Devanagari
असाध्विदं त्वया कृष्ण कृतमस्मज्जुगुप्सितम् ।
वपनं श्मश्रुकेशानां वैरूप्यं सुहृदो वध: ॥ ३७ ॥
Verse text
asādhv idaṁ tvayā kṛṣṇa
kṛtam asmaj-jugupsitam
vapanaṁ śmaśru-keśānāṁ
vairūpyaṁ suhṛdo vadhaḥ
Synonyms
asādhu
—
improperly
;
idam
—
this
;
tvayā
—
by You
;
kṛṣṇa
—
O Kṛṣṇa
;
kṛtam
—
done
;
asmat
—
for Us
;
jugupsitam
—
terrible
;
vapanam
—
the shaving
;
śmaśru
—
keśānām — of his mustache and hair
;
vairūpyam
—
the disfigurement
;
suhṛdaḥ
—
of a family member
;
vadhaḥ
—
death .
Translation
[Lord Balarāma said:] My dear Kṛṣṇa, You have acted improperly! This deed will bring shame on Us, for to disfigure a close relative by shaving off his mustache and hair is as good as killing him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
[Lord Balarāma said:] My dear Kṛṣṇa, You have acted improperly! This deed will bring shame on Us, for to disfigure a close relative by shaving off his mustache and hair is as good as killing him.
KB 10.54.37
“Kṛṣṇa, Your action is not at all satisfactory,” He said. “This is an abomination very much contrary to Our family tradition! To cut someone’s hair and shave his mustache and beard is almost comparable to killing him. Whatever Rukmī might have been, he is now Our brother-in-law, a relative of Our family, and You should not have put him in such a condition.”
Purport
Omniscient Balarāma knew that Rukmī was the guilty party, but to encourage the lamenting Rukmiṇī He decided to gently reproach Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"It would have been better to kill him. Shaving him with a sword has made his face ghastly." To console the lamenting Rukmini, Balarama in this way engaged in an appearance of scolding Krsna. However, internally he was thinking, "O most clever brother, you have done what is proper." Becoming satisfied, he then scolded Krsna. Suhrt in this verse refers to Rukmi as a friend, relative, a brother in law. Factually however he is and enemy, not a friend. Therefore the word is used to mean the opposite in sarcasm.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Balarāma addressed Kṛṣṇa by his principal name because of the arousal of affection as his elder brother. It is not proper for the Vṛṣṇis, who are most famous, with you as its crowning achievement, to do condemned action. What was that action? Out of shame Balarāma did not mention it in the beginning. He then mentions it in the last line. You shaved his head, but it is not a small punishment for you disfigured him also. He criticized Kṛṣṇa to pacify Rukmiṇī. He thought, “He can be criticized because he is related to me.” Rukmiṇī then became ashamed for by scolding Kṛṣṇa, she also became scolded. He did this to teach Kṛṣṇa. This was his mercy. That is understood in later verses as well.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
O giver of all happiness (kṛṣṇa)! It is wrong for us to do this criticized act. Balarāma includes himself in this act (asmat). Others can do this, but not us. Or it is an act for which others will criticize us. Out of shame he does not mention the act in the beginning, but later mentions it. This disfiguring him is not a small punishment, but death.