Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.88.35
इत्थं भगवतश्चित्रैर्वचोभि: स सुपेशलै: ।
भिन्नधीर्विस्मृत: शीर्ष्णि स्वहस्तं कुमतिर्न्यधात् ॥ ३५ ॥
itthaṁ bhagavataś citrair
[ittham bhagavatash chitrair]
vacobhiḥ sa su-peśalaiḥ
[vachobhih sa su-peshalaih]
bhinna-dhīr vismṛtaḥ śīrṣṇi
[bhinna-dheer vismritah sheershni]
sva-hastaṁ kumatir nyadhāt
[sva-hastam kumatir nyadhaat]
Word-for-word
ittham
—
in this manner
bhagavataḥ
—
of the Personality of Godhead
citraiḥ
—
wonderful
vacobhiḥ
—
by the words
saḥ
—
he (Vṛka)
su
—
very
peśalaiḥ
—
clever
bhinna
—
bewildered
dhīḥ
—
his mind
vismṛtaḥ
—
forgetting
śīrṣṇi
—
on his head
sva
—
his own
hastam
—
hand
ku - matiḥ
—
foolish
nyadhāt
—
placed .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
itthaṁ bhagavataś citrair
ittham
in this manner
bhagavataḥ
of the Personality of Godhead
citraiḥ
wonderful
vacobhiḥ sa su-peśalaiḥ
vacobhiḥ
by the words
saḥ
he (Vṛka)
su
very
peśalaiḥ
clever
bhinna-dhīr vismṛtaḥ śīrṣṇi
bhinna
bewildered
dhīḥ
his mind
vismṛtaḥ
forgetting
śīrṣṇi
on his head
sva-hastaṁ kumatir nyadhāt
sva
his own
hastam
hand
ku - matiḥ
foolish
nyadhāt
placed .
Important Words
-
citraiḥ vacobhiḥ
—
with wonderful words
Contiguous (citraiḥ + vacobhiḥ). Citra = wonderful, variegated. Hari's speech has been many-colored — flattery, history, doubt, dharma — and the asura has been hooked at each color. Gauḍīyas read citra-vāk as Bhagavān's craftsmanship in conversation.
-
su-peśalaiḥ
—
very clever, very smooth
Contiguous (su + peśalaiḥ). Peśala = polished, beautiful, dexterous. The Bhāgavatam calls Hari's diction beautiful even as it dismantles an asura — beauty and surgery in one breath.
-
bhinna-dhīḥ
—
his intelligence shattered
Contiguous (bhinna + dhīḥ). Bhinna = broken. The buddhi that asked Nārada for the easy-lord (v.14) is now broken into pieces. Gauḍīya reading: the asura's dhī, which served his asurya so well, is the very faculty Bhagavān undoes.
-
vismṛtaḥ
—
having forgotten
Past participle of vi-√smṛ. Forgetting his own boon, his own intent, his own death-trigger. Smaraṇa is bhakti's pillar; vismaraṇa here is asurya's collapse — the inverse symmetry the chapter loves.
-
ku-matiḥ
—
fool, of perverse intelligence
Contiguous (ku + matiḥ). Ku = bad, perverse. The same ku-mati who started asking the wrong question of Nārada ends here placing his own hand. Character is fate, in scriptural prose.
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Thus bewildered by the Personality of Godhead’s enchanting, artful words, foolish Vṛka, without realizing what he was doing, placed his hand on his head.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Thus bewildered by the Personality of Godhead's enchanting, artful words, foolish Vṛka, without realizing what he was doing, placed his hand on his head.
Commentary
Forgetting about (vismrtih) his benediction he touched his own head.
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
He is intelligence did not work properly because of the polite words which very skillfully bewildered him like a mantra (citraiḥ), making him lose his memory. Thus he did not remember what to do. The root cause was his foolishness.
Śrīdhara Svāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
None His intelligence did not work properly because of the polite words which very skillfully bewildered him like a mantra (citraiḥ), making him lose his memory. Thus he did not remember what to do. The root cause was his foolishness.
Related values & verses
Related values
Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Vinaya (Humility / Modesty)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
Concepts
ChitMantraJiva
Personal Guidance
Bewildered by Kṛṣṇa's enchanting words, foolish Vṛka places his hand on his own head. The trap closes by his own act; God lets the misguided complete their own undoing.
Reflection Questions
- What pattern in me would, if allowed to complete itself, undo me?
- Where is God waiting for me to see what I am about to do to myself?
Analogy
A man under hypnosis lifts his own hand to his head and does not register that he is the one lifting it. Vṛka, bewildered by the nectar-rain of Hari's clever words, places his own hand on his own crown without remembering why he came. The Lord did not touch him; the asura's choice did the work.
My note
Source: vedabase.io