Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.52.11
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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nilīnau
—
hiding
Dual past participle of ni-√lī (to lie down, to hide). Same verb-root used in Vraja-līlā when Kṛṣṇa hides during cora-līlā (butter-stealing). Sūta keeps the lexical fingerprint of līlā even in this aiśvarya-narrative.
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na adhigamya padam
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not finding Their location
Phrase. Padam means 'foot, position, place.' Gauḍīya commentators note the wordplay — the asura cannot find the 'pada' that great souls take exclusive shelter of (cf. mahat-padam, the abode of the great).
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dadāha girim
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he set the mountain ablaze
Phrase. Burning a sacred mountain to flush out hidden enemies is the act that completes Jarāsandha's adharma-portrait — he is willing to violate the earth itself to seize Kṛṣṇa. The asurika logic that the end justifies the desecration.
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samantāt
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on all sides
Indeclinable from sam-anta (with all ends). The encirclement seems total, but the very next verse opens a vertical exit Jarāsandha did not budget for. A reminder that asurika strategy always plans the horizontal and forgets the upward.
Clearly we are observing one of the Supreme Lord’s transcendental pastimes. Although the Bhāgavatam states that the two Lords, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, were “exhausted,” even in Their so-called exhausted state They were able to quickly climb a high mountain and shortly thereafter jump off it to the ground. It would be unwise and illogical to ignore the whole picture the sages are giving us here and instead try to pick apart isolated descriptions. Clearly we are watching the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the midst of His spiritual pastimes; we are not observing an ordinary human being. Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma were still quite young men when this pastime took place, and one can easily see in these descriptions how They must have been enjoying Themselves, eagerly fleeing from the somewhat ridiculous King Jarāsandha, racing up a mountain, jumping off and totally befuddling the constantly failing demon, who somehow or other never lost confidence in himself. Seen without envy or quarrelsomeness, the Lord’s pastimes are immensely entertaining.
Jarāsandha could not find the spot (padam) where they were hiding. Or he could not understand where they were because he could not find their footprints (padam). He began to burn the mountain. O king! This expresses the great power of the fire.
Jarāsandha could not find the spot (padam) where they were hiding. Or he could not understand where they were, because he could not find their footprints (padam). They hid among the bushes and grass to give joy to the animals. Or he could not find their foot prints anywhere. Lighting fire in all directions, he began to burn the mountain. O king! This expresses the great power of the fire. Giving the order, through many followers, he burned the mountain.
Jarāsandha sets the mountain ablaze the way a child kicks the chessboard when he cannot find the king — pure asurika frustration. The fire he kindles will not touch Kṛṣṇa; it will only clear the stage for the leap that proves the king was never on the board to begin with.
My note
Source: vedabase.io