FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.72.23

రాజన్యబన్ధవో హ్యేతే బ్రహ్మలిఙ్గాని బిభ్రతి । దదాని భిక్షితం తేభ్య ఆత్మానమపి దుస్త్యజమ్ ॥ ౨౩ ॥
rājanya-bandhavo hy ete
[raajanya-bandhavo hy ete]
brahma-liṅgāni bibhrati
[brahma-lingaani bibhrati]
dadāni bhikṣitaṁ tebhya
[dadaani bhikshitam tebhya]
ātmānam api dustyajam
[aatmaanam api dustyajam]
rājanya - bandhavaḥ — relatives of kṣatriyas hi — indeed ete — these brahma — of brāhmaṇas liṅgāni — the signs bibhrati — they are wearing dadāni — I should give bhikṣitam — what is begged tebhyaḥ — to them ātmānam — my own body api — even dustyajam — impossible to give up .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rājanya-bandhavo hy ete
rājanya - bandhavaḥ
relatives of kṣatriyas
brahma-liṅgāni bibhrati
dadāni bhikṣitaṁ tebhya
hi
indeed
ete
these
brahma
of brāhmaṇas
liṅgāni
the signs
bibhrati
they are wearing
dadāni
I should give
bhikṣitam
what is begged
tebhyaḥ
to them
ātmānam api dustyajam
ātmānam
my own body
api
even
dustyajam
impossible to give up .
  • rājanya-bandhavaḥ — relatives of kṣatriyas
    Compound. He calls them rājanya-bandhus, not brāhmaṇas — having seen through. But the disguise remains binding because of his vow.
  • bhikṣitam — what is begged
    Accusative neuter past participle. Whatever is begged — open-ended, like Bali's commitment to Vāmana. Once the petition is registered, the king cannot retract.
  • ātmānam — my own body, my own self
    Accusative. The vow extends even to self-gift. Cf. Bali offering his own head when no land remained. The verse rhymes Jarāsandha with Bali deliberately.
  • dustyajam — impossible to give up
    Accusative neuter adjective. Most precious — yet promised. Kṣatriya vacana-dharma absolute: 'though impossible to give, I will give.'
[Jarāsandha thought:] These are surely members of the royal order dressed as brāhmaṇas, but still I must grant their request for charity, even if they beg me for my own body.

Here Jarāsandha reveals his strong commitment to charity, especially when begged by brāhmaṇas.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
[Jarāsandha thought:] These are surely members of the royal order dressed as brāhmaṇas, but still I must grant their request for charity, even if they beg me for my own body.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He thought as follows. Another version has rājanya-bandhavo ‘pi and dadāmi instead of dadāni. Even I should give them my body if they ask.

Related values
Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Discriminative WisdomAsteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Pratijna (Vow-keeping / Sacred Resolve)Satya (Truthfulness)Dhriti (Resilience / Steadfastness / Fortitude)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Dana (Charity / Generosity)
Related verses
Concepts
JivaAtmaDana

A king who has vowed to give will give even if asked for his own body. Jarāsandha here speaks like Bali; the resemblance is deliberate, and the next two verses make the parallel explicit. Tragedy in this chapter is that the man's virtue is real — his cruelty toward 20,800 captive kings simply lies elsewhere.

📝 My note

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