Devanagari
नन्दगोपादयो गोपा भोजराजसमाहुता:
निवेदितोपायनास्त एकस्मिन्मञ्च आविशन् ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
nanda-gopādayo gopā
bhoja-rāja-samāhutāḥ
niveditopāyanās ta
ekasmin maṣca āviśan
Synonyms
nanda
—
gopa — ādayaḥ — headed by Nanda Gopa
;
gopāḥ
—
the cowherds
;
bhoja
—
rāja — by Kaṁsa, King of the Bhojas
;
samāhutāḥ
—
called forward
;
nivedita
—
presenting
;
upāyanāḥ
—
their offerings
;
te
—
they
;
ekasmin
—
in one
;
maṣce
—
viewing gallery
;
āviśan
—
sat down .
Translation
Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherds, summoned by the King of the Bhojas, presented him with their offerings and then took their seats in one of the galleries.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherds, summoned by the King of the Bhojas, presented him with their offerings and then took their seats in one of the galleries.
KB 10.42.38
All the respectable cowherd men who came from Vṛndāvana, headed by Nanda, were also welcomed by Kaṁsa. After presenting Kaṁsa with the milk products they had brought with them, the cowherd men also took their respective seats by the side of the King, on a platform especially meant for them.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Forty-second Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “The Breaking of the Bow in the Sacrificial Arena.”
Purport
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the word
samāhutāḥ
indicates that King Kaṁsa respectfully called the leaders of Vraja forward so that they could make their offerings to the central government. According to the
ācārya,
Kaṁsa assured Nanda as follows: “My dear King of Vraja, you are the most important of my village rulers. Yet even though you have come to Mathurā from your cowherd village, you have not come to visit me. Is that because you are frightened? Don’t think that your two sons are bad because They broke the bow. I invited Them here because I heard They were extremely powerful, and I’ve arranged this wrestling match as a test of Their strength. So please come forward without hesitation. Don’t be afraid.”
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī further states that Nanda Mahārāja noticed his two sons were not present. Apparently, out of disrespect for King Kaṁsa’s order, They had taken the morning off and gone elsewhere.
Thus Kaṁsa delegated some cowherd men to go look for Them and advise Them to behave properly and come back to the wrestling arena. The
ācārya
also states that the reason Nanda and the other cowherd men sat in the galleries was that they could not find any sitting places on the royal dais.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Forty-second Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “The Breaking of the Sacrificial Bow.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
With respect and comforting intentions (sam) Kamsa called Nanda and others. In this way he encouraged Nanda. "You, the king of Vraja, are the chief among my leaders. Though you have come from the village, is it from fear, that you did not associate intimately with me? Do not consider that your two sons’ breaking the bow was so bad. They showed their strength to me by doing so. I have heard that they are strong, so I have called them to see for myself. So do not be afraid. Quickly come forward."
Nanda noticed that his two sons out of disrepect for Kamsa’s orders, had gone elsewhere that morning. Not waiting from them to come on their own, he sent some affectionate, closely related cowherd men to protect them and teach proper behavior. Having instructed them, he quickly brought them to the arena. Upananda and others quickly came forward and offered yogurt, ghee, cloth and gold coins. Not seeing any space on the platform of the king, they sat in another place at the order of Kamsa.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The elder cowherds were respectfully called by Kaṁsa, who dispatched Akrūra and other Bhoja relatives to invite them. On their own they did not want to enter, being in anxiety because of the breaking of the bow. He called them to pacify them, so that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would start fighting in the wrestling matches. It should be understood that by the will of Kṛṣṇa they were first brought to the spot when he killed the elephant, and then entered the wrestling arena. The cowherds all sat in one gallery, not separate galleries.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The elder cowherds were respectfully called by Kaṁsa, who dispatched Akrūra and other Bhoja relatives to invite them. On their own, they did not want to enter, being in anxiety because of the breaking of the bow. He called them to pacify them, so that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would start fighting in the wrestling matches. It should be understood that by the will of Kṛṣṇa they were first brought to the spot when he killed the elephant, and then entered the wrestling arena. The cowherds all sat in one gallery, not separate galleries. Vasudeva was seated at the front of that gallery. That is stated later. The cowherds who were not Kṛṣṇa’s companions were seated there. The cowherd boys went with Kṛṣṇa. This is mentioned later. vṛtau gopaiḥ katipayaiḥ: he was surrounded by some cowherd friends. (SB 10.43.16)
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Forty-second Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Breaking of the Sacrificial Bow."
10.43: Kṛṣṇa Kills the Elephant Kuvalayāpīḍa
verses: Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21-22, 23, 24, 25, 26-27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40
Chapter Summary
This chapter tells how Lord Kṛṣṇa killed the lordly elephant Kuvalayāpīḍa, how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma entered the wrestling arena and what Kṛṣṇa said to the wrestler Cāṇūra.
After finishing Their early-morning rituals, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma heard kettledrums heralding the start of the wrestling match, and They went to see the festivities. At the gate of the wrestling arena They encountered an elephant named Kuvalayāpīḍa, who attacked Kṛṣṇa at the urging of his keeper. The mighty elephant grabbed at Kṛṣṇa with his trunk, but the Lord struck back and then disappeared from the beast's sight among his legs. Enraged at not being able to see Kṛṣṇa, Kuvalayāpīḍa sought Him out with his sense of smell and seized Him. But the Lord pulled loose. In this way Kṛṣṇa teased and tormented Kuvalayāpīḍa, finally yanking out one of his tusks and beating him and his keepers to death.
Sprinkled with the elephant's blood and carrying one of his tusks on His shoulder as a weapon, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared unprecedentedly beautiful as He entered the wrestling arena. There the various classes of people saw Him in different ways, according to their specific relationship with Him.
When King Kaṁsa heard how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had killed Kuvalayāpīḍa, he realized They were invincible and became filled with anxiety. The members of the audience, on the other hand, became joyful as they reminded one another about the Lords' amazing pastimes. The people declared that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma must be two expansions of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa who had descended into the house of Vasudeva.
Cāṇūra then stepped forward and challenged Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to wrestle, saying King Kaṁsa wished to see such a match. Kṛṣṇa replied, "Although We are merely nomadic forest folk, We are nonetheless subjects of the King; thus We will not hesitate to please him with an exhibition of wrestling." As soon as Cāṇūra heard this, he suggested that Kṛṣṇa should wrestle him and that Balarāma should wrestle Muṣṭika.