Devanagari
वयं तु पुरुषव्याघ्र ऐक्ष्वाका: क्षत्रबन्धव: ।
मुचुकुन्द इति प्रोक्तो यौवनाश्वात्मज: प्रभो ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
vayaṁ tu puruṣa-vyāghra
aikṣvākāḥ kṣatra-bandhavaḥ
mucukunda iti prokto
yauvanāśvātmajaḥ prabho
Synonyms
vayam
—
we
;
tu
—
on the other hand
;
puruṣa
—
among men
;
vyāghra
—
O tiger
;
aikṣvākāḥ
—
descendants of Ikṣvāku
;
kṣatra
—
of kṣatriyas
;
bandhavaḥ
—
family members
;
mucukundaḥ
—
Mucukunda
;
iti
—
thus
;
proktaḥ
—
called
;
yauvanāśva
—
of Yauvanāśva (Māndhātā, the son of Yuvanāśva)
;
ātma
—
jaḥ — the son
;
prabho
—
O Lord .
Translation
As for ourselves, O tiger among men, we belong to a family of fallen kṣatriyas, descendants of King Ikṣvāku. My name is Mucukunda, my Lord, and I am the son of Yauvanāśva.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As for ourselves, O tiger among men, we belong to a family of fallen kṣatriyas, descendants of King Ikṣvāku. My name is Mucukunda, my Lord, and I am the son of Yauvanāśva.
KB 10.51.31
King Mucukunda thought it wise, however, to identify himself to the Lord first; otherwise he had no right to ask the Lord’s identity. Etiquette is such that a person of less importance cannot ask the identity of a person of higher importance without first disclosing his own identity. King Mucukunda therefore told Lord Kṛṣṇa, “My dear Lord, let me first inform You of my identity. I belong to the most celebrated dynasty of King Ikṣvāku, but personally I am not as great as my forefather. My name is Mucukunda. My father’s name was Māndhātā, and my grandfather was the great king Yuvanāśva.
Purport
It is common in Vedic culture that a
kṣatriya
will humbly introduce himself as
kṣatra-bandhu,
a mere relative in a
kṣatriya
family, or in other words a fallen
kṣatriya.
In ancient Vedic culture, to claim a particular status on the basis of one’s family relations was itself indicative of a fallen position.
Kṣatriyas
and
brāhmaṇas
should be given status according to their merit, by their qualities of work and character. When the caste system in India became degraded, people proudly claimed to be relatives of
kṣatriyas
or
brāhmaṇas,
though in the past such a claim, unaccompanied by tangible qualifications, indicated a fallen position.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Though he had indicated his own position, he noted Krsna’s silence. Therefore he decided to introduce himself, noting his own good qualifications. By saying he was a low class ksatriya, he intended to show his humility, and thus his good quality.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
What is the ability of a fallen soul to inquire about the birth of an exalted person? And how can this be told to a fallen person? Therefore I should tell about my birth and history in order to surrender to him. He then tells about himself. Mucukunda acts in this way as part of Kṛṣṇa’s human pastimes. Thinking himself fallen, he uses the word tu (but) to indicate that speaking of himself is a different topic. I belong to the family of Ikṣvāku. He calls himself a fallen kṣatriya (kṣatra-bandhavaḥ) out of humility.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
What is the ability of a fallen soul to inquire about the birth of an exalted person? And how can this be told to a fallen person? Therefore I should tell about my birth and history in order to surrender to him. He then tells about himself. Mucukunda acts in this way as part of Kṛṣṇa’s human pastimes. Thinking himself fallen, he uses the word tu (but) to indicate that speaking of himself is a different topic. I belong to the family of Ikṣvāku. He calls himself a fallen kṣatriya (kṣatra-bandhavaḥ) out of humility. Yuvanāśva’s son was Māndhātā Mucukunda does not utter his father’s name out of respect. Mucukunda was his son. O tiger among men! Though I am the best of men since I descend from Ikṣvaku, you are the most excellent. O Lord, with special powers (prabho)!