FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.8.11

न वत्स नृपतेर्धिष्ण्यं भवानारोढुमर्हति । न गृहीतो मया यत्त्वं कुक्षावपि नृपात्मज: ॥ ११ ॥
na vatsa nṛpater dhiṣṇyaṁ
[na vatsa nripater dhishnyam]
bhavān āroḍhum arhati
[bhavaan aarodhum arhati]
na gṛhīto mayā yat tvaṁ
[na griheeto mayaa yat tvam]
kukṣāv api nṛpātmajaḥ
[kukshaav api nripaatmajah]
Word-for-word
na — not vatsa — my dear child nṛpateḥ — of the King dhiṣṇyam — seat bhavān — yourself āroḍhum — to get on arhati — deserve na — not gṛhītaḥ — taken mayā — by me yat — because tvam — you kukṣau — in the womb api — although nṛpa-ātmajaḥ — son of the King.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na vatsa nṛpater dhiṣṇyaṁ
na
not
vatsa
my dear child
nṛpateḥ
of the King
dhiṣṇyam
seat
bhavān āroḍhum arhati
bhavān
yourself
āroḍhum
to get on
arhati
deserve
na gṛhīto mayā yat tvaṁ
na
not
gṛhītaḥ
taken
mayā
by me
yat
because
tvam
you
kukṣāv api nṛpātmajaḥ
kukṣau
in the womb
api
although
nṛpa-ātmajaḥ
son of the King.
Queen Suruci told Dhruva Mahārāja: My dear child, you do not deserve to sit on the throne or on the lap of the King. Surely you are also the son of the King, but because you did not take your birth from my womb, you are not qualified to sit on your father’s lap.
Purport

Queen Suruci very proudly informed Dhruva Mahārāja that to be the King’s son was not the qualification for sitting on the lap or throne of the King. Rather, this privilege was dependent on one’s having taken birth from her womb. In other words, she indirectly informed Dhruva Mahārāja that although he happened to be born of the King, he was considered an illegitimate son because of his birth from the womb of the other queen.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
My child! You do not deserve to sit on the lap of the King, because, although you are also the King’s son, you did not take your birth from my womb. Dhiṣnyam means seat. You cannot sit there, because (yad), though you are the son of the King, you were not from my womb.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Suruci tells Dhruva that being the king's son doesn't qualify him; only being born from her womb does. Some adults reduce children to bloodlines and reject them publicly; the wound it creates is the seed of a long, transformative journey.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I reducing someone to a category and writing them out of belonging?
  • Whose 'you don't qualify' words still echo in me, and what would it mean to outgrow them through devotion rather than rage?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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