SB 10.83.18 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ज्ञात्वा मम मतं साध्वि पिता दुहितृवत्सल: । बृहत्सेन इति ख्यातस्तत्रोपायमचीकरत् ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

jṣātvā mama mataṁ sādhvi pitā duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ bṛhatsena iti khyātas tatropāyam acīkarat

Synonyms

jṣātvā — knowing ; mama — my ; matam — mentality ; sādhvi — O saintly lady ; pitā — my father ; duhitṛ — to his daughter ; vatsalaḥ — affectionate ; bṛhatsenaḥ iti khyātaḥ — known as Bṛhatsena ; tatra — toward this end ; upāyam — a means ; acīkarat — arranged .

Translation

My father, Bṛhatsena, was by nature compassionate to his daughter, and knowing how I felt, O saintly lady, he arranged to fulfill my desire.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

My father, Bṛhatsena, was by nature compassionate to his daughter, and knowing how I felt, O saintly lady, he arranged to fulfill my desire. KB 10.83.18 “My dear Queen, my father was very affectionate toward me. When he understood that I was attracted to Kṛṣṇa, he devised a plan …

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Just a fish was made with a desire to get Arjuna as your husband( or which was pierced by arjuna’ arrow, as (parthesv apakrta) in seen in some texts), in my case also a fish was made. But the could not Arjuna also pierce this fish? This fish, which was moving very quickly, could only be seen by looking at it as a reflection in a pot of water placed at the bottom of the pole. It could not be seen by looking up. Only by looking down could one aim upwards. It could thus not be pierced by anyone except Krsna. The fish made by your father, though covered, could be aimed at by looking upwards following the pole, and thus could be pierced by the expert marksman Arjuna.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Matam means her decision.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Matam means her desire. O chaste lady! You would also have such desires. Just as your father was affectionate to you because you were chaste, so my father was affectionate to him. Thus he arranged to fulfill my desire.