FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.56.17

భగవాంస్తదుపశ్రుత్య దుర్యశో లిప్తమాత్మని । మార్ష్టుం ప్రసేనపదవీమన్వపద్యత నాగరై: ॥ ౧౭ ॥
bhagavāṁs tad upaśrutya
[bhagavaams tad upashrutya]
duryaśo liptam ātmani
[duryasho liptam aatmani]
mārṣṭuṁ prasena-padavīm
[maarshtum prasena-padaveem]
anvapadyata nāgaraiḥ
[anvapadyata naagaraih]
bhagavān — the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa tat — that upaśrutya — coming to hear duryaśaḥ — infamy liptam — smeared ātmani — upon Himself mārṣṭum — in order to clean away prasena - padavīm — the path taken by Prasena anvapadyata — He followed nāgaraiḥ — together with people of the city .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bhagavāṁs tad upaśrutya
bhagavān
the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa
tat
that
upaśrutya
coming to hear
duryaśo liptam ātmani
duryaśaḥ
infamy
liptam
smeared
ātmani
upon Himself
mārṣṭuṁ prasena-padavīm
mārṣṭum
in order to clean away
prasena - padavīm
the path taken by Prasena
anvapadyata nāgaraiḥ
anvapadyata
He followed
nāgaraiḥ
together with people of the city .
  • duryaśaḥ — infamy, bad reputation
    Compound: duḥ (bad) + yaśas (fame). The opposite of yaśas, which the Bhāgavatam treats as one of Bhagavān's six aiśvaryas. To smear yaśas is to attack svarūpa — and yet the Lord chooses to address it with feet and patience.
  • liptam ātmani — smeared upon Himself
    Compound idea: lipta (smeared) + ātmani (upon Himself, locative). The poetics suggests dirt on a cloth. The Lord whose nature is pure does not pretend the smear isn't there — He goes to wash it.
  • mārṣṭum — to clean away
    Infinitive of √mṛj, to wipe clean. The same family of words used in 40-42 (mṛjāmi). The chapter pivots on this verb — Kṛṣṇa cleans His own name; Satrājit must clean his.
When Lord Kṛṣṇa heard this rumor, He wanted to remove the stain on His reputation. So He took some of Dvārakā’s citizens with Him and set out to retrace Prasena’s path.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When Lord Kṛṣṇa heard this rumor, He wanted to remove the stain on His reputation. So He took some of Dvārakā's citizens with Him and set out to retrace Prasena's path.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

When Kṛṣṇa with all the assembly heard this second hand (upa—śrutya), through Uddhava and others, he followed Prasena’s path with the citizens.

Related values
Bhakti (Devotion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva

Bhagavān could clear His name with a word — but He chooses the slow path: walk the actual forest, follow the actual hoof-prints. The Lord defends His glory by becoming a detective. Even His apologetics is līlā.

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