Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.8.52
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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brahmaṇaḥ ādeśam satyam kartum
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to make true the order of Brahmā
Brahmā's (genitive) + ādeśa (order, accusative) + satyam (true) + kartum (infinitive of √kṛ). The full Vaiṣṇava theology in one line: Bhagavān stays in Vraja to make a demigod's order come true. Gauḍīya: the Supreme acts to honor His devotee's word, not the reverse.
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vraje
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in Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana
Locative. The chapter ends where Garga's name-giving began (10.8.1: vrajaṁ jagāma). The whole chapter is held inside the locative vraje — Vraja is the verse-space, the dhāma.
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vibhuḥ
—
the supremely powerful
Same word as 10.8.43 — 'all-pervading'. The verse names Kṛṣṇa vibhu precisely as He confines Himself to Vraja's small space. Gauḍīya paradox-doctrine: the vibhu is also the antaḥ-pura inhabitant; pervasion and intimacy do not exclude.
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saha - rāmaḥ
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along with Balarāma
Same compound as 10.8.27. The chapter closes by reasserting the dual presence — Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma. Gauḍīya: no Kṛṣṇa-līlā is complete without Balarāma's accompaniment, even when the camera focuses on Kṛṣṇa alone.
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sva - līlayā
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by His own transcendental pastimes
Sva (own) + līlā (pastime), instrumental. The verse's closing word: His staying is sva-līlā — His own pastime, by His own will, for His devotees' sake. Gauḍīya: the entire chapter is exegesis of this final compound.
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prītim
—
the pleasure
Same word as 10.8.18. The chapter begins and ends with prīti: prīti shields the devotees from enemies (18) and prīti is what Kṛṣṇa stays in Vraja to increase (52). The chapter is bracketed by the rasa-foundational word.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Tenth Canto, Eighth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled, “Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth.”
In order fulfill the order of Brahma-"Let there be parama bhakti", through his pastimes, Krsna along with Balarama produced prema in the hearts of Nanda and Yasoda (tesam pritim cakre).
Śukadeva concludes this section from the point of view of the “apparent” truth concerning Nanda and Yaśodā’s good fortune. Since Kṛṣṇa is completely independent as Svayam Bhagavān to make true the benediction given by Brahmā, who is the guru for all the Lord’s devotees in the universe, the bhakti of Nanda and Yaśodā expressing the highest desires should appear in this manner from the ordinary perspective. He then appeared as their son in Vraja with Balarāma, who was his greatest assistant in his pleasure, to produce fame in the universe by not wavering from his obligation to Brahmā. He lived there and produced bliss for Nanda, Yaśodā and their associates by pastimes intrinsic to his nature. This is the meaning according to the facts presented in this chapter. “If this bhakti existed previously in Nanda and Yaśodā, why did they have to receive Brahmā’s blessings?” Because the pastimes are under the control of the bhakti of his devotees (sva-līlayā), Kṛṣṇa lived in Vraja to produce love in them. In doing so, he also made the blessings of Brahmā come true. By his mercy he showed Brahmā’s greatness to the world. Just as Nanda engaged learned brāhmaṇas to bless his son, in order to give them mercy, so Kṛṣṇa engaged Brahmā in giving blessings. By allowing Brahmā to give blessings he benefited Brahmā since the cowherds already had full prema even without his blessings.
The order to Nanda was that there should be the highest bhakti. That order should be accomplished. With Balarāma Kṛṣṇa lived in Vraja, and gave happiness to Yaśodā and others by his extraordinary infant pastimes. He spread over all of Vraja with his variegated pastimes or he was capable of doing this (vibhuḥ). Having pastimes along with Balarāma suggests special sweetness. Though the Lord appears in order to benefit the world and experience special bliss with his devotees, he also did this to make the instruction of Brahmā true. This was a particular detail. Or he followed the order of Brhmā to avoid being accused of ignoring Vasudeva and Devakī. Otherwise later, when he manifested his powers, Vasudeva and Devakī would lament that they had been neglected in his infant pastimes. (But they could not, since was the order of Brahmā.) The special mercy of the Lord to Nanda and Yaśodā and the cowherd people related to Nanda and Yaśodā more than to Vasudeva and Devakī is shown. That is proper. Vasudeva and Devakī performed austerities to obtain the Lord as their son. Nanda and Yaśodā only prayed for the highest bhakti. The Lord is famous as being affectionate to his devotees. And the benedictions given by his devotees are greater than those given by the Lord himself. That is illustrated in this incident. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Tenth Canto, Eighth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled, "Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth." 10.9: Mother Yaśodā Binds Lord Kṛṣṇa verses: Summary, 1-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13-14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 Chapter Summary While mother Yaśodā was allowing Kṛṣṇa to drink her breast milk, she was forced to stop because she saw the milk pan boiling over on the oven. The maidservants being engaged in other business, she stopped allowing Kṛṣṇa to drink from her breast and immediately attended to the overflowing milk pan. Kṛṣṇa became very angry because of His mother's behavior and devised a means of breaking the pots of yogurt. Because He created this disturbance, mother Yaśodā decided to bind Him. These incidents are described in this chapter. One day, the maidservants being engaged in other work, mother Yaśodā was churning the yogurt into butter herself, and in the meantime Kṛṣṇa came and requested her to allow Him to suck her breast milk. Of course, mother Yaśodā immediately allowed Him to do so, but then she saw that the hot milk on the oven was boiling over, and therefore she immediately stopped allowing Kṛṣṇa to drink the milk of her breast and went to stop the milk on the oven from overflowing. Kṛṣṇa, however, having been interrupted in His business of sucking the breast, was very angry. He took a piece of stone, broke the churning pot and entered a room, where He began to eat the freshly churned butter. When mother Yaśodā, after attending to the overflowing milk, returned and saw the pot broken, she could understand that this was the work of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore she went to search for Him. When she entered the room, she saw Kṛṣṇa standing on the ulūkhala, a large mortar for grinding spices. Having turned the mortar upside down, He was stealing butter hanging from a swing and was distributing the butter to the monkeys. As soon as Kṛṣṇa saw that His mother had come, He immediately began to run away, and mother Yaśodā began to follow Him. After going some distance, mother Yaśodā was able to catch Kṛṣṇa, who because of His offense was crying. Mother Yaśodā, of course, threatened to punish Kṛṣṇa if He acted that way again, and she decided to bind Him with rope. Unfortunately, when the time came to knot the rope, the rope with which she wanted to bind Him was short by a distance equal to the width of two fingers. When she made the rope longer by adding another rope, she again saw that it was short by two fingers. Again and again she tried, and again and again she found the rope too short by two fingers. Thus she became very tired, and Kṛṣṇa, seeing His affectionate mother so tired, allowed Himself to be bound. Now, being compassionate, He did not show her His unlimited potency. After mother Yaśodā bound Kṛṣṇa and became engaged in other household affairs, Kṛṣṇa observed two yamala-arjuna trees, which were actually Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, two sons of Kuvera who had been condemned by Nārada Muni to become trees. Kṛṣṇa, by His mercy, now began to proceed toward the trees to fulfill the desire of Nārada Muni.
- Today, perform one small service purely to give pleasure to a devotee or family member, expecting nothing back — taste prīti as its own reward.
- Notice when you are tempted to dismiss simple, 'childlike' acts of devotion (chanting, offering food, hearing a pastime) as beneath you, and do that act anyway.
- Honor a promise you made to someone smaller or less powerful than yourself today, the way Kṛṣṇa stayed in Vraja to honor Brahmā's plea.
A king, having promised his subjects that he will stay for a season among them, deliberately lingers — and every day of his lingering swells the village's joy until the visit itself becomes the village's defining memory. Kṛṣṇa lingering in Vraja as a child for Brahmā's sake is exactly this royal stay; His pastimes are for Vraja's prīti, not His.
After accepting sannyāsa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to Purī and remained there for eighteen years — not because He had unfinished work for Himself, but because He had promised His mother Śacī and because His devotees gathered there annually for the Ratha-yātrā (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 1).
Kṛṣṇa's lingering in Vraja in 10.8.52 is the original of Caitanya's stay in Purī: the Lord stays not from need but from prīti — the devotees' joy is His only reason.
My note
Source: vedabase.io