Devanagari
आह चास्मान् महाराज प्रजाश्चाज्ञप्तुमर्हसि ।
ययातिशापाद् यदुभिर्नासितव्यं नृपासने ॥ १३ ॥
Verse text
āha cāsmān mahā-rāja
prajāś cājṣaptum arhasi
yayāti-śāpād yadubhir
nāsitavyaṁ nṛpāsane
Synonyms
āha
—
He (Lord Kṛṣṇa) said
;
ca
—
and
;
asmān
—
Us
;
mahā
—
rāja — O great King
;
prajāḥ
—
your subjects
;
ca
—
also
;
ājṣaptum arhasi
—
please command
;
yayāti
—
by the ancient King Yayāti
;
śāpāt
—
because of the curse
;
yadubhiḥ
—
the Yadus
;
na āsitavyam
—
should not sit
;
nṛpa
—
royal
;
āsane
—
on the throne .
Translation
The Lord told him: O mighty King, We are your subjects, so please command Us. Indeed, because of the curse of Yayāti, no Yadu may sit on the royal throne.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord told him: O mighty King, We are your subjects, so please command Us. Indeed, because of the curse of Yayāti, no Yadu may sit on the royal throne.
KB 10.45.13
Kṛṣṇa willingly asked Mahārāja Ugrasena to rule over Himself and Balarāma because They were his subjects. The word prajā is used both for progeny and for citizens, so Kṛṣṇa belonged to the prajā, both as a grandson of Mahārāja Ugrasena’s and as a member of the Yadu dynasty. Thus He voluntarily accepted the rule of Mahārāja Ugrasena. He informed Ugrasena, “Being cursed by Yayāti, the kings of the Yadu dynasty may not occupy the throne.
Purport
Ugrasena might have told the Lord, “My dear Lord, it is actually You who should sit on the throne.” Anticipating this statement, Lord Kṛṣṇa told Ugrasena that because of Yayāti’s ancient curse, princes in the Yadu dynasty could technically not sit on the royal throne, and therefore Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were disqualified. Of course, Ugrasena also could be considered part of the Yadu dynasty, but by the order of the Lord he could sit on the royal throne. In conclusion, these were all pastimes the Supreme Lord enjoyed as He played the part of a human being.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Krsna speaks to Ugrasena. "You should be the king and you should give us orders. If you say that the Yadus should not sit on the throne because of the curse of Yayati, I say, that though you are a Yadu, there is no fault if I order you to sit on the throne."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Please command us, the Yadus. “How can I order persons like you?” We are your subjects, dependent on you. The significance of word tu of the previous verse is here explained. You have dominion over the kingdom as king of the Yadus (mahā-rāja). Though you are a Yadu, you are a part of the Bhoja dynasty, whose members generally become the kings, whereas we Vṛṣṇis do not. Thus you should be the king.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
You should instruct all of us Yadus (asmān). “But they are all great persons. How can I order them?” We are you subjects, dependent on you (prajāḥ). O great king! Since you are the king of the Yadus, you control the country. Previously you had the kingdom and now you can protect us particularly. You should take complete control now.
A kingdom was trifling for Kṛṣṇa and thus he did not want to rule since he desired to return to Vraja. This is described in Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
N hi rājyena me kāryaṁ nāpy ahaṁ rājya-lālasaḥ
Na cāpi rājya-lobhena mayākāmso nipātitaḥ
Kintu loka-hitārthāya kīrtyaṁ ca sutas tava
Vyaṅgabhūtaḥ kulasyāsya sānujovinipātitaḥ
Ahaṁ sa eva gomadhye gopaiḥ saha vanecaraḥ
Prītimān vicariyṣāmi kāmacārī yathā gajaḥ
All the Yadus agreed with this skillful worlds. “Due to the curse of Yayāti, I can rule as previously, but not as the king.” Though you cannot sit on the throne as a king, you can order us as the king by my great influence. Out of shyness however he does not say this directly.