Devanagari
किं चाग्रजो मावनतं यदूत्तम:
स्मयन् परिष्वज्य गृहीतमञ्जलौ ।
गृहं प्रवेष्याप्तसमस्तसत्कृतं
सम्प्रक्ष्यते कंसकृतं स्वबन्धुषु ॥ २३ ॥
Verse text
kiṁ cāgrajo māvanataṁ yadūttamaḥ
smayan pariṣvajya gṛhītam aṣjalau
gṛhaṁ praveṣyāpta-samasta-satkṛtaṁ
samprakṣyate kaṁsa-kṛtaṁ sva-bandhuṣu
Synonyms
kim ca
—
furthermore
;
agra
—
jaḥ — His elder brother (Lord Balarāma)
;
mā
—
me
;
avanatam
—
who am standing with head bowed
;
yadu
—
uttamaḥ — the most exalted of the Yadus
;
smayan
—
smiling
;
pariṣvajya
—
embracing
;
gṛhītam
—
taken hold of
;
aṣjalau
—
by my joined palms
;
gṛham
—
His house
;
praveṣya
—
bringing into
;
āpta
—
who will have received
;
samasta
—
all
;
sat
—
kṛtam — signs of respect
;
samprakṣyate
—
He will inquire
;
kaṁsa
—
by Kaṁsa
;
kṛtam
—
what has been done
;
sva
—
bandhuṣu — to His family members .
Translation
And then Lord Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, the foremost of the Yadus, will grasp my joined hands while I am still standing with my head bowed, and after embracing me He will take me to His house. There He will honor me with all items of ritual welcome and inquire from me about how Kaṁsa has been treating His family members.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
And then Lord Kṛṣṇa's elder brother, the foremost of the Yadus, will grasp my joined hands while I am still standing with my head bowed, and after embracing me He will take me to His house. There He will honor me with all items of ritual welcome and inquire from me about how Kaṁsa has been treating His family members.
KB 10.38.23
Akrūra then thought, “When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are pleased with my behavior, certainly They will take my hand, receive me within Their home and offer me all kinds of respectable hospitalities, and They will surely ask me about the activities of Kaṁsa and his friends.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Will Balarama, his elder brother, take me, with folded hands, by his right hand, and lead me into his house to speak with him, and after finishing his acts of hospitality (sat krtam}inquire about how Kamsa has been treating his family members?
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Since I am related to the great devotee Vasudeva, Kṛṣṇa will show me great friendship. Thinking in this way, and getting some relief, he develops another desire. The word kim indicates possibility and vā indicates all the items. Will his elder brother perhaps embrace me? He is the best friend since he is a relative. Akrūra folds his hands in humility. Because he is the elder brother, Balarāma will take my folded hands and lead me to his house. Balarāma will smile since his mind is pleased. When the hospitality had been completed, then a further development takes place with questions about the actions of Kaṁsa against Vasudeva and others and Balarāma will expect details. His intention here is “By making Balarāma favorable, I will be able to take Kṛṣṇa to Mathurā.”
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
He expresses his desire for the mercy of Balarāma, who is clearly his relative, the son of Vasudeva, for he thinks of Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda. It would be impossible for him to get Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, since he is most attached to the cowherds and gopīs. Vā (instead of ca) indicates that Kṛṣṇa’s mercy is most difficult to obtain. Since Balarāma is elder (agajaḥ) if he gives mercy, then Kṛṣṇa will follow his example as a younger brother. I will bow down with attention. Balarāma was famous as the son of Vasudeva (yadūttamaḥ). He will be smiling, because he is pleased in his mind. As an elder brother he will welcome Akrūra to the house as a guest. We will ask what Kaṁsa has done to Vasudeva and other relatives since he is the best of the Yadus. Consulting with him, I will be able to bring Kṛṣṇa from there to Mathurā.