FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.85.1

శ్రీబాదరాయణిరువాచ అథైకదాత్మజౌ ప్రాప్తౌ కృతపాదాభివన్దనౌ । వసుదేవోఽభినన్ద్యాహ ప్రీత్యా సఙ్కర్షణాచ్యుతౌ ॥ ౧ ॥
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
[shree-baadaraayanir uvaacha]
athaikadātmajau prāptau
[athaikadaatmajau praaptau]
kṛta-pādābhivandanau
[krita-paadaabhivandanau]
vasudevo ’bhinandyāha
[vasudevo ’bhinandyaaha]
prītyā saṅkarṣaṇācyutau
[preetyaa sankarshanaachyutau]
śrī - bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca — Śrī Bādarāyaṇi (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) said atha — then ekadā — one day ātmajau — his two sons prāptau — came to him kṛta — having done pāda — of his feet abhivandanau — honoring vasudevaḥ — Vasudeva abhinandya — greeting Them āha — said prītyā — affectionately saṅkarṣaṇa - acyutau — to Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
śrī - bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) said
athaikadātmajau prāptau
atha
then
ekadā
one day
ātmajau
his two sons
prāptau
came to him
kṛta-pādābhivandanau
kṛta
having done
pāda
of his feet
abhivandanau
honoring
vasudevo ’bhinandyāha
vasudevaḥ
Vasudeva
abhinandya
greeting Them
āha
said
prītyā saṅkarṣaṇācyutau
prītyā
affectionately
saṅkarṣaṇa - acyutau
to Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa .
  • ātmajau — his two sons
    Dual: 'two born from the self'. Vasudeva still speaks of Them as ātma-jau even as he is about to discover that They are themselves the ātmā of all. The verse's whole movement is the slow loosening of this single word.
  • kṛta-pāda-abhivandanau — having bowed at his feet
    Compound: kṛta (done) + pāda (feet) + abhivandanau (honoring). Bhagavān physically touches Vasudeva's feet — the Supreme submitting to vātsalya-rasa. Gauḍīyas read this as the very form of Kṛṣṇa's mādhurya: aiśvarya is voluntarily eclipsed by relationship.
  • saṅkarṣaṇa-acyutau — to Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa
    Dual compound naming both brothers. Saṅkarṣaṇa = 'the one who draws together' (the first catur-vyūha expansion); Acyuta = 'the one who never falls'. The pair names both viṣṇu-tattva (Balarāma) and svayam-bhagavān (Kṛṣṇa).
  • prītyā — affectionately
    Instrumental of prīti — the natural form of love a father feels toward his sons. Even at the threshold of recognizing Their divinity, Vasudeva's first response is vātsalya, not awe. Gauḍīyas insist this is correct: relationship precedes theology.
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: One day the two sons of Vasudeva — Saṅkarṣaṇa and Acyuta — came to pay him respects, bowing down at his feet. Vasudeva greeted Them with great affection and spoke to Them.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: One day the two sons of Vasudeva—Saṅkarṣaṇa and Acyuta—came to pay him respects, bowing down at his feet. Vasudeva greeted Them with great affection and spoke to Them.
Commentary

In the eighty fifth chapter Krsna gives instructs to his father on jnana and brings back Devaki’s six sons. Krsna goes with Balarama to Bali’s home, and Bali praises Krsna.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Vasudeva had paternal feelings mixed with knowledge of the Lord’s powers. His respect for the Lord’s powers was stimulated by the words of the sages. Because of that, and still remembering the conversations filled with apparent jṣāna when the Lord spoke to the gopīs, Śukadeva praises a particular incidental pastime. After the trip to Kurukṣetra where Vasudeva received special instructions from the sages, one day in the morning Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma offered him respects, because they were his sons. He could not give up his feelings for them. He greeted them by offering blessings and then spoke with affection, satisfied internally that the two who were the Supreme Lords had appeared as his sons and who were inseparable from showing powers and giving affection (saṅkarṣaṇācyutau). That satisfaction with their greatness became a cause of Kṛṣṇa destroying that conception later.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The affection of the Lord for Nanda and others has been described. Now related to this, the affection of the Lord for Vasudeva and others is described. After the journey to Kurukṣetra or to indicate auspiciousness (atha), showing affection to their father, the brothers came to Vasudeva in the morning, as a daily custom, because they were his sons (ātma-jau). This happened when they were alone with him (ekadā) or it happened at an auspicious time, to give him mercy. Vasudeva greeted them with affection, with blessings and praises. He spoke with joy because Balarāma attracted all hearts by spreading his glories (saṅkārṣaṇa) and Kṛṣṇa was full of all powers (acyutau).

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses

When Vasudeva sees Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma bowing at his feet, the situation is upside-down — the One who upholds the worlds touches the feet of the one whom He chose as His father. Like a king who, having entered a play, kneels to the actor cast as his elder, the Lord honors the role He Himself has assigned.

📝 My note

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