FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.50.17

తావాహ మాగధో వీక్ష్య హే కృష్ణ పురుషాధమ । న త్వయా యోద్ధుమిచ్ఛామి బాలేనైకేన లజ్జయా । గుప్తేన హి త్వయా మన్ద న యోత్స్యే యాహి బన్ధుహన్ ॥ ౧౭ ॥
tāv āha māgadho vīkṣya
[taav aaha maagadho veekshya]
he kṛṣṇa puruṣādhama
[he krishna purushaadhama]
na tvayā yoddhum icchāmi
[na tvayaa yoddhum ichchaami]
bālenaikena lajjayā
[baalenaikena lajjayaa]
guptena hi tvayā manda
[guptena hi tvayaa manda]
na yotsye yāhi bandhu-han
[na yotsye yaahi bandhu-han]
tau — to the two of Them āha — said māgadhaḥ — Jarāsandha vīkṣya — watching he kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa puruṣa - adhama — lowest of men na — not tvayā — with You yoddhum — to fight icchāmi — do I want bālena — with a boy ekena — alone lajjayā — shamefully guptena — hidden hi — indeed tvayā — with You manda — O fool na yotsye — I will not fight yāhi — go away bandhu — of relatives han — O killer .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tāv āha māgadho vīkṣya
tau
to the two of Them
āha
said
māgadhaḥ
Jarāsandha
vīkṣya
watching
he kṛṣṇa puruṣādhama
he kṛṣṇa
O Kṛṣṇa
puruṣa - adhama
lowest of men
na tvayā yoddhum icchāmi
na
not
tvayā
with You
yoddhum
to fight
icchāmi
do I want
bālenaikena lajjayā
bālena
with a boy
ekena
alone
lajjayā
shamefully
guptena hi tvayā manda
guptena
hidden
hi
indeed
tvayā
with You
manda
O fool
na yotsye yāhi bandhu-han
na yotsye
I will not fight
yāhi
go away
bandhu
of relatives
han
O killer .
  • puruṣa-adhama — lowest of men
    Adhama-puruṣa, the demonic mirror-image of Kṛṣṇa's actual title puruṣottama (supreme person). The demon's epithet is the inversion of the devotee's; Gauḍīyas use this to illustrate how kṛṣṇa-tattva is occluded for those in tāmasic vision.
  • bandhu-han — O killer of relatives
    Compound: bandhu (kinsman) + han (killer). Refers to Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa's maternal uncle. The accusation that troubles Arjuna at Gītā 1.36 (svajanaṁ hi kathaṁ hatvā) is hurled at Kṛṣṇa Himself here — but in Kṛṣṇa's case the killing is bhū-bhāra-haraṇa, not sin.
  • manda — O fool
    Manda — dull, slow-witted. Asuric insult, identical to the language Hiraṇyakaśipu uses for Prahlāda. The pattern recurs: demons consistently call the Lord and His devotees fools, exactly inverting the actual jñāna-distribution.
  • guptena — hidden
    Instrumental of gupta — concealed. Jarāsandha mistakes Kṛṣṇa's tactical reserve for cowardice; lajjayā guptena, 'hidden by shame.' The demon cannot read aiśvarya concealed inside mānuṣa-līlā — he sees only the surface, never the kāraṇa-mānuṣa beneath.
Jarāsandha looked at the two of Them and said: O Kṛṣṇa, lowest of men! I do not wish to fight alone with You, since it would be a shame to fight with a mere boy. You fool who keep Yourself hidden, O murderer of Your relatives, go away! I will not fight with You.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has interpreted Jarāsandha’s words as follows. Puruṣādhama can be understood as puruṣā adhamā yasmāt, meaning “Kṛṣṇa, to whom all men are inferior.” In other words, here Lord Kṛṣṇa is being addressed as “O Puruṣottama, best of living beings.” Similarly, the word guptena, “hidden,” indicates Lord Kṛṣṇa’s aspect of being in everyone’s heart and invisible to material vision. The words tvayā manda can also be divided, according to Sanskrit grammar, as tvayā amanda. In this case Jarāsandha is indicating that Kṛṣṇa is not foolish but rather most alert. The word bandhu was used by Jarāsandha in the sense of “relative,” since Lord Kṛṣṇa killed His maternal uncle, Kaṁsa. However, bandhu comes from the verb bandh, “to bind,” and therefore bandhu-han can be understood as “one who destroys the bondage of ignorance.” Similarly, the word yāhi, “please go,” indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa should approach the living beings and bless them to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Jarāsandha looked at the two of Them and said: O Kṛṣṇa, lowest of men! I do not wish to fight alone with You, since it would be a shame to fight with a mere boy. You fool who keep Yourself hidden, O murderer of Your relatives, go away! I will not fight with You.
Commentary

The external meaning is "O lowest of men (purusa adhama), I am ashamed to fight with you, a mere boy (balena) , who hides yourself in Gokula as a vaisya (guptena). O fool (manda)! O killer of your uncle (bandu han)! I will not fight with you. Go away!" The other meaning skilfully contained in the same words is as follows: "O great personality to whom all others are inferior (purusadhama)! I will not fight with you for, in comparison to you Brahma is a child (bala ka) (there are two versions of this : balakenaiva and balenaikena), and you are the lord of all lords. I am ashamed to fight with you because I am not qualified. I do not desire to fight with you because you cannot be seen, being hidden within everyone (guptena). Oh most important one (amanda)! O destroyer of the bondage of the jiva (bandhu han)! "

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Seeing Kṛṣṇa as death, Jarāsandha tried to avoid fighting him. Instead of bālenaikena sometimes bālakenaiva is seen. I do not want to fight with a boy. “But fighting depends only on strength not age.” I will not fight with a person who hid himself in Gokula out of fear of Kaṁsa. “It is suitable to hide at times to fool the enemy.” O inauspicious person (manda)! Why? You are murderer of your relatives! Therefore go away—flee from dharma. Another meaning is “Go to your house, because it is not necessary for you to labor in fighting (since you accomplish everything by your will.)”

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Concepts
Dharma

Jarāsandha snarls at Kṛṣṇa as a small dog snarls at the sun — 'puruṣādhama!' he calls the Supreme Person. Demonic vision exactly inverts devotional vision; what the gopīs see as adhama-uddhāra, the lifter-of-the-fallen, the demon sees as adhama, the lowest.

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