SB 10.83.40 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

महिष्य ऊचु: भौमं निहत्य सगणं युधि तेन रुद्धा ज्ञात्वाथ न: क्षितिजये जितराजकन्या: । निर्मुच्य संसृतिविमोक्षमनुस्मरन्ती: पादाम्बुजं परिणिनाय य आप्तकाम: ॥ ४० ॥

Verse text

mahiṣya ūcuḥ bhaumaṁ nihatya sa-gaṇaṁ yudhi tena ruddhā jṣātvātha naḥ kṣiti-jaye jita-rāja-kanyāḥ nirmucya saṁsṛti-vimokṣam anusmarantīḥ pādāmbujaṁ pariṇināya ya āpta-kāmaḥ

Synonyms

mahiṣyaḥ ūcuḥ — the (other) queens said ; bhaumam — the demon Bhauma ; nihatya — killing ; sa — along with ; gaṇam — his followers ; yudhi — in battle ; tena — by him (Bhauma) ; ruddhāḥ — imprisoned ; jṣātvā — knowing ; atha — then ; naḥ — us ; kṣiti — jaye — during (Bhauma’s) conquest of the earth ; jita — defeated ; rāja — of kings ; kanyāḥ — the daughters ; nirmucya — releasing ; saṁsṛti — from material existence ; vimokṣam — (the source of) liberation ; anusmarantīḥ — constantly remembering ; pāda — ambujam — His lotus feet ; pariṇināya — married ; yaḥ — who ; āpta — kāmaḥ — already fulfilled in all desires .

Translation

Rohiṇī-devi, speaking for the other queens, said: After killing Bhaumāsura and his followers, the Lord found us in the demon’s prison and could understand that we were the daughters of the kings whom Bhauma had defeated during his conquest of the earth. The Lord set us free, and because we had been constantly meditating upon His lotus feet, the source of liberation from material entanglement, He agreed to marry us, though His every desire is already fulfilled.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Rohiṇī-devi, speaking for the other queens, said: After killing Bhaumāsura and his followers, the Lord found us in the demon's prison and could understand that we were the daughters of the kings whom Bhauma had defeated during his conquest of the earth. The Lord set us free, and because we had been constantly meditating upon His lotus feet, the source of liberation from material entanglement, He agreed to marry us, though His every desire is already fulfilled. KB 10.83.40 When all the principal queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa had finished their statements, Rohiṇī, as the representative of the other sixteen thousand queens, began to narrate the incident of their becoming wives of Kṛṣṇa. “My dear Queen, when Bhaumāsura was conquering all the world, he collected wherever possible all the beautiful daughters of the kings and kept us arrested within his palace. When news of our imprisonment reached Lord Kṛṣṇa, He fought with Bhaumāsura and released us. Lord Kṛṣṇa killed Bhaumāsura and all his soldiers, and although He had no need to accept even one wife, He nevertheless, by our request, married all sixteen thousand of us. My dear Queen, our only qualification was that we were always thinking of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is the way to release oneself from the bondage of repeated birth and death.

Purport

Rohiṇī-devī was one of the nine queens questioned by Draupadī in texts 6 and 7, and thus it is assumed that she speaks here, representing the 16,099 other queens. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms this in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"We desire the foot dust of he who, though full in his desires, freed and accepted as his wives the daughters of kings, knowing that they had been imprisoned by Bhauma when he defeated the kings while he conquered the earth." The verb kamayamahe is two verses later. "He married us because we were constantly remembering his lotus feet, which cause liberation from material life (samsrti vimoksam). For this reason he freed us from the prison."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Three verses are grammatically related. We desire the dust of lotus feet of he (etasya, verse 42) who married us (verse 40). Since he was the son of the earth, Bhauma could not normally be killed. However Kṛṣṇa killed him decisively (ni—hatya) in battle, since he also killed his followers. “Why did he kill the son of the earth?” He understood that we were imprisoned by him. This means that other reasons were secondary. After killing Bhauma he then freed us completely from bondage (nirmucya), taking us to Dvārakā. They indicate their superiority to those who have knowledge of the Lord as a cause of being freed: we constantly remembered his lotus feet which cause liberation from saṁsāra. Thus we were liberated from its suffering (vi—moksāṇam), what to speak of delivering us from his imprisonment. Though he has all his desires fulfilled, he married us. They indicated his great mercy by this. Or, though he is full in his desires he married us to free us from saṁsāra, what to speak of delivering us from material happiness in this life and the next. Remembering his lotus feet we have no desire at all for material wealth.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Since he was the son of the earth, Bhauma could not normally be killed. However Kṛṣṇa killed him decisively (ni—hatya) in battle, since he also killed his followers. Or the prefix ni indicates that he was killed and did not take birth again. He attained liberation. His sequence of deaths was terminated. He was killed in order to deliver us. That was the reason he was killed. Or after killing Bhauma, immediately we were released completely (nir-mucya), being sent to Dvārakā. The reason for releasing them or for recognizing them is given. We continually remembered his lotus feet, which completely free one from the suffering of saṁsāra, rather than just delaying it. Though he is self-satisfied, he married us. This indicates his great mercy. Or though he who is self-satisfied married us, he liberated Bhauma. Thus we do not desire any wealth.