FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.49.28

ఈశ్వరస్య విధిం కో ను విధునోత్యన్యథా పుమాన్ । భూమేర్భారావతారాయ యోఽవతీర్ణో యదో: కులే ॥ ౨౮ ॥
īśvarasya vidhiṁ ko nu
[eeshvarasya vidhim ko nu]
vidhunoty anyathā pumān
[vidhunoty anyathaa pumaan]
bhūmer bhārāvatārāya
[bhoomer bhaaraavataaraaya]
yo ’vatīrṇo yadoḥ kule
[yo ’vateerno yadoh kule]
īśvarasya — of the Supreme Lord vidhim — the law kaḥ — what nu — at all vidhunoti — can shake off anyathā — otherwise pumān — person bhūmeḥ — of the earth bhāra — the burden avatārāya — in order to diminish yaḥ — who avatīrṇaḥ — has descended yadoḥ — of Yadu kule — in the family .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
īśvarasya vidhiṁ ko nu
īśvarasya
of the Supreme Lord
vidhim
the law
kaḥ
what
nu
at all
vidhunoty anyathā pumān
vidhunoti
can shake off
anyathā
otherwise
pumān
person
bhūmer bhārāvatārāya
bhūmeḥ
of the earth
bhāra
the burden
avatārāya
in order to diminish
yo ’vatīrṇo yadoḥ kule
yaḥ
who
avatīrṇaḥ
has descended
yadoḥ
of Yadu
kule
in the family .
  • īśvarasya vidhim — the law of the Supreme Lord
    Vidhi here means injunction, decree — distinct from human vidhi-niṣedha. Dhṛtarāṣṭra invokes the highest causal layer, but uses the invocation as fatalist excuse rather than as śaraṇāgati.
  • vidhunoti — can shake off
    Vi + √dhū (to shake). Active verb — to dislodge. Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks rhetorically: who can shake off Kṛṣṇa's plan? The answer the chapter implies: no one — and you might therefore align with it rather than against.
  • bhāra-avatārāya — in order to diminish the burden
    Compound: bhāra (load) + avatāra (descent). The Bhāgavata's classical formula for Kṛṣṇa's appearance — the burden being the asuric weight on the earth. Same vocabulary as Gītā 4.7–8.
  • yadoḥ kule — in the family of Yadu
    The Yadu-vaṁśa — descendants of King Yadu, son of Yayāti. Kṛṣṇa's choice of birth-family is doctrinally significant; the Yadu line carries the original blessing that the Lord would appear among them.
Who can defy the injunctions of the Supreme Lord, who has now descended in the Yadu dynasty to diminish the earth’s burden?

Naturally, we would like to ask Dhṛtarāṣṭra, “If you know all this, why don’t you behave properly?” Of course, this is exactly Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s point: he feels that since events have already been set in motion, he is helpless to change them. In fact, events have been set in motion by his attachment and sinful propensities, and therefore he should have taken responsibility for his own acts. Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly states in the Bhagavad-gītā (5.15) , nādatte kasyacit pāpam: “The Supreme Lord does not accept responsibility for anyone’s sinful activities.” It is a dangerous policy to claim that we are acting improperly because of “destiny” or “fate.” We should take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously and create an auspicious future for ourselves and our associates. Finally, one may argue that, after all, Dhṛtarāṣṭra is involved in the Lord’s pastimes and is actually His eternal associate. In answer to this we may say that the Lord’s pastimes are not only entertaining but also didactic, and the lesson here is that Dhṛtarāṣṭra should have acted properly. This is what the Lord wanted to teach. Dhṛtarāṣṭra claims that Kṛṣṇa came to relieve the burden of the earth, but the earth’s burden is precisely the improper behavior of its inhabitants. So, let us take the lesson the Lord wants to teach here and be instructed for our benefit.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Who can defy the injunctions of the Supreme Lord, who has now descended in the Yadu dynasty to diminish the earth's burden?
Commentary

"Who can transgress the arrangements (vidhi) of the Lord by any method (anyatha)? No one can. You are the proof of this. You could not do it. In spite of all your instructions, you could not make me have proper judgment. And now, that Lord is present in your house, and has been born in the Yadu family to relieve the burden of the earth. Therefore, since he is there, go there and request the Lord that he should not put into motion what was established in his mind--his arrangement (if you want me to change the way I act.)"

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, vidhim means “desire to do” and indicates māyā. Who can overcome māyā of the Lord, or make it false (anyathā)? That Lord has now appeared in the Yadu dynasty by his own will to accomplish his purpose. He says this with derision, echoing Akrūra’s words. You can make efforts to do this.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Who can overcome the rules of the Lord, doing something different or false (anyathā)? One cannot deviate even a little, even if he is endowed with prowess (pumān). The Lord’s power is then shown. He relieves the burden of the earthy by giving liberation and other things. Or who can stop what will be done by the Lord (vidhim)? He has directly appeared now in this place to show his unlimited powers. Who has the power to oppose? Or he has appeared to destroy my sinful sons (the burden of the earth.) My unfair treatment, the root of the problem, has arisen because of this. What power do I have to do otherwise? Another version has sa eva svayam avatīrṇaḥ: he has appeared personally.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses

Dhṛtarāṣṭra raises his palms to the inevitability: who can push aside the Lord's decree? Kṛṣṇa Himself has descended into the Yadu family to lighten the earth's burden — and the burden is, in part, his own hundred sons. The king sees it, names it, and does nothing.

The earth's prayer for relief

SB 10.1 opens with Bhūmi-devī, in cow form, approaching Brahmā weighed down by the burden of asuric kings. Brahmā assures her that Bhagavān will descend; Kṛṣṇa is born in chapter 3. The 'bhūmer bhāra-avatāraya' Dhṛtarāṣṭra cites in this verse is the Bhāgavatam's master-cause for the entire Kṛṣṇa-līlā.

The irony is sharp: Dhṛtarāṣṭra correctly names Kṛṣṇa's mission and stays on the side of the burden being lifted.

📝 My note

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