SB 10.50.32 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स मुक्तो लोकनाथाभ्यां व्रीडितो वीरसम्मत: । तपसे कृतसङ्कल्पो वारित: पथि राजभि: ॥ ३२ ॥ वाक्यै: पवित्रार्थपदैर्नयनै: प्राकृतैरपि । स्वकर्मबन्धप्राप्तोऽयं यदुभिस्ते पराभव: ॥ ३३ ॥

Verse text

sā mukto loka-nāthābhyāṁ vrīḍito vīra-sammataḥ tapase kṛta-saṅkalpo vāritaḥ pathi rājabhiḥ vākyaiḥ pavitrārtha-padair nayanaiḥ prākṛtair api sva-karma-bandha-prāpto ’yaṁ yadubhis te parābhavaḥ

Synonyms

saḥ — he, Jarāsandha ; muktaḥ — freed ; loka — nāthābhyām — by the two Lords of the universe ; vrīḍitaḥ — ashamed ; vīra — by heroes ; sammataḥ — honored ; tapase — to perform austerities ; kṛta — saṅkalpaḥ — having made up his mind ; vāritaḥ — was stopped ; pathi — on the road ; rājabhiḥ — by kings ; vākyaiḥ — with statements ; pavitra — purifying ; artha — having meanings ; padaiḥ — with words ; nayanaiḥ — with reasoning ; prākṛtaiḥ — mundane ; api — also ; sva — own ; karma — bandha — due to the unavoidable reactions of past work ; prāptaḥ — obtained ; ayam — this ; yadubhiḥ — by the Yadus ; te — your ; parābhavaḥ — defeat .

Translation

Jarāsandha, whom fighters had highly honored, was ashamed after being released by the two Lords of the universe, and thus he decided to undergo penances. On the road, however, several kings convinced him with both spiritual wisdom and mundane arguments that he should give up his idea of self-abnegation. They told him, “Your defeat by the Yadus was simply the unavoidable reaction of your past karma.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Jarāsandha, whom fighters had highly honored, was ashamed after being released by the two Lords of the universe, and thus he decided to undergo penances. On the road, however, several kings convinced him with both spiritual wisdom and mundane arguments that he should give up his idea of self-abnegation. They told him, "Your defeat by the Yadus was simply the unavoidable reaction of your past karma." KB 10.50.32-33 Kṛṣṇa then released Jarāsandha. As a great fighting hero, Jarāsandha was ashamed, and he decided that he would no longer live as a king but would resign from his position in the royal order and go to the forest to practice meditation under severe austerities and penances. As he was returning home with his royal friends, however, they advised him not to retire but to regain strength to fight again with Kṛṣṇa in the near future. The princely friends of Jarāsandha instructed him that ordinarily it would not have been possible for him to be defeated by the strength of the Yadu kings; the defeat he had experienced was simply due to his ill luck. The princely order encouraged King Jarāsandha. His fighting, they said, was certainly heroic; therefore, he should not take his defeat very seriously, since it was due only to his past misdeeds. After all, there was no fault in his fighting.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Jarasandha was ashamed because he was considered by others to be valiant and therefore should have died in battle. His friends stopped him from doing austerities by giving philosophical teachings and material moral precepts. The philosophical advice was, "Your sorrow of defeat is a result of your karma, destined as writing on your forehead, so how could you avoid defeat?" The smrti scriptures say, "Inevitably you must enjoy the results of acts committed." By a double meaning the same statement gives advice according to moral precepts. "If your defeat was due to prarabdha karma, then why should you be ashamed? It cannot be avoided in that case. Can an intelligent person think that you are weaker than the whimpy Yadavas? Therefore, in victory over them there is no glory, and in defeat there is no shame. If the lion of Jarasandha defeats the black deer Krsna, you do not gain pre eminence .Even if you do not win, you do not get a bad name. This we know for sure. In victory or defeat the warrior should not be proud or miserable. What to speak then where the enemy is so inferior? This is scriptural."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

He was freed by the two Lords who were interested in benefiting the earth (loka-nāthābhyām). Therefore the Lord was not eager to bind him. Since he was honored by warriors, he was ashamed at being released. Therefore he decided to do austerities. Why was I defeated by the Yadus? I will no longer follow the path of kṣatriyas but give up my body through austerities. This was his external motive that he showed others. Internally however he wanted to attain great power by austerities. On the path to the forest to do austerity he was stopped by kings with words of dharma. The chief dharma for the kṣatriya is fighting. Austerity is for the aged kṣatriya if he is detached. It is improper to give up kṣatriya dharma because of shame. They gave arguments using logic. Sometimes one wins in a battle and sometimes one loses. Therefore to be dejected is not proper for a kṣatriya. You have been defeated because of karma, not because of lack of courage. It cannot be avoided. Or the words concerning purification can refer to being defeated because of karma. You must enjoy your karmas. This is for purification (pavitrārtha). Practical logic (prākritaiḥ nayanaih) can mean the following. It is best for the kṣatriya to die in battle, not by performing austerities out of attachment for them.