FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.74.36

యయాతినైషాం హి కులం శప్తం సద్భ‍ిర్బహిష్కృతమ్ । వృథాపానరతం శశ్వత్ సపర్యాం కథమర్హతి ॥ ౩౬ ॥
yayātinaiṣāṁ hi kulaṁ
[yayaatinaishaam hi kulam]
śaptaṁ sadbhir bahiṣ-kṛtam
[shaptam sadbhir bahish-kritam]
vṛthā-pāna-rataṁ śaśvat
[vrithaa-paana-ratam shashvat]
saparyāṁ katham arhati
[saparyaam katham arhati]
yayātinā — by Yayāti eṣām — their hi — indeed kulam — dynasty śaptam — was cursed sadbhiḥ — by well-behaved persons bahiḥ - kṛtam — ostracized vṛthā — wantonly pāna — to drinking ratam — addicted śaśvat — always saparyām — worship katham — how arhati — does He deserve .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yayātinaiṣāṁ hi kulaṁ
yayātinā
by Yayāti
eṣām
their
hi
indeed
kulam
dynasty
śaptaṁ sadbhir bahiṣ-kṛtam
śaptam
was cursed
sadbhiḥ
by well-behaved persons
bahiḥ - kṛtam
ostracized
vṛthā-pāna-rataṁ śaśvat
vṛthā
wantonly
pāna
to drinking
ratam
addicted
śaśvat
always
saparyāṁ katham arhati
saparyām
worship
katham
how
arhati
does He deserve .
  • yayātinā — by Yayāti
    Instrumental — 'by Yayāti'. The Bhāgavatam tells Yayāti's full story in 9.18–19. The name is dropped here knowing readers will recognise the curse-pattern; the Bhāgavatam expects narrative literacy.
  • śaptam — was cursed
    Past participle of √śap. The verb of curse. Gauḍīyas: ṛṣi- and pitṛ-curses are real karmic instruments in the Purāṇic worldview — Śiśupāla weaponises a real fact, but reads it without bhakti's grammar.
  • pāna - ratam — addicted to drinking
    Compound: pāna (drink) + rata (devoted to). Śiśupāla accuses the Yādavas of drunkenness — and indeed the Mausala-līlā (SB 11.30) shows the Yādavas at the end fighting in their cups. But the same dynasty bore Kṛṣṇa; bhakti does not require a clean genealogy.
Yayāti cursed the dynasty of these Yādavas, and ever since then they have been ostracized by honest men and addicted to liquor. How, then, does Kṛṣṇa deserve to be worshiped?

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives the inner meaning of the words of Śiśupāla to show how he continued unintentionally glorifying Lord Kṛṣṇa and His Yadu dynasty: “Even though the Yadus were cursed by Yayāti, they have been relieved [ bahis-kṛtam ] of this curse by great saints, and consequently they have been raised to a position of royal sovereignty by such persons as Kārtavīrya. Thus they have become absorbed in pāna, protecting the earth. Considering all this, how does Kṛṣṇa, the chief of the Yadus, deserve useless [ vṛthā ] worship? Rather, He deserves opulent worship.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Yayāti cursed the dynasty of these Yādavas, and ever since then they have been ostracized by honest men and addicted to liquor. How, then, does Kṛṣṇa deserve to be worshiped?
Commentary

The dysnasty was cursed by Yayati and ostracized by the saintly persons. The other meaning is : the dynasty was cursed by Yayait but then reinstated by saintly persons. Therefore Kartavirya arjuna and others became emperors. He is engaged in whimsically drinking liquor (vrtha pana ratah). The other meanings is: he is engaged in protecting the earth. Therefore how does he deserve this worthless (vrtha) worship. However, by accepting it he makes it successful

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

In criticizing Kṛṣṇa he also criticizes all the Yadus in two verses. Because the family was cursed by Yayāti they have been ostracized by the righteous. The real meaning is as follows. The family has delivered (bahiṣkṛtam) from the curse by sacrifices by the great sages. The family is absorbed in protecting the earth (pāna-ratam). Therefore why is worshipping the Yadus useless?

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Hrih (Modesty / Sense of Shame)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses

A man who hates a family will dig up the oldest scandal he can find and shake it at every member alive. Yayāti cursed his son Yadu — and Śiśupāla now uses that ancient curse as if it indicted Kṛṣṇa who came to that very dynasty to redeem it.

Yayāti's curse on Yadu

When King Yayāti asked his sons to lend him their youth, only the youngest, Pūru, agreed. The eldest, Yadu, refused — and Yayāti cursed him: 'Your line will never sit on the imperial throne.' This is the curse Śiśupāla cites in SB 9.18.

Gauḍīyas note the irony: the very curse that kept the Yādavas off the world-throne is what allowed Kṛṣṇa, when He took birth among them, to remain free of empire-administration — He is sātvatām pati (verse 19), not sāmrājya-pati. The curse is the line's grace.

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