Devanagari
तं मानिन: स्वाभिभवं यश:क्षयं
परे जरासन्धमुखा न सेहिरे ।
अहो धिगस्मान् यश आत्तधन्वनां
गोपैर्हृतं केशरिणां मृगैरिव ॥ ५७ ॥
Verse text
taṁ māninaḥ svābhibhavaṁ yaśaḥ-kṣayaṁ
pare jarāsandha-mukhā na sehire
aho dhig asmān yaśa ātta-dhanvanāṁ
gopair hṛtaṁ keśariṇāṁ mṛgair iva
Synonyms
tam
—
that
;
māninaḥ
—
conceited
;
sva
—
their
;
abhibhavam
—
defeat
;
yaśaḥ
—
their honor
;
kṣayam
—
ruining
;
pare
—
the enemies
;
jarāsandha
—
mukhāḥ — headed by Jarāsandha
;
na sehire
—
could not tolerate
;
aho
—
ah
;
dhik
—
condemnation
;
asmān
—
upon us
;
yaśaḥ
—
the honor
;
ātta
—
dhanvanām — of the archers
;
gopaiḥ
—
by cowherds
;
hṛtam
—
taken away
;
keśariṇām
—
of lions
;
mṛgaiḥ
—
by small animals
;
iva
—
as if .
Translation
The kings inimical to the Lord, headed by Jarāsandha, could not tolerate this humiliating defeat. They exclaimed, “Oh, damn us! Though we are mighty archers, mere cowherds have stolen our honor, just as puny animals might steal the honor of lions!”
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The kings inimical to the Lord, headed by Jarāsandha, could not tolerate this humiliating defeat. They exclaimed, "Oh, damn us! Though we are mighty archers, mere cowherds have stolen our honor, just as puny animals might steal the honor of lions!"
KB 10.53.57
Jarāsandha, who had many times experienced defeat by Kṛṣṇa, roared, “How is this? Kṛṣṇa is taking Rukmiṇī away from us without opposition! What is the use of our being chivalrous fighters with arrows? My dear princes, just look! We are losing our reputation. He is just like a jackal taking booty from a lion.”
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifty-third Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Kṛṣṇa Kidnaps Rukmiṇī.”
Purport
From the last two verses of this chapter it is clear that the perverted intelligence of demons makes them perceive things in a way exactly opposite to reality. It is clearly stated that Kṛṣṇa stole Rukmiṇī like a lion taking his prey from the midst of jackals. The demons, however, saw
themselves
as lions and Lord Kṛṣṇa as an inferior creature. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, life becomes most dangerous.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Fifty-third Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “Kṛṣṇa Kidnaps Rukmiṇī.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Finding the offense intolerable, they began to abuse the Yadavas. "We are unfortunate because our fame has been stolen by cowherd men."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The enemies (pare), who were proud, could not tolerate their defeat from which they lost fame. Or they could not tolerate defeat and the lost of fame. Instead of mukhā sometimes vaśā (under the control of) is seen. We are unfortunate. The fame of kings with excellent bows in their hands has been stolen by a cowherd. The plural gopaiḥ (by cowherds) is used to indicate the Yadus, because they followed Kṛṣṇa. Since cowherds have defeated us, our fame has been destroyed. Asmad yaśaḥ is sometimes seen instead of asmān yaśaḥ.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Their defeat was criticized because Kṛṣṇa had directly taken away the bride. Because of this, their fame was destroyed, since they could not do anything or because their efforts to obtain a bride for Śiśupāla had failed. All the warriors other than the Yadus (pare) could not tolerate this defeat because they were proud of their valor (māninaḥ). Or the enemies (pare), who were proud, could not tolerate their defeat. Aho indicates lamentation. Though we had bows in our hands, our fame was stolen by cowherds who hold only sticks in their hands, who live in the forest and pay taxes. This is most improper. An example is given. The booty of the lions has been stolen by other animals. Or the fame in prowess of great strength has been stolen when the small animals take the booty. They considered the Yadus who accompanied Kṛṣṇa to be cowherds. Thus the plural is used (gopaiḥ). Another version has asmad-yaṣa, but this results in no relation to ātta-dhanvanām.
Śrīdhara Svāmī has explained the meaning to be asmākam ātta-dhanvanām, which is easy to understand (the fame of us who hold bows has been stolen).
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Fifty-third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Kṛṣṇa Kidnaps Rukmiṇī."
10.54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī
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, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60
Chapter Summary
This chapter describes how Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa defeated the opposing kings after kidnapping Rukmiṇī, disfigured Rukmiṇī's brother Rukmī, brought Rukmiṇī to His capital and married her.
As Śrī Kṛṣṇa was taking Princess Rukmiṇī away, the inimical kings gathered their armies and pursued Him. Lord Baladeva and the generals of the Yādava army turned to face these opponents, blocking their advance. The enemy armies then began pouring incessant showers of arrows upon Lord Kṛṣṇa's army. Seeing her husband-to-be's forces under such violent attack, Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī looked at Śrī Kṛṣṇa fearfully. But Kṛṣṇa simply smiled and told her there was nothing to fear because His army would surely destroy the enemy in short order.
Lord Balarāma and the other heroes then began to annihilate the opposing army with nārāca arrows. The enemy kings, headed by Jarāsandha, retreated after suffering the destruction of their armies at the hands of the Yādavas.
Jarāsandha consoled Śiśupāla: "Happiness and distress are never permanent and are under the control of the Supreme Lord. Seventeen times Kṛṣṇa defeated me, but in the end I was victorious over Him. Thus seeing that victory and defeat are under the control of destiny and time, I have learned not to succumb to either lamentation or joy. Time now favors the Yādavas, so they have defeated you with only a small army, but in the future time will favor you, and you will surely conquer them." Consoled in this way, Śiśupāla took his followers and returned to his kingdom.
Rukmiṇī's brother Rukmī, who hated Kṛṣṇa, was infuriated by Kṛṣṇa's kidnapping of his sister. So, after vowing before all the kings present that he would not return to Kuṇḍina until Kṛṣṇa had been destroyed and Rukmiṇī rescued, Rukmī set out with his army to attack the Lord. Ignorant of Lord Kṛṣṇa's glories, Rukmī boldly went out to attack Kṛṣṇa in a lone chariot. He approached the Lord, struck Him with arrows and demanded that He release Rukmiṇī. Śrī Kṛṣṇa fended off Rukmī's weapons, breaking them to pieces. Then He raised His sword high and was about to kill Rukmī when Rukmiṇī interceded and fervently pleaded that her brother's life be spared. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not kill Rukmī, but with His sword He shaved off bits of Rukmī's hair here and there, leaving him disfigured. Just then Lord Baladeva appeared on the scene with the Yādava army. Seeing Rukmī disfigured, He gently reproached Kṛṣṇa: "To disfigure such a close family member is as good as killing him; therefore he should not be killed but set free."
Lord Baladeva then told Rukmiṇī that the sorry condition of her brother was only the fruit of his past work, since everyone is responsible for his own happiness and suffering. He further instructed her about the transcendental position of the jīva soul and how the illusion of happiness and distress is simply a result of ignorance. Accepting Lord Balarāma's instructions, Rukmiṇī gave up her sorrow.
Rukmī, meanwhile, felt totally frustrated, deprived as he was of all his strength and his will to fight. Since he had vowed not to return home without conquering Kṛṣṇa, Rukmī constructed a city on that very spot and took up residence there in a mood of undiminished anger.
Lord Kṛṣṇa took Rukmiṇī to His capital, Dvārakā, and married her. All the citizens celebrated in lavish style, broadcasting throughout the city accounts of how the Lord had kidnapped Rukmiṇī. Everyone in Dvārakā was delighted to see Lord Kṛṣṇa united with Rukmiṇī.