Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
एतावदुक्त्वा भगवानात्मानं वल्लभामिव ।
मन्यमानामविश्लेषात् तद्दर्पघ्न उपारमत् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
etāvad uktvā bhagavān
ātmānaṁ vallabhām iva
manyamānām aviśleṣāt
tad-darpa-ghna upāramat
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
etāvat
—
this much
;
uktvā
—
saying
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Lord
;
ātmānam
—
herself
;
vallabhām
—
His beloved
;
iva
—
as
;
manyamānām
—
thinking
;
aviśleṣāt
—
because of (His) never being separated (from her)
;
tat
—
that
;
darpa
—
of the pride
;
ghnaḥ
—
the destroyer
;
upāramat
—
desisted .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Rukmiṇī had thought herself especially beloved by the Lord because He never left her company. By saying these things to her He vanquished her pride, and then He stopped speaking.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Rukmiṇī had thought herself especially beloved by the Lord because He never left her company. By saying these things to her He vanquished her pride, and then He stopped speaking.
KB 10.60.21
After submitting His statement, Lord Kṛṣṇa suddenly stopped.
The great authority Śukadeva Gosvāmī remarks that Kṛṣṇa almost always passed His time with Rukmiṇī, and Rukmiṇī was a bit proud to be so fortunate that Kṛṣṇa never left her even for a moment. Kṛṣṇa, however, does not like any of His devotees to be proud. As soon as a devotee becomes so, by some tactic He cuts down that pride. In this case also, Kṛṣṇa said many things which were hard for Rukmiṇī to hear. She could only conclude that although she was proud of her position, Kṛṣṇa could be separated from her at any moment.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
She thought of herself as the dearest wife (vallabhām), qualified as equal to him. The conventional meaning of vallabhām is accepted without change of gender (not agreeing with ātmānam). This is an exaggeration since actually she was standing happily engaging as a servant. She did not manifest pride like Satyabhāmā and others who became angry at Kṛṣṇa. But she thought, “He will never be separated from me.” He thought of destroying that pride for fun, and then stopped moving. He waited silently to see her show of love or anger. In verse 20 it is said that she could not understand the full meaning of his teasing. He will also say:
mā mā vaidarbhy asūyethā jāne tvāṁ mat-parāyaṇām
tvad-vacaḥ śrotu-kāmena kṣvelyācaritam aṅgane
O Vaidarbhī, do not be displeased with me. I know that you are fully devoted to me. I only spoke in jest, dear lady, because I wanted to hear what you would say. SB 10.60.29
This will be explained later.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
She thought herself as if beloved. Actually she generally considers herself the servant, because of humility arising from the nature of great prema. At Kurukṣetra she later says:
caidyāya mārpayitum udyata-kārmukeṣu
rājasv ajeya-bhaṭa-śekharitāṅghri-reṇuḥ
ninye mṛgendra iva bhāgam ajāvi-yūthāt
tac-chrī-niketa-caraṇo ’stu mamārcanāya
When all the kings held their bows at the ready to assure that I would be presented to Śiśupāla, he who puts the dust of his feet on the heads of invincible warriors took me from their midst, as a lion forcibly takes his prey from the midst of goats and sheep. May I always be allowed to worship those feet of Kṛṣṇa, the abode of Lakṣmī. SB 10.83.8
The word iva can also be linked to the later word: manyamānām iva. She apparently thought like this. She did not actually think like that and thus her pride being destroyed was also only apparent. She actually had no pride. This happened only because he was teasing her. In verse 20 it is said that she could not understand the full meaning of his teasing. He will also say:
mā mā vaidarbhy asūyethā jāne tvāṁ mat-parāyaṇām
tvad-vacaḥ śrotu-kāmena kṣvelyācaritam aṅgane
O Vaidarbhī, do not be displeased with me. I know that you are fully devoted to me. I only spoke in jest, dear lady, because I wanted to hear what you would say. SB 10.60.29