Devanagari
युवां न न: सुतौ साक्षात् प्रधानपुरुषेश्वरौ ।
भूभारक्षत्रक्षपण अवतीर्णौ तथात्थ ह ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
yuvāṁ na naḥ sutau sākṣāt
pradhāna-puruṣeśvarau
bhū-bhāra-kṣatra-kṣapaṇa
avatīrṇau tathāttha ha
Synonyms
yuvām
—
You two
;
na
—
not
;
naḥ
—
our
;
sutau
—
sons
;
sākṣāt
—
directly
;
pradhāna
—
puruṣa — of nature and its creator (Mahā-Viṣṇu)
;
īśvarau
—
the supreme controllers
;
bhū
—
of the earth
;
bhāra
—
the burden
;
kṣatra
—
royalty
;
kṣapaṇe
—
for eradicating
;
avatīrṇau
—
descended
;
tathā
—
so
;
āttha
—
You have said
;
ha
—
indeed .
Translation
You are not our sons but the very Lords of both material nature and its creator [Mahā-Viṣṇu]. As You Yourself have told us, You have descended to rid the earth of the rulers who are a heavy burden upon her.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
You are not our sons but the very Lords of both material nature and its creator [Mahā-Viṣṇu]. As You Yourself have told us, You have descended to rid the earth of the rulers who are a heavy burden upon her.
KB 10.85.18
“I know that neither of You is my son; both of You are the original chief and progenitor, the Personality of Godhead, the Puruṣa with pradhāna. But You have appeared on the surface of this globe to minimize the burden of the world by killing the kṣatriya kings who are unnecessarily increasing their military strength. You have already informed me about this in the past.
Purport
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, in this verse Vasudeva offers himself and his wife as excellent examples of those who are materially deluded. Although at the time of His birth in Kaṁsa’s prison Lord Kṛṣṇa told Vasudeva and Devakī that His mission was to rid the earth of unwanted
kṣatriyas,
still His two parents could not avoid thinking of Him as their helpless son who needed protection from King Kaṁsa. In reality, of course, both Vasudeva and Devakī were participating in the divine pastime of the Lord’s birth under the perfect direction of His internal energy; only out of transcendental humility does Vasudeva criticize himself in this way.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"We are the proof of this, having attachment to sons, body and other things. You are not our sons. But thinking of you as our sons, we develop attachment to you. You have said (attha) when you were born that you appeared to destroy the ksatriyas who were burden to the earth."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The plural is used instead of the dual: you are not our (naḥ) sons. This is according to the rule asmado dvayośca. (Pāṇini 1.2.51) You said this at the time of your birth.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The plural is used instead of the dual: you are not our (naḥ) sons. This includes his wives. You are the Lords of pradhāna and the puruṣas. “Why have we come here?” You have come to rid the earth of its burden of rulers. You have said this, when you were born, or through Nārada. The dual is used, according to the circumstance, though actually the two brothers are one. The singular is used in the next verse.
“O father! You have constant affection for me and people related to me.” That is true. But it is impudent of me to think of the Lord as my son. He thus speaks this verse. Or O Lord! It is proper that as a son you have affection for us. He then confirms that they are his sons. Though you are the Lords of pradhāna and puruṣas, are you not directly our sons? Yes, you are. You have directly appeared in this world as our sons in my house to destroy the kings who are a burden to the earth.