Devanagari
ईश्वरस्य विधिं को नु विधुनोत्यन्यथा पुमान् ।
भूमेर्भारावताराय योऽवतीर्णो यदो: कुले ॥ २८ ॥
Verse text
īśvarasya vidhiṁ ko nu
vidhunoty anyathā pumān
bhūmer bhārāvatārāya
yo ’vatīrṇo yadoḥ kule
Synonyms
īśvarasya
—
of the Supreme Lord
;
vidhim
—
the law
;
kaḥ
—
what
;
nu
—
at all
;
vidhunoti
—
can shake off
;
anyathā
—
otherwise
;
pumān
—
person
;
bhūmeḥ
—
of the earth
;
bhāra
—
the burden
;
avatārāya
—
in order to diminish
;
yaḥ
—
who
;
avatīrṇaḥ
—
has descended
;
yadoḥ
—
of Yadu
;
kule
—
in the family .
Translation
Who can defy the injunctions of the Supreme Lord, who has now descended in the Yadu dynasty to diminish the earth’s burden?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Who can defy the injunctions of the Supreme Lord, who has now descended in the Yadu dynasty to diminish the earth's burden?
KB 10.49.28
“I can understand only that no one can stop the onward progress of the supreme will. I understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has appeared in the family of the Yadus to decrease the burdensome load on this earth.”
Dhṛtarāṣṭra hinted to Akrūra that he had complete faith in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the same time, he was very partial to his family members. In the very near future, Kṛṣṇa would vanquish all the members of his family, and in a helpless condition Dhṛtarāṣṭra would take shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. To show His special favor to a devotee, Kṛṣṇa usually takes away all the objects of his material affection, thus forcing the devotee to be materially helpless, with no alternative but to accept the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. This actually happened to Dhṛtarāṣṭra after the end of the Battle of Kurukṣetra.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra could realize two opposing factors acting before him. He could understand that Kṛṣṇa was there to remove all the unnecessary burdens of the world. His sons were an unnecessary burden, and so he expected that they would be killed. At the same time, he could not rid himself of his unlawful affection for his sons. Understanding these two contradictory factors, …
Purport
Naturally, we would like to ask Dhṛtarāṣṭra, “If you know all this, why don’t you behave properly?” Of course, this is exactly Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s point: he feels that since events have already been set in motion, he is helpless to change them. In fact, events have been set in motion by his attachment and sinful propensities, and therefore he should have taken responsibility for his own acts. Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly states in the
Bhagavad-gītā
(5.15)
,
nādatte kasyacit pāpam:
“The Supreme Lord does not accept responsibility for anyone’s sinful activities.” It is a dangerous policy to claim that we are acting improperly because of “destiny” or “fate.” We should take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously and create an auspicious future for ourselves and our associates.
Finally, one may argue that, after all, Dhṛtarāṣṭra is involved in the Lord’s pastimes and is actually His eternal associate. In answer to this we may say that the Lord’s pastimes are not only entertaining but also didactic, and the lesson here is that Dhṛtarāṣṭra should have acted properly. This is what the Lord wanted to teach. Dhṛtarāṣṭra claims that Kṛṣṇa came to relieve the burden of the earth, but the earth’s burden is precisely the improper behavior of its inhabitants. So, let us take the lesson the Lord wants to teach here and be instructed for our benefit.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"Who can transgress the arrangements (vidhi) of the Lord by any method (anyatha)? No one can. You are the proof of this. You could not do it. In spite of all your instructions, you could not make me have proper judgment. And now, that Lord is present in your house, and has been born in the Yadu family to relieve the burden of the earth. Therefore, since he is there, go there and request the Lord that he should not put into motion what was established in his mind--his arrangement (if you want me to change the way I act.)"
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, vidhim means “desire to do” and indicates māyā. Who can overcome māyā of the Lord, or make it false (anyathā)? That Lord has now appeared in the Yadu dynasty by his own will to accomplish his purpose. He says this with derision, echoing Akrūra’s words. You can make efforts to do this.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Who can overcome the rules of the Lord, doing something different or false (anyathā)? One cannot deviate even a little, even if he is endowed with prowess (pumān). The Lord’s power is then shown. He relieves the burden of the earthy by giving liberation and other things.
Or who can stop what will be done by the Lord (vidhim)? He has directly appeared now in this place to show his unlimited powers. Who has the power to oppose? Or he has appeared to destroy my sinful sons (the burden of the earth.) My unfair treatment, the root of the problem, has arisen because of this. What power do I have to do otherwise? Another version has sa eva svayam avatīrṇaḥ: he has appeared personally.