FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.20.12

यद्यप्यसावधर्मेण मां बध्नीयादनागसम् । तथाप्येनं न हिंसिष्ये भीतं ब्रह्मतनुं रिपुम् ॥ १२ ॥
yadyapy asāv adharmeṇa
[yadyapy asaav adharmena]
māṁ badhnīyād anāgasam
[maam badhneeyaad anaagasam]
tathāpy enaṁ na hiṁsiṣye
[tathaapy enam na himsishye]
bhītaṁ brahma-tanuṁ ripum
[bheetam brahma-tanum ripum]
Word-for-word
yadyapi — although asau — Lord Viṣṇu adharmeṇa — crookedly, without reference to the straight way mām — me badhnīyāt — kills anāgasam — although I am not sinful tathāpi — still enam — against Him na — not hiṁsiṣye — I shall take any retaliation bhītam — because He is afraid brahma-tanum — having assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa-brahmacārī ripum — even though He is my enemy.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yadyapy asāv adharmeṇa
yadyapi
although
asau
Lord Viṣṇu
adharmeṇa
crookedly, without reference to the straight way
māṁ badhnīyād anāgasam
mām
me
badhnīyāt
kills
anāgasam
although I am not sinful
tathāpy enaṁ na hiṁsiṣye
tathāpi
still
enam
against Him
na
not
hiṁsiṣye
I shall take any retaliation
bhītaṁ brahma-tanuṁ ripum
bhītam
because He is afraid
brahma-tanum
having assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa-brahmacārī
ripum
even though He is my enemy.
Although He is Viṣṇu Himself, out of fear He has covered Himself in the form of a brāhmaṇa to come to me begging. Under the circumstances, because He has assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa, even if He irreligiously arrests me or even kills me, I shall not retaliate, although He is my enemy.
Purport

If Lord Viṣṇu as He is had come to Bali Mahārāja and asked him to do something, Bali Mahārāja certainly would not have refused His request. But to enjoy a little humor between Himself and His devotee, the Lord covered Himself as a brāhmaṇa-brahmacārī and thus came to Bali Mahārāja to beg for only three feet of land.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Because he has assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa full of fear, even if he irreligiously arrests me, though I am sinless, I shall not retaliate, although he is my enemy. Though he is Viṣṇu, because he has the form of a brāhmaṇa, he must be full of fear.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Out of fear, Viṣṇu covered Himself as a brāhmaṇa and came begging — even if He kills me, I will not retaliate, though He is my enemy. The form 'brāhmaṇa' protects Him from counter-attack. The dwarf form is a kind of safe-conduct.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose 'brāhmaṇa form' am I refusing to retaliate against — and have I noticed the Lord's signature in their unusual immunity?
  • Where do I attack what I should be sheltering because of its outer form?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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