SB 10.12.41 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीराजोवाच ब्रह्मन्कालान्तरकृतं तत्कालीनं कथं भवेत् । यत् कौमारे हरिकृतं जगु: पौगण्डकेऽर्भका: ॥ ४१ ॥

Verse text

śrī-rājovāca brahman kālāntara-kṛtaṁ tat-kālīnaṁ kathaṁ bhavet yat kaumāre hari-kṛtaṁ jaguḥ paugaṇḍake ’rbhakāḥ

Synonyms

śrī — rājā uvāca — Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired ; brahman — O learned brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) ; kāla — antara — kṛtam — things done in the past, at a different time (in the kaumāra age) ; tat — kālīnam — described as happening now (in the paugaṇḍa age) ; katham bhavet — how could it be so ; yat — which pastime ; kaumāre — in the kaumāra age ; hari — kṛtam — was done by Kṛṣṇa ; jaguḥ — they described ; paugaṇḍake — in the paugaṇḍa age (after one year) ; arbhakāḥ — all the boys .

Translation

Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired: O great sage, how could things done in the past have been described as being done at the present? Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa performed this pastime of killing Aghāsura during His kaumāra age. How then, during His paugaṇḍa age, could the boys have described this incident as having happened recently?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired: O great sage, how could things done in the past have been described as being done at the present? Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa performed this pastime of killing Aghāsura during His kaumāra age. How then, during His paugaṇḍa age, could the boys have described this incident as having happened recently? KB 10.12.41 King Parīkṣit was a bit astonished to understand that the killing of the Aghāsura demon was not discussed for one year, until after the boys attained the paugaṇḍa age.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"How can past events appear as if they happened very recently? How can Krsna make the pastimes which happened when the boys were in their kaumara age (five years) appear to have happened later, when they were six years old?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

How could activities which occurred in the past be seen in the present time? How could the boys say that what Kṛṣṇa did in his kaumāra period was done in his paugaṇḍa period? Knowing the activities took place in the kaumāra period how could they say otherwise? How could this happen?

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

How could activities which occurred in the past be seen in the present time? That is explained. It seemed impossible. You alone know. O direct form of the Vedas (brāhmaṇa)!