SB 10.8.34 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कस्मान्मृदमदान्तात्मन् भवान्भक्षितवान्‌ रह: । वदन्ति तावका ह्येते कुमारास्तेऽग्रजोऽप्ययम् ॥ ३४ ॥

Verse text

kasmān mṛdam adāntātman bhavān bhakṣitavān rahaḥ vadanti tāvakā hy ete kumārās te ’grajo ’py ayam

Synonyms

kasmāt — why ; mṛdam — dirt ; adānta — ātman — You restless boy ; bhavān — You ; bhakṣitavān — have eaten ; rahaḥ — in a solitary place ; vadanti — are lodging this complaint ; tāvakāḥ — Your friends and playmates ; hi — indeed ; ete — all of them ; kumārāḥ — boys ; te — Your ; agrajaḥ — older brother ; api — also (confirms) ; ayam — this .

Translation

Dear Kṛṣṇa, why are You so restless that You have eaten dirt in a solitary place? This complaint has been lodged against You by all Your playmates, including Your elder brother, Balarāma. How is this?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Dear Kṛṣṇa, why are You so restless that You have eaten dirt in a solitary place? This complaint has been lodged against You by all Your playmates, including Your elder brother, Balarāma. How is this? KB 10.8.34 “My dear Kṛṣṇa, why have You eaten earth in a solitary place? Just see, all Your friends, including Balarāma, are complaining about You.”

Purport

Mother Yaśodā was agitated by Kṛṣṇa’s restless misbehavior. Her house was full of sweetmeats. Why then should the restless boy eat dirt in a solitary place? Kṛṣṇa replied, “My dear mother, they have plotted together and lodged a complaint against Me so that you will punish Me. My elder brother, Balarāma, has joined them. Actually, I have not done this. Take My words as true. Do not be angry and chastise Me.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"O unsteady body, unsteady mind! Did you eat dirt? Did you not get sweets in my house? Not in my presence but stealthily (raha) you have done it. Your friends are saying this, so it cannot be false. You cannot that they are saying that as enemies, because they want me to beat you, because even Baladeva is saying this. He is standing right there saying this. So there is no doubt about this."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Her scolding is described. O boy with uncontrolled senses! You could not eat dirt in the presence of Balarāma. Therefore you have eaten it when they were not present (rahaḥ). The word hi indicates a cause or certainty. They are your intimate friends (tāvakāḥ) and therefore they have not lied. They are present now (ete) as witnesses and thus you cannot deny it. “But they are saying this as a joke.” But your elder brother also says this. There is no doubt when he also says this (ayam). Since Vasudeva and Nanda were brothers and Rohiṇī and Yaśodā were great friends, Yaśodā addresses Balarāma as the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa, taking him as her son. It is also stated out of affection for him.