshadows universe-in-mouth, three verses later.
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rahaḥ
—
in a solitary place
Locative-adverb of rahas. Same word as 10.8.10–11. The verse-trio of rahasi: secret saṁskāra, secret name-giving, and now secret dirt-eating. Vraja's deepest events all unfold in rahasi.
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tāvakāḥ
—
Your (friends and playmates)
From the pronoun tva — 'of you, yours'. Yaśodā stresses tava (yours): the accusers are Kṛṣṇa's own — His friends, His brother. The defense of 'they hate me' is foreclosed before it is offered.
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agrajaḥ
—
older brother
Agra (front) + ja (born) — 'born ahead'. Balarāma as the agraja gives the complaint extra weight. Vaiṣṇava: Balarāma is the original guru-tattva; when He confirms a charge, even Kṛṣṇa cannot easily deny.
Mother Yaśodā was agitated by Kṛṣṇa’s restless misbehavior. Her house was full of sweetmeats. Why then should the restless boy eat dirt in a solitary place? Kṛṣṇa replied, “My dear mother, they have plotted together and lodged a complaint against Me so that you will punish Me. My elder brother, Balarāma, has joined them. Actually, I have not done this. Take My words as true. Do not be angry and chastise Me.”
"O unsteady body, unsteady mind! Did you eat dirt? Did you not get sweets in my house? Not in my presence but stealthily (raha) you have done it. Your friends are saying this, so it cannot be false. You cannot that they are saying that as enemies, because they want me to beat you, because even Baladeva is saying this. He is standing right there saying this. So there is no doubt about this."
Her scolding is described. O boy with uncontrolled senses! You could not eat dirt in the presence of Balarāma. Therefore you have eaten it when they were not present (rahaḥ). The word hi indicates a cause or certainty. They are your intimate friends (tāvakāḥ) and therefore they have not lied. They are present now (ete) as witnesses and thus you cannot deny it. “But they are saying this as a joke.” But your elder brother also says this. There is no doubt when he also says this (ayam). Since Vasudeva and Nanda were brothers and Rohiṇī and Yaśodā were great friends, Yaśodā addresses Balarāma as the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa, taking him as her son. It is also stated out of affection for him.
- When wrongly blamed today, refuse the urge to retaliate — answer once, plainly, and let the matter rest at Kṛṣṇa's feet.
- Notice where your own restlessness (adānta-ātman) sends you reaching for 'dirt' — petty distractions — when sweetmeats (sādhana, prasāda, kīrtana) are already in the house.
- Speak to one elder or authority today with vinaya, even when you feel misunderstood, and offer that exchange to Kṛṣṇa as your evening's karma.
A queen, hearing her son's playmates accuse him of stealing the orchard's mud, holds him up by both arms and asks why — and behind her stern voice is a love so heavy it nearly cracks the question itself. Yaśodā's reproach is exactly such weight: every word a hammer struck on the anvil of vātsalya.
My note
Source: vedabase.io