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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.24.12

శ్రీశుక ఉవాచ వచో నిశమ్య నన్దస్య తథాన్యేషాం వ్రజౌకసామ్ । ఇన్ద్రాయ మన్యుం జనయన్ పితరం ప్రాహ కేశవ: ॥ ౧౨ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
vaco niśamya nandasya
[vacho nishamya nandasya]
tathānyeṣāṁ vrajaukasām
[tathaanyeshaam vrajaukasaam]
indrāya manyuṁ janayan
[indraaya manyum janayan]
pitaraṁ prāha keśavaḥ
[pitaram praaha keshavah]
śrī śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said vacaḥ — the words niśamya — hearing nandasya — of Mahārāja Nanda tathā — and also anyeṣām — of the others vraja - okasām — the residents of Vraja indrāya — in Lord Indra manyum — anger janayan — generating pitaram — to His father prāha — spoke keśavaḥ — Lord Keśava .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī śukaḥ uvāca
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
vacaḥ
the words
vaco niśamya nandasya
niśamya
hearing
nandasya
of Mahārāja Nanda
tathānyeṣāṁ vrajaukasām
tathā
and also
anyeṣām
of the others
vraja - okasām
the residents of Vraja
indrāya manyuṁ janayan
indrāya
in Lord Indra
manyum
anger
janayan
generating
pitaraṁ prāha keśavaḥ
pitaram
to His father
prāha
spoke
keśavaḥ
Lord Keśava .
  • niśamya — having heard
    Absolutive from ni + √śam. Kṛṣṇa first listens fully before He speaks. The chapter teaches teaching: hear the elders out, respect what they hold, then correct.
  • vraja - okasām — of the residents of Vraja
    Compound: vraja + okas (dwelling). 'Those whose home is Vraja.' Gauḍīya force: vraja-vāsīs are uniquely positioned in all of creation; what Kṛṣṇa says next is calibrated to their rasa, not to a generic audience.
  • manyum — anger
    Accusative of manyu — wrath. Kṛṣṇa speaks with the deliberate intention to provoke Indra's manyu. Gauḍīya note: aiśvarya-līlā often runs on engineered provocation — the Lord arranges the offense so He can stage the rescue.
  • janayan — generating
    Present participle causative of √jan — bringing into being. The Lord causally generates Indra's anger; nothing in this chapter is accident. Every word of the coming speech is tuned to one downstream līlā: the lifting of Govardhana.
  • keśavaḥ — Kṛṣṇa, the slayer of Keśī / the long-haired one
    Three classical glosses: he of beautiful hair (keśa), lord of Brahmā and Śiva (ka + īśa), slayer of Keśī. The name is chosen for the verse: Kṛṣṇa stands ready to slay the next demon of pride — this time the king of heaven's.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When Lord Keśava [Kṛṣṇa] heard the statements of His father, Nanda, and other senior residents of Vraja, He addressed His father as follows, to arouse anger in Lord Indra.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s intention was not simply to insult a demigod, but rather to knock down the great mountain of false pride that had arisen within the Lord’s tiny servant, who was supposed to represent the Lord as Indra. By lifting Govardhana Hill Lord Kṛṣṇa would thus initiate a blissful annual festival called Govardhana-pūjā, and He would further enjoy the pleasant pastime of dwelling for several days beneath the hill with all His loving devotees.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When Lord Keśava [Kṛṣṇa]heard the statements of His father, Nanda, and other senior residents of Vraja, He addressed His father as follows, to arouse anger in Lord Indra.
Commentary

The aim of inciting Indra’s anger was to break his pride, to start the annual festival of Govardhana worship, and to live together with his dear devotees for seven days. These are successive reasons for Krsna’s words.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He heard from Nanda and from others, who spoke themselves voluntarily or authorized by Nanda. He wanted to anger Indra to show that Indra was material and should not be revered. On the other hand Nanda will be shown to be most spiritual and most worthy of respect. Keśava means he who subordinates Brahmā (ka) and Śiva (īśa) by his glory. Thus how low must Indra be!

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Tathā means “and others.” Others accepted or agreed with him. Or Nanda had the others also hear the answers to the questions in order to that all inhabitants of Vraja understand his conclusion. Or Kṛṣṇa with his the assistants had gone off the forest since they always followed him. In the afternoon, the Lord returned to Vraja and saw the activity and asked. Vimalāmbara-nakṣatre kale cābhyāgato vrajam Dadarśendra-mahārambhāyodyatāṁs tān vrajaukasaḥ He returned to Vraja during an auspicious constellation and saw the people of Vraja arranging for worship of Indra. Viṣṇu Purāṇa Vrajam ājagmatus tau tu vraje śuśruvatus tadā Prāptaṁ śakra-mahaṁ vīrau gopāṁś cotsava-lālasān Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma returned to Vraja and learned that the cowherds were eager to worship of Indra. Hari-vāṁśa Kṛṣṇa spoke to make Indra angry, by speaking karma-vāda, making devaṭās useless, or by stopping the sacrifice. He spoke to his father since he had asked him. Or it was proper to give benefit to him. He spoke excellently, showing many strong points of logic. Keśava means he who gives life (vāti) to Brahmā and Ṣiva or he who predominates over (covers) Brahmā and Śiva (vayate) by his glory or he for whom Brahmā and Śiva stand (vah) as servants. Since unlimited devatās depend on Kṛṣṇa, his making them useless is only an act of his play. Or he broke the pride of Indra by stopping his sacrifice in order to please Brahmā and Śiva. Or Keśava is the presiding deity of Mathurā. He performed this pastime to spread the glory of Mathurā and Govardhana.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses

A wrestler steps into the ring not to harm his opponent but to expose the opponent's weak hold so the watching students can see it for themselves. Kṛṣṇa speaks the next eighteen verses with one explicit aim — to provoke Indra into a hold He can then break, in full view of Vraja.

The cālurā and Muṣṭika set-up

Kṛṣṇa would later step into Kaṁsa's wrestling arena and let the demonic wrestlers attack so the world could see them broken (SB 10.43–44). The pattern is the same: the Lord arranges the opposition He intends to defeat, because the defeat itself is the teaching.

Here in chapter 24 the arrangement is verbal — by 'arousing anger in Indra,' Kṛṣṇa sets the scene for the lifting of Govardhana two chapters later. Every great kṛṣṇa-līlā has this provocation-and-answer structure.

📝 My note

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