FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.66.5

వాసుదేవోఽవతీర్ణోఽహమేక ఏవ న చాపర: । భూతానామనుకమ్పార్థం త్వం తు మిథ్యాభిధాం త్యజ ॥ ౫ ॥
vāsudevo ’vatīrno ’ham
[vaasudevo ’vateerno ’ham]
eka eva na cāparaḥ
[eka eva na chaaparah]
bhūtānām anukampārthaṁ
[bhootaanaam anukampaartham]
tvaṁ tu mithyābhidhāṁ tyaja
[tvam tu mithyaabhidhaam tyaja]
vāsudevaḥ — Lord Vāsudeva avatīrṇaḥ — descended to this world aham — I ekaḥ eva — the only one na — not ca — and aparaḥ — anyone else bhūtānām — to the living beings anukampā — of showing mercy artham — for the purpose tvam — You tu — however mithyā — false abhidhām — designation tyaja — give up .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vāsudevo ’vatīrno ’ham
vāsudevaḥ
Lord Vāsudeva
avatīrṇaḥ
descended to this world
eka eva na cāparaḥ
aham
I
ekaḥ eva
the only one
bhūtānām anukampārthaṁ
na
not
ca
and
aparaḥ
anyone else
tvaṁ tu mithyābhidhāṁ tyaja
bhūtānām
to the living beings
anukampā
of showing mercy
artham
for the purpose
tvam
You
tu
however
mithyā
false
abhidhām
designation
tyaja
give up .
  • ekaḥ eva — the only one
    ekaḥ (one) + eva (alone). Pauṇḍraka uses the language of strict monotheism — 'I alone' — but applied to himself. Gauḍīyas note that the form of his claim mirrors the truth (Kṛṣṇa IS the one Lord) while the content inverts it; this is the structural shape of every false-guru claim ever made.
  • anukampā — of showing mercy
    From anu-√kamp (to tremble in sympathy with). The merciful descent of Bhagavān. Pauṇḍraka steals even this word — claiming he descended out of compassion for the living beings. The chapter will show, by his end, what his 'mercy' was worth.
  • mithyā-abhidhām — false designation
    Compound: mithyā (false) + abhidhā (designation, name). The accusation Pauṇḍraka throws is exactly the accusation that lands on him. Gauḍīyas note the perfect mirror of the imitator's psychology — what he is, he projects.
  • tyaja — give up
    Imperative of √tyaj (to abandon). The same verb Kṛṣṇa Himself uses to Arjuna in BG 18.66 (sarva-dharmān parityajya). A counterfeit speaker reaches for the most authoritative verb, and the misuse is what indicts him.
  • avatīrṇaḥ — descended to this world
    From ava-√tṝ. Repeated from verse 2 — Pauṇḍraka cannot stop using the word, the way a forger keeps adding flourishes to a signature. The repetition is the diagnosis.
[On Pauṇḍraka’s behalf, the messenger said:] I am the one and only Lord Vāsudeva, and there is no other. It is I who have descended to this world to show mercy to the living beings. Therefore give up Your false name.

Inspired by Goddess Sarasvatī, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives the real import of these two verses: “I am not Vāsudeva incarnate, but rather You alone, and no one else, are Vāsudeva. Since You have descended to show mercy to the living beings, please make me give up my false designation, which is like that of an oyster claiming to be silver.” The Supreme Lord will certainly comply with this request.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
[On Pauṇḍraka's behalf, the messenger said:] I am the one and only Lord Vāsudeva, and there is no other. It is I who have descended to this world to show mercy to the living beings. Therefore give up Your false name.
Commentary

You allow the false weapons which I have adopted out of foolishness. Not having fought with me, you permit it. You have done wrong in not taking them away from me. Make me give up those weapons. Come and give me liberation. If you are the protector from material existence (saranam), being the deliverer of liberation for even demons like me, the fight with me, and give me liberation.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

I am the only Vāsudeva and have appeared to give mercy to all beings. There is no other Vāsudeva since there is only one Supreme Lord. Therefore give up the false name of Vāsudeva since the derivation of the word means he who lives in all beings. The meaning “son of Vasudeva” is a conventional usage only. Since I give mercy to all beings, it was not proper that you acted unfavorably to me by killing kings and their armies. Or, give up the designation of showing mercy to all beings. Otherwise, in the fight between us, there will be affliction of all beings or of the people of Dvārakā.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)
Related verses

A man stands at the foot of the noonday sun, holds up a lantern, and orders the sun to set because his lantern is now the only light. Pauṇḍraka through his envoy commands Kṛṣṇa to give up His name — as though the sun had borrowed its light from the lantern.

Ajāmila and the name of Nārāyaṇa

Ajāmila in SB 6.1–3 calls his son Nārāyaṇa and, dying, cries the boy's name — and by that mercy the Viṣṇudūtas come and bind the Yamadūtas. The point Gauḍīyas extract is that the name is not Pauṇḍraka's to discard or Kṛṣṇa's to surrender: the name has its own potency, indistinguishable from the Named, and rescues even those who use it half-knowingly.

Pauṇḍraka demands that Kṛṣṇa renounce the name 'Vāsudeva.' But the name is non-different from Kṛṣṇa (nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktiḥ). To ask Kṛṣṇa to drop His name is to ask the sun to extinguish its rays.

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