Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.89.32
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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arjunaḥ nāma
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Arjuna by name
Arjuna gives only his name — modest by Yadu standards. Yet the next breath names his bow, and the bow will turn out to be the locus of the misidentification the chapter corrects.
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kārṣṇiḥ
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Kṛṣṇa's son (Pradyumna)
Patronymic from Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna disclaims being any of the four Vyūhas. Gauḍīyas note the humility — and the limitation: he does not yet realize that what makes him capable is precisely his proximity to Kṛṣṇa, not his separateness.
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gāṇḍīvam
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the bow Gāṇḍīva
Arjuna's celebrated bow, gift of Agni. The chapter will engineer a situation where Gāṇḍīva is fully drawn, fully employed, and entirely insufficient — to teach the doctrine of BG 11: nimitta-mātraṁ bhava.
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dhanuḥ
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the bow
The kṣatriya's organ. Arjuna identifies himself by his bow; the chapter will dissolve that identification and reseat it in his relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
"I am Arjuna, who has the Gandiva bow." Saying that he showed his bow.
I am not one who was pulled from the womb, nor am I the black one. The word na is repeated to make emphatic statements. I am not Pradyumna. With extreme disrespect, he does not even mention Aniruddha’s name. But (ca) I alone am called (nāma) Arjuna. Or I am clearly (nāma) Arjuna. He describes himself to distinguish himself from others: I hold the Gāṇḍiva. This is well known (vai).
- Where am I over-claiming a role I do not actually hold?
- What real identity could I own honestly and serve from?
Arjuna's reply is exact in two registers at once — humble ('I am not Saṅkarṣaṇa, not Kṛṣṇa, not Kṛṣṇa's son') and proud ('I am Arjuna, wielder of Gāṇḍīva'). The Bhāgavatam preserves the proud half because it has to be undone. The whole chapter from here forward is the curriculum that disassembles 'Gāṇḍīva is mine.'
My note
Source: vedabase.io