राम

Viṣṇu-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 71

54 versesEntering Mathurā

Synopsis

The great chariot is yoked; all the unmeasurable ones with Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa set out. They reach the delightful Mathurā guarded by Kaṃsa and enter the city in the late red-sun hour. Akrūra, radiant as the sun, shows them to their quarters. A bright vignette in the middle: Kṛṣṇa, smiling, stops the hunchback woman Kubjā and asks her for her fine fragrance, "fit for a king, lovely-faced woman, for our bodies," and she gives it to him. The chapter closes: hearing of the breaking of the bow, Kaṃsa too, distressed, sent away his weapon-master and entered the inner palace.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse 1

ते तु युक्त्वा रथवरं सर्व एवामितौजसः कृष्णेन सहिताः प्राप्तास् तथा संकर्षणेन च अससाद पुरीं रस्यां मथुरां कंसपालिताम् विविशुः पूःप्रधानां वै काले रक्तदिवाकरे

te tu yuktvā rathavaraṃ sarva evāmitaujasaḥ kṛṣṇena sahitāḥ prāptās tathā saṃkarṣaṇena ca asasāda purīṃ rasyāṃ mathurāṃ kaṃsapālitām viviśuḥ pūḥpradhānāṃ vai kāle raktadivākare

Yoking the best chariot, all of unmeasured energy, with Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa, they reached the delightful city Mathurā, guarded by Kaṃsa, and entered the city of many gates in the late red-sun hour.

Verse 2

तौ तु स्वभवनं वीरौ कृष्णसंकर्षणाव् उभौ प्रवेशितौ बुद्धिमता अक्रूरेणार्कतेजसा

tau tu svabhavanaṃ vīrau kṛṣṇasaṃkarṣaṇāv ubhau praveśitau buddhimatā akrūreṇārkatejasā

Verse 3

ताव् आह वरवर्णाङ्गौ भीतो दानपतिस् तदा त्यक्तव्या तात गमने वसुदेवगृहे स्पृहा

tāv āha varavarṇāṅgau bhīto dānapatis tadā tyaktavyā tāta gamane vasudevagṛhe spṛhā

Verse 4

युवयोर् हि कृते वृद्धः कंसेन स निरस्यते भर्त्स्यते च दिवा रात्रौ नेह स्थातव्यम् इत्य् अपि

yuvayor hi kṛte vṛddhaḥ kaṃsena sa nirasyate bhartsyate ca divā rātrau neha sthātavyam ity api

Verse 5

तद् युवाभ्यां हि कर्तव्यं पित्रर्थं सुखम् उत्तमम् यथा सुखम् अवाप्नोति तद् वै कार्यं हितान्वितम् नाहं युवाभ्यां रहितः प्रवेक्ष्ये मथुरां पुरीम् त्यक्तुं नार्हसि मां नाथ भक्तं ते भक्तवत्सल आगच्छ याम गेहान् नः सनाथान् कुर्व् अधोक्षज पुनीहि पादरजसा गृहान् नो गृहमेधिनाम् यच्छौचेनानुतृप्यन्ति पितरः साग्नयः सुराः आपस् ते ऽङ्घ्र्यवनेजन्यस् त्रीन् लोकान् शुचयो ऽपुनन् शिरसाधत्त याः शर्वः स्वयं ताः सगरात्मजाः देवदेव जगन्नाथ पुण्यश्रवणकीर्तन यदूनाम् उत्तमःश्लोक नारायण नमो ऽस्तु ते तम् उवाच ततः कृष्णो यास्यावो ऽवाम् अतर्कितौ प्रेक्षन्तौ मथुरां वीर राजमार्गं च धार्मिक

tad yuvābhyāṃ hi kartavyaṃ pitrarthaṃ sukham uttamam yathā sukham avāpnoti tad vai kāryaṃ hitānvitam nāhaṃ yuvābhyāṃ rahitaḥ pravekṣye mathurāṃ purīm tyaktuṃ nārhasi māṃ nātha bhaktaṃ te bhaktavatsala āgaccha yāma gehān naḥ sanāthān kurv adhokṣaja punīhi pādarajasā gṛhān no gṛhamedhinām yacchaucenānutṛpyanti pitaraḥ sāgnayaḥ surāḥ āpas te 'ṅghryavanejanyas trīn lokān śucayo 'punan śirasādhatta yāḥ śarvaḥ svayaṃ tāḥ sagarātmajāḥ devadeva jagannātha puṇyaśravaṇakīrtana yadūnām uttamaḥśloka nārāyaṇa namo 'stu te tam uvāca tataḥ kṛṣṇo yāsyāvo 'vām atarkitau prekṣantau mathurāṃ vīra rājamārgaṃ ca dhārmika

Verse 6

तस्यैव तु गृहं साधो गच्छावो यदि मन्यसे एवम् उक्तो भगवता सो ऽक्रूरो विमना इव पुरीं प्रविष्टः कंसाय कर्मावेद्य गृहं ययौ अक्रूरो ऽपि नमस्कृत्य मनसा विष्णुम् अव्ययम् जगाम कंसपार्श्वं तु प्रहृष्टेनान्तरात्मना तौ च देवौ जगन्नाथौ बलकेशवसंज्ञितौ अनुशिष्टौ च तौ वीरौ प्रस्थितौ प्रेक्षकाव् उभौ आलानाभ्याम् इवोत्सृष्टौ कुञ्जरौ युद्धकाङ्क्षिणौ

tasyaiva tu gṛhaṃ sādho gacchāvo yadi manyase evam ukto bhagavatā so 'krūro vimanā iva purīṃ praviṣṭaḥ kaṃsāya karmāvedya gṛhaṃ yayau akrūro 'pi namaskṛtya manasā viṣṇum avyayam jagāma kaṃsapārśvaṃ tu prahṛṣṭenāntarātmanā tau ca devau jagannāthau balakeśavasaṃjñitau anuśiṣṭau ca tau vīrau prasthitau prekṣakāv ubhau ālānābhyām ivotsṛṣṭau kuñjarau yuddhakāṅkṣiṇau

Verse 7

दारकाश् च तयोर् मार्गम् अनुवव्रुः समन्ततः तौ तु मार्गगतं दृष्ट्वा रजकं रङ्गकारकम् अयाचेतां ततस् तानि वासांसि विरजानि वै

dārakāś ca tayor mārgam anuvavruḥ samantataḥ tau tu mārgagataṃ dṛṣṭvā rajakaṃ raṅgakārakam ayācetāṃ tatas tāni vāsāṃsi virajāni vai

Verse 8

रजकः स तु तौ प्राह युवां कस्य वनेचरौ राज्ञो वासांसि यौ मूर्खौ याचेतां निर्भयाव् उभौ

rajakaḥ sa tu tau prāha yuvāṃ kasya vanecarau rājño vāsāṃsi yau mūrkhau yācetāṃ nirbhayāv ubhau

Verse 9

अहं कंसस्य वासांसि नानादेशोद्भवानि च कामरागाणि शतशो रजामि विविधानि च

ahaṃ kaṃsasya vāsāṃsi nānādeśodbhavāni ca kāmarāgāṇi śataśo rajāmi vividhāni ca

Verse 10

युवां कस्य वने जातौ मृगैः सह विवर्धितौ जातरागाव् इदं दृष्ट्वा रक्तम् आच्छादनं बहु

yuvāṃ kasya vane jātau mṛgaiḥ saha vivardhitau jātarāgāv idaṃ dṛṣṭvā raktam ācchādanaṃ bahu

Verse 11

अहो वां जीवितं त्यक्तं यौ भवन्ताव् इहागतौ मूर्खौ प्राकृतविज्ञानौ वासो याचितुम् अर्हथ

aho vāṃ jīvitaṃ tyaktaṃ yau bhavantāv ihāgatau mūrkhau prākṛtavijñānau vāso yācitum arhatha

Verse 12

तस्मै चुक्रोध वै कृष्णो रजकायाल्पमेधसे प्राप्तारिष्टाय मूर्खाय सृजते वाङ्मयं विषम्

tasmai cukrodha vai kṛṣṇo rajakāyālpamedhase prāptāriṣṭāya mūrkhāya sṛjate vāṅmayaṃ viṣam

Verse 13

तलेनाशनिकल्पेन स तं मूर्धन्य् अताडयत् गतासुः स पपातोर्व्यां रजको व्यस्तमस्तकः

talenāśanikalpena sa taṃ mūrdhany atāḍayat gatāsuḥ sa papātorvyāṃ rajako vyastamastakaḥ

Verse 14

तं हतं परिदेवन्त्यो भार्यास् तस्य विचुक्रुशुः त्वरितं मुक्तकेश्यश् च जग्मुः कंसनिवेशनम्

taṃ hataṃ paridevantyo bhāryās tasya vicukruśuḥ tvaritaṃ muktakeśyaś ca jagmuḥ kaṃsaniveśanam

Verse 15

कृष्णो ऽपि बलभद्रश् च वासांस्य् आदाय सर्वतः परिधाय तु तौ पूर्वं शोभयेतां महामती दारकेभ्यस् ततो दत्त्वा सुश्लक्ष्णानि मृदूनि च ते च सर्वे सुवसना विरेजुः शतशस् तथा शेषाणि तु तदा कृष्णो वासांसि सुबहून्य् अपि आच्छिछाच्छिद्य सहसा चिच्छेद च पिपेष च भस्मसाद् अकरोत् तस्य रजकस्य निवेशनम् ताव् अप्य् उभौ सुवसनौ जग्मतुर् माल्यकारणात् यथायोगं यथाभोग्यं यथायोगं नि[दर्श्य] च वीथीं माल्यापणानां वै गन्धाघ्रातौ द्विपाव् इव

kṛṣṇo 'pi balabhadraś ca vāsāṃsy ādāya sarvataḥ paridhāya tu tau pūrvaṃ śobhayetāṃ mahāmatī dārakebhyas tato dattvā suślakṣṇāni mṛdūni ca te ca sarve suvasanā virejuḥ śataśas tathā śeṣāṇi tu tadā kṛṣṇo vāsāṃsi subahūny api ācchichācchidya sahasā ciccheda ca pipeṣa ca bhasmasād akarot tasya rajakasya niveśanam tāv apy ubhau suvasanau jagmatur mālyakāraṇāt yathāyogaṃ yathābhogyaṃ yathāyogaṃ ni[darśya] ca vīthīṃ mālyāpaṇānāṃ vai gandhāghrātau dvipāv iva

Verse 16

गुणको नाम तत्रासीन् माल्यवृत्तिः प्रियंवदः प्रभूतमाल्यापणवाल् लक्ष्मीवान् माल्यजीवनः

guṇako nāma tatrāsīn mālyavṛttiḥ priyaṃvadaḥ prabhūtamālyāpaṇavāl lakṣmīvān mālyajīvanaḥ

Verse 17

तं कृष्णः श्लक्ष्णया वाचा माल्यार्थम् अभिसृष्टया देहीत्य् उवाच तत्कालं मालाकारम् अकातरम्

taṃ kṛṣṇaḥ ślakṣṇayā vācā mālyārtham abhisṛṣṭayā dehīty uvāca tatkālaṃ mālākāram akātaram

Verse 18

ताभ्यां प्रीतो ददौ माल्यं प्रभूतं माल्यजीवनः भवतोः स्वम् इदं चेति प्रोवाच प्रियदर्शनः

tābhyāṃ prīto dadau mālyaṃ prabhūtaṃ mālyajīvanaḥ bhavatoḥ svam idaṃ ceti provāca priyadarśanaḥ

Verse 19

प्रीतस् तु मनसा कृष्णो गुणकाय वरं ददौ श्रीस् त्वां मत्संश्रया सौम्य धनौघैर् अभिवर्त्स्यते

prītas tu manasā kṛṣṇo guṇakāya varaṃ dadau śrīs tvāṃ matsaṃśrayā saumya dhanaughair abhivartsyate

Verse 20

स लब्ध्वा वरम् अव्यग्रो माल्यवृत्तिर् अधोमुखः कृष्णस्य पतितो मूर्ध्ना प्रतिजग्राह तं वरम्

sa labdhvā varam avyagro mālyavṛttir adhomukhaḥ kṛṣṇasya patito mūrdhnā pratijagrāha taṃ varam

Verse 21

यक्षाव् इमाव् इति तदा स मेने माल्यजीवनः स भृशं भयसंविग्नो नोत्तरं प्रत्यपद्यत

yakṣāv imāv iti tadā sa mene mālyajīvanaḥ sa bhṛśaṃ bhayasaṃvigno nottaraṃ pratyapadyata

Verse 22

अद्यापि तस्य प्रभवो वंशो भवति रत्नवान् कीर्तिमान् बलवान् नित्यं केशवेन तदा कृतः विष्णोः प्रसादः सुमहान् सदारक्षत् तदन्वयम् वसुदेवसुतौ तौ तु राजमार्गगताव् उभौ कुब्जां ददृशतुर् भूयः आनुलेपनभाजनाम्

adyāpi tasya prabhavo vaṃśo bhavati ratnavān kīrtimān balavān nityaṃ keśavena tadā kṛtaḥ viṣṇoḥ prasādaḥ sumahān sadārakṣat tadanvayam vasudevasutau tau tu rājamārgagatāv ubhau kubjāṃ dadṛśatur bhūyaḥ ānulepanabhājanām

Verse 23

ताम् आह कृष्णः कुब्जेति कस्येदम् अनुलेपनम् नयस्य् अम्बुजपत्राक्षि क्षिप्रम् आख्यातुम् अर्हसि

tām āha kṛṣṇaḥ kubjeti kasyedam anulepanam nayasy ambujapatrākṣi kṣipram ākhyātum arhasi

Verse 24

सा स्थितावेक्षिणी भूत्वा प्रत्युवाचाम्बुजेक्षणम् कृष्णं जलदगम्भीरं विद्युत्कुटिलगामिनी

sā sthitāvekṣiṇī bhūtvā pratyuvācāmbujekṣaṇam kṛṣṇaṃ jaladagambhīraṃ vidyutkuṭilagāminī

Verse 25

राज्ञः स्नानगृहं यामि तद् गृहाणानुलेपनम् दृष्ट्वैव त्वारविन्दाक्ष विस्मितास्मि वरानन स्थितास्म्य् आगच्छ भद्रं ते हृदयस्यासि मे प्रियः

rājñaḥ snānagṛhaṃ yāmi tad gṛhāṇānulepanam dṛṣṭvaiva tvāravindākṣa vismitāsmi varānana sthitāsmy āgaccha bhadraṃ te hṛdayasyāsi me priyaḥ

Verse 26

कुतश् चागम्यते सौम्य यन् मां त्वं नावबुध्यसे महाराजस्य दयितां नियुक्ताम् अनुलेपने

kutaś cāgamyate saumya yan māṃ tvaṃ nāvabudhyase mahārājasya dayitāṃ niyuktām anulepane

Verse 27

ताम् उवाच हसन्तीं तु कृष्णः कुब्जाम् अवस्थिताम् ताम् उवाच ततः कृष्णः सैरन्ध्रीं प्रहसन्न् इव सुगन्धम् एतद् राजार्हं रुचिरं रुचिरानने आवयोर् गात्रसदृशं दीयताम् अनुलेपनम्

tām uvāca hasantīṃ tu kṛṣṇaḥ kubjām avasthitām tām uvāca tataḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sairandhrīṃ prahasann iva sugandham etad rājārhaṃ ruciraṃ rucirānane āvayor gātrasadṛśaṃ dīyatām anulepanam

Then Kṛṣṇa, laughing softly, said to the hunchback Kubjā standing there, said to the Sairandhrī with a smile: 'This fine fragrance fit for a king, lovely-faced one, give some to us of the sort that suits our bodies.'

Verse 28

वयं हि देशातिथयो मल्लाः प्राप्ता वरानने द्रष्टुं धनुर्महं दिव्यं राष्ट्रं चैव महर्द्धिमत्

vayaṃ hi deśātithayo mallāḥ prāptā varānane draṣṭuṃ dhanurmahaṃ divyaṃ rāṣṭraṃ caiva maharddhimat

Verse 29

प्रत्युवाचाथ सा कृष्णं प्रियो ऽसि मम दर्शने ततः सा प्रणता भूत्वा प्रददाव् अनुलेपनम् राजार्हम् इदम् अग्र्यं च तद् गृहाणानुलेपनम्

pratyuvācātha sā kṛṣṇaṃ priyo 'si mama darśane tataḥ sā praṇatā bhūtvā pradadāv anulepanam rājārham idam agryaṃ ca tad gṛhāṇānulepanam

Verse 30

कृष्णो ऽथ बलभद्रश् च तदादायानुलेपनम् अङ्गानि चाप्य् अलिम्पेतां शुभं च सुसुगन्धि च मालयाथ तदा विष्णुर् बद्धया बहुपुष्पया गोविन्दो गोपतिः कृष्णो रराज कृतशेखरः संकर्षणो ऽथ बलवान् रराज बहुमालया ताव् उभाव् अनुलिप्ताङ्गाव् आर्द्रगात्रौ विरेजतुः तीर्थगौ पङ्कदिग्धाङ्गौ यमुनायां यथा वृषौ

kṛṣṇo 'tha balabhadraś ca tadādāyānulepanam aṅgāni cāpy alimpetāṃ śubhaṃ ca susugandhi ca mālayātha tadā viṣṇur baddhayā bahupuṣpayā govindo gopatiḥ kṛṣṇo rarāja kṛtaśekharaḥ saṃkarṣaṇo 'tha balavān rarāja bahumālayā tāv ubhāv anuliptāṅgāv ārdragātrau virejatuḥ tīrthagau paṅkadigdhāṅgau yamunāyāṃ yathā vṛṣau

Verse 31

दारकाश् च तथा सर्वे विरेजुः कृतशेखराः विकृतं भूषयन्तो ऽपि प्रभावाच् छार्ङ्गधन्वनः तां तु कुब्जां ततः कृष्णो द्व्यङ्गुलेनाग्रपाणिना शनैः संतोलयामास कृष्णो लीलाविधानवित्

dārakāś ca tathā sarve virejuḥ kṛtaśekharāḥ vikṛtaṃ bhūṣayanto 'pi prabhāvāc chārṅgadhanvanaḥ tāṃ tu kubjāṃ tataḥ kṛṣṇo dvyaṅgulenāgrapāṇinā śanaiḥ saṃtolayāmāsa kṛṣṇo līlāvidhānavit

Verse 32

सा तु मग्नस्तनयुगा स्वायताङ्गी शुचिस्मिता जहासोच्चैः स्तनतटा ऋजुयष्टिर् लता यथा

sā tu magnastanayugā svāyatāṅgī śucismitā jahāsoccaiḥ stanataṭā ṛjuyaṣṭir latā yathā

Verse 33

प्रणयाच् चापि कृष्णं सा बभाषे मत्तकाशिनी क्व यास्यसि मया रुद्धः कान्त तिष्ठ गृहाण माम्

praṇayāc cāpi kṛṣṇaṃ sā babhāṣe mattakāśinī kva yāsyasi mayā ruddhaḥ kānta tiṣṭha gṛhāṇa mām

Verse 34

तौ जातहासाव् अन्योन्यं सतलाक्षेपम् अव्ययौ वीक्षमाणौ प्रहसितौ कुब्जायाः श्रुतविस्तरौ

tau jātahāsāv anyonyaṃ satalākṣepam avyayau vīkṣamāṇau prahasitau kubjāyāḥ śrutavistarau

Verse 35

कृष्णस् तु कुब्जां कामार्तां सस्मितं विससर्ज ह यथेष्टं गम्यतां भद्रे नाहं तादृग्विधो नरः ततस् तौ कुब्जया मुक्तौ प्रविष्टौ राजसंसदम्

kṛṣṇas tu kubjāṃ kāmārtāṃ sasmitaṃ visasarja ha yatheṣṭaṃ gamyatāṃ bhadre nāhaṃ tādṛgvidho naraḥ tatas tau kubjayā muktau praviṣṭau rājasaṃsadam

Verse 36

ताव् उभौ व्रजसंवृद्धौ गोपवेषविभूषितौ गूढचेष्टाननौ भूत्वा प्रविष्टौ राजवेष्म तत्

tāv ubhau vrajasaṃvṛddhau gopaveṣavibhūṣitau gūḍhaceṣṭānanau bhūtvā praviṣṭau rājaveṣma tat

Verse 37

धनुःशालां गतौ तौ तु बालाव् अपरिशङ्कितौ हिमवद्वनसंभूतौ सिंहाव् इव बलोत्कटौ

dhanuḥśālāṃ gatau tau tu bālāv apariśaṅkitau himavadvanasaṃbhūtau siṃhāv iva balotkaṭau

Verse 38

दिदृक्षन्तौ महत् तत्र धनुर् आयागभूषितम् पप्रच्छतुश् च तौ वीराव् आयुधागारिकं तदा

didṛkṣantau mahat tatra dhanur āyāgabhūṣitam papracchatuś ca tau vīrāv āyudhāgārikaṃ tadā

Verse 39

भोः कंसधनुषां पाल श्रूयताम् आवयोर् वचः कतरत् तद् धनुः सौम्य महो ऽयं यस्य वर्तते आयागभूतं कंसस्य दर्शयस्व यदीच्छसि

bhoḥ kaṃsadhanuṣāṃ pāla śrūyatām āvayor vacaḥ katarat tad dhanuḥ saumya maho 'yaṃ yasya vartate āyāgabhūtaṃ kaṃsasya darśayasva yadīcchasi

Verse 40

स तयोर् दर्शयामास तद् धनुः स्तम्भसंनिभम् अनारोप्यम् असंभेद्यं देवैर् अपि सवासवैः

sa tayor darśayāmāsa tad dhanuḥ stambhasaṃnibham anāropyam asaṃbhedyaṃ devair api savāsavaiḥ

Verse 41

तद् गृहीत्वा ततः कृष्णस् तोलयामास वीर्यवान् दोर्भ्यां कमलपत्राक्षः प्रहृष्टेनान्तरात्मना

tad gṛhītvā tataḥ kṛṣṇas tolayāmāsa vīryavān dorbhyāṃ kamalapatrākṣaḥ prahṛṣṭenāntarātmanā

Verse 42

तोलयित्वा यथाकामं तद् धनुर् दैत्यपूजितम् आरोपयामास बली नामयामास चासकृत्

tolayitvā yathākāmaṃ tad dhanur daityapūjitam āropayāmāsa balī nāmayāmāsa cāsakṛt

Verse 43

आनम्यमानं कृष्णेन प्रकर्षाद् उरगोपगम् द्विधाभूतम् अभून् मध्ये धनुर् आयागभूषितम्

ānamyamānaṃ kṛṣṇena prakarṣād uragopagam dvidhābhūtam abhūn madhye dhanur āyāgabhūṣitam

Verse 44

धनुषो भज्यमानस्य शब्दः खं रोदसी दिशः पूरयाम् आस यं श्रुत्वा कंसस् त्रासम् उपागमत् तद्रक्षिणः सानुचरा कुपिता आततायिनः गृहीतुकामा आवव्रुर् गृह्यतां वध्यताम् इति अथ तान् दुरभिप्रायान् विलोक्य बलकेशवौ क्रुद्धौ धन्वन आदाय शकले तांश् च जघ्नतुः बलं च कंसप्रहितं हत्वा शालामुखात् ततः निष्क्रम्य चेरतुर् दृप्तौ निरीक्ष्य पुरसंपदः तयोस् तद् अद्भुतं वीर्यं निशम्य पुरवासिनः तेजः प्रागल्भ्यरूपं च मेनिरे विबुधोत्तमौ भङ्क्त्वा तु तद् धनुः श्रेष्ठं कृष्णस् त्वरितविक्रमः निश्चक्राम महावेगः स च संकर्षणो युवा

dhanuṣo bhajyamānasya śabdaḥ khaṃ rodasī diśaḥ pūrayām āsa yaṃ śrutvā kaṃsas trāsam upāgamat tadrakṣiṇaḥ sānucarā kupitā ātatāyinaḥ gṛhītukāmā āvavrur gṛhyatāṃ vadhyatām iti atha tān durabhiprāyān vilokya balakeśavau kruddhau dhanvana ādāya śakale tāṃś ca jaghnatuḥ balaṃ ca kaṃsaprahitaṃ hatvā śālāmukhāt tataḥ niṣkramya ceratur dṛptau nirīkṣya purasaṃpadaḥ tayos tad adbhutaṃ vīryaṃ niśamya puravāsinaḥ tejaḥ prāgalbhyarūpaṃ ca menire vibudhottamau bhaṅktvā tu tad dhanuḥ śreṣṭhaṃ kṛṣṇas tvaritavikramaḥ niścakrāma mahāvegaḥ sa ca saṃkarṣaṇo yuvā

Verse 45

अनुयुक्तौ ततस् तौ च भग्ने धनुषि रक्षिभिः धनुषो भङ्गनादेन वायुनिर्घोषकारिणा चचालान्तःपुरं सर्वं दिशश् चैव पुपूरिरे

anuyuktau tatas tau ca bhagne dhanuṣi rakṣibhiḥ dhanuṣo bhaṅganādena vāyunirghoṣakāriṇā cacālāntaḥpuraṃ sarvaṃ diśaś caiva pupūrire

Verse 46

निर्गम्य त्व् आयुधागाराज् जग्मतुर् गोपसंनिधौ वेगेनायुधपालस् तु गच्छन् संभ्रान्तमानसः स त्व् आयुधागारनरो भीतस् त्वरितविक्रमः समीपं नृपतेर् गत्वा काकोच्छ्वासो ऽभ्यभाषत

nirgamya tv āyudhāgārāj jagmatur gopasaṃnidhau vegenāyudhapālas tu gacchan saṃbhrāntamānasaḥ sa tv āyudhāgāranaro bhītas tvaritavikramaḥ samīpaṃ nṛpater gatvā kākocchvāso 'bhyabhāṣata

Verse 47

श्रूयतां मम विज्ञाप्यम् आश्चर्यं धनुषो गृहे निर्वृत्तम् अस्मिन् काले यज् जगतः संभ्रमोपमम्

śrūyatāṃ mama vijñāpyam āścaryaṃ dhanuṣo gṛhe nirvṛttam asmin kāle yaj jagataḥ saṃbhramopamam

Verse 48

नरौ कस्यापि सहितौ शिखाविततमूर्धजौ नीलपिताम्बरधरौ पीतश्वेतानुलेपनौ

narau kasyāpi sahitau śikhāvitatamūrdhajau nīlapitāmbaradharau pītaśvetānulepanau

Verse 49

ताव् अन्तःपुरम् अज्ञातौ प्रविष्टौ कामवेगिनौ देवपुत्रोपमौ वीरौ बालाव् इव हुताशनौ स्थितौ धनुर्गृहे सौम्यौ सहसा खाद् इवागतौ सौम्यौ महस्य चोद्युक्ताव् आगतौ पुरुषर्षभौ मया दृष्टौ परिव्यक्तं रुचिराच्छादनस्रजौ

tāv antaḥpuram ajñātau praviṣṭau kāmaveginau devaputropamau vīrau bālāv iva hutāśanau sthitau dhanurgṛhe saumyau sahasā khād ivāgatau saumyau mahasya codyuktāv āgatau puruṣarṣabhau mayā dṛṣṭau parivyaktaṃ rucirācchādanasrajau

Verse 50

ताभ्याम् एकस् तु पद्माक्षः श्यामः पीताम्बरस्रजः जग्राह तद् धनूरत्नं दुर्ग्रहं दैवतैर् अपि

tābhyām ekas tu padmākṣaḥ śyāmaḥ pītāmbarasrajaḥ jagrāha tad dhanūratnaṃ durgrahaṃ daivatair api

Verse 51

तत् स बालो बृहद्रूपं बलाद् यन्त्रम् इवायसम् आरोपयित्वा वेगेन नामयामास लीलया

tat sa bālo bṛhadrūpaṃ balād yantram ivāyasam āropayitvā vegena nāmayāmāsa līlayā

Verse 52

कृष्यमाणं तु तत् तेन विबाणं बाहुशालिना मुष्टिदेशे विकूजित्वा द्विधाभूतम् अभज्यत

kṛṣyamāṇaṃ tu tat tena vibāṇaṃ bāhuśālinā muṣṭideśe vikūjitvā dvidhābhūtam abhajyata

Verse 53

ततः प्रचलिता भूमिर् नैव भाति च भास्करः धनुषो भङ्गनादेन भ्रमतीव नबह्स्तलम् तद् अद्भुतम् अहं दृष्ट्वा विस्मयं परमं गतः भयाद् भयदसत्रूणां तद् इहाख्यातुम् आगतः न जानामि महाराज कौ ताव् अमितविक्रमौ एकः कैलाससंकाश एको ऽञ्जनगिरिप्रभः स तु तच् चापरत्नं वै भङ्क्त्वा स्तम्भम् इव द्विपः निष्पपातानिलगतिः सानुगो ऽमितविक्रमः जगाम तद् द्विधा कृत्वा न जाने को ऽप्य् असौ नृप

tataḥ pracalitā bhūmir naiva bhāti ca bhāskaraḥ dhanuṣo bhaṅganādena bhramatīva nabahstalam tad adbhutam ahaṃ dṛṣṭvā vismayaṃ paramaṃ gataḥ bhayād bhayadasatrūṇāṃ tad ihākhyātum āgataḥ na jānāmi mahārāja kau tāv amitavikramau ekaḥ kailāsasaṃkāśa eko 'ñjanagiriprabhaḥ sa tu tac cāparatnaṃ vai bhaṅktvā stambham iva dvipaḥ niṣpapātānilagatiḥ sānugo 'mitavikramaḥ jagāma tad dvidhā kṛtvā na jāne ko 'py asau nṛpa

Verse 54

श्रुत्वैव धनुषो भङ्गं कंसो ऽप्य् उद्विग्नमानसः विसृज्यायुधपालं वै प्रविवेश गृहोत्तमम्

śrutvaiva dhanuṣo bhaṅgaṃ kaṃso 'py udvignamānasaḥ visṛjyāyudhapālaṃ vai praviveśa gṛhottamam

Merely on hearing of the breaking of the bow, Kaṃsa too, his mind disturbed, dismissed the weapon-guard and entered the inner palace.

Verse commentary

Entering Mathurā: Kubjā and the Bow

मथुराप्रवेशः

Verses 1, 2, 20, 25, 27, 52: the red-sun-hour entry into Mathurā, Akrūra's sun-bright leading into the palace, the hunchback's blessing, Kubjā's longing greeting, Kṛṣṇa's smiling reply, and the breaking of the bow. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 71 is the chapter of entries and breakings. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma enter Mathurā at dusk; they are led into a palace by Akrūra; a hunchback woman named Kubjā offers Kṛṣṇa royal ointment and receives her own liberation; the boys make their way through the city to the royal arena, where Kṛṣṇa picks up the great bow Kaṃsa had made unbendable and breaks it as if it were a stick. The chapter moves from domestic entry to public declaration in fifty-four verses. The two verses at the center — Kubjā's greeting and Kṛṣṇa's smiling reply — are, with HV 68 and HV 70, the three scenes of Kṛṣṇa's tenderness on the day of his arrival in the city of his birth.

HV 71.1

ते तु युक्त्वा रथवरं सर्व एवामितौजसः । कृष्णेन सहिताः प्राप्तास् तथा संकर्षणेन च । असासाद पुरीं रस्यां मथुरां कंसपालिताम् । विविशुः पूःप्रधानां वै काले रक्तदिवाकरे ॥

te tu yuktvā rathavaraṃ sarva evāmitaujasaḥ | kṛṣṇena sahitāḥ prāptās tathā saṃkarṣaṇena ca | asasāda purīṃ rasyāṃ mathurāṃ kaṃsapālitām | viviśuḥ pūḥpradhānāṃ vai kāle raktadivākare

Yoking the best chariot, all of unmeasured energy, with Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa, they reached the delightful city Mathurā, guarded by Kaṃsa, and entered the city of many gates in the late, red-sun hour.

The Living Words

*Rasyāṃ mathurām*, 'delightful Mathurā' — the same city that Kaṃsa has made a place of fear is called 'delightful' by the scripture. *Kaṃsa-pālitām*, 'Kaṃsa-guarded', follows immediately. Both are true. *Pūḥ-pradhānām*, 'chief of cities, of many gates'. *Kāle rakta-divākare*, 'in the red-sun hour'.

The Heart of It

The Harivaṃśa's refusal to flatten its adjectives: Mathurā is simultaneously *rasyā* (delightful) and *kaṃsa-pālitā* (guarded by the tyrant). The city is what the god is about to enter; it is not reducible to its political state. The Varkari tradition's deep respect for cities, even contested ones — Pandharpur as *rasyā* regardless of which rulers have controlled it — is in this adjacency. The red-sun hour is the hour of the arrival. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh opens at *devāciye dvārīṃ*, at God's door; HV 71.1 is the scripture-moment where the god himself is the arriver at the door of the city.

HV 71.2

तौ तु स्वभवनं वीरौ कृष्णसंकर्षणाव् उभौ । प्रवेशितौ बुद्धिमता अक्रूरेणार्कतेजसा ॥

tau tu svabhavanaṃ vīrau kṛṣṇasaṃkarṣaṇāv ubhau | praveśitau buddhimatā akrūreṇārkatejasā

The two heroes, Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa, were led into their own dwelling by wise Akrūra of sun-like radiance.

The Living Words

*Svabhavanaṃ*, 'their own dwelling' — not Akrūra's, but the boys' own (Vasudeva's palace, where they had been meant to be born). *Buddhimatā akrūreṇa*, 'by wise Akrūra'. *Ārka-tejasā*, 'of sun-like radiance'. The verse marks a homecoming the boys have never had: they are entering the house that has been theirs from birth and they have never seen.

The Heart of It

The word *svabhavanaṃ* is the verse's whole weight. The house is theirs by birth; they have never inhabited it. Kaṃsa's tyranny has kept them from their own home. The Harivaṃśa's sense that exile and return are continuous — that the devotee enters at last the place that was always theirs — is in this verse. The Varkari's pilgrimage to Pandharpur is, experientially, *svabhavana-praveśa*: entry into a place that belongs to the devotee by birth, though they have never lived there. Akrūra, wise and sun-bright, is the guide; Jñāneśvar in his Haripāṭh is the same kind of guide, bringing readers to a door they have always had but not yet stood at.

HV 71.20

स लब्ध्वा वरम् अव्यग्रो माल्यवृत्तिर् अधोमुखः । कृष्णस्य पतितो मूर्ध्ना प्रतिजग्राह तं वरम् ॥

sa labdhvā varam avyagro mālyavṛttir adhomukhaḥ | kṛṣṇasya patito mūrdhnā pratijagrāha taṃ varam

Having received the boon, untroubled — a garland-seller, face down — having fallen at Kṛṣṇa's feet with his head, he accepted the boon.

The Living Words

A garland-seller (*mālyavṛtti*) has offered Kṛṣṇa flowers and received a boon. *Adhomukhaḥ*, 'face down'; *kṛṣṇasya patito mūrdhnā*, 'fallen with his head at Kṛṣṇa's' (feet). *Pratijagrāha taṃ varam*, 'he accepted the boon.' The verse is brief but complete: a merchant's gift, a god's boon, a head at the feet.

The Heart of It

The boon-giving to the garland-seller is a moment the Harivaṃśa passes over in a single verse. That quickness is part of its point. The god is not staging a dramatic encounter; he accepts a garland, he gives a boon, both move on. The Varkari tradition's teaching that grace is often received in passing — that one gives the god a small thing and receives something large in return, without ceremony — is rooted in this compressed verse. The head-at-feet is *rūpa-bhūta* for the whole Warkari pilgrimage: the devotee arrives, bows, receives, and moves on.

HV 71.25

राज्ञः स्नानगृहं यामि तद् गृहाणानुलेपनम् । दृष्ट्वैव त्वारविन्दाक्ष विस्मितास्मि वरानन । स्थितास्म्य् आगच्छ भद्रं ते हृदयस्यासि मे प्रियः ॥

rājñaḥ snānagṛhaṃ yāmi tad gṛhāṇānulepanam | dṛṣṭvaiva tvāravindākṣa vismitāsmi varānana | sthitāsmy āgaccha bhadraṃ te hṛdayasyāsi me priyaḥ

'I am going to the king's bath-house; take this ointment. Just by seeing you, lotus-eyed one, I am amazed, O lovely-faced one. I am stopped here — come, good to you, you are dear to my heart.'

The Living Words

Kubjā's own speech. *Rājñaḥ snānagṛhaṃ yāmi*, 'I am going to the king's bath-house' — she names her errand. *Tad gṛhāṇānulepanam*, 'take this ointment'; *dṛṣṭvaiva tvāravindākṣa vismitāsmi varānana*, 'simply by seeing you, lotus-eyed, lovely-faced one, I am amazed'. *Sthitāsmi*, 'I am standing still, halted'; *āgaccha bhadraṃ te*, 'come, good to you'; *hṛdayasyāsi me priyaḥ*, 'you are dear to my heart.' The Sanskrit is emotional, direct, specific.

The Heart of It

Kubjā's verse is one of scripture's clearest records of devotional recognition in the ordinary. She is a hunchback woman on an errand; she sees a dark-skinned boy across the street; the seeing stops her. The Harivaṃśa does not require Kubjā to have any theological vocabulary. Her *vismitāsmi*, 'I am amazed', is enough. *Hṛdayasyāsi me priyaḥ*, 'you are dear to my heart', is enough. The Varkari tradition's insistence that the ordinary person's seeing of the god is theologically complete, without requiring Sanskritic framing, is exactly this verse. Kubjā is the Sanskrit precursor of every Warkari grandmother who has ever seen Pāṇḍuraṅga in the sanctum and forgotten what she came for.

HV 71.27

ताम् उवाच हसन्तीं तु कृष्णः कुब्जाम् अवस्थिताम् । तां उवाच ततः कृष्णः सैरन्ध्रीं प्रहसन्न् इव । सुगन्धम् एतद् राजार्हं रुचिरं रुचिराननं । आवयोर् गात्रसदृशं दीयतां अनुलेपनम् ॥

tām uvāca hasantīṃ tu kṛṣṇaḥ kubjām avasthitām | tām uvāca tataḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sairandhrīṃ prahasann iva | sugandham etad rājārhaṃ ruciraṃ rucirānane | āvayor gātrasadṛśaṃ dīyatām anulepanam

To her, standing there smiling, the hunchback, Kṛṣṇa spoke — and again he spoke, with a smile, to the sairandhrī: 'This fragrance is fit for a king, delightful, lovely-faced one; give some to us of the sort that suits our bodies.'

The Living Words

*Hasantīṃ tu kṛṣṇaḥ kubjām avasthitām*, 'Kṛṣṇa [spoke] to her, the smiling hunchback standing there'. *Prahasann iva*, 'as if laughing, smiling'. *Sairandhrīṃ*, 'to the maid-servant' (her profession). *Sugandham etad rājārhaṃ ruciram*, 'this fine fragrance, fit for a king, lovely'. *Āvayor gātra-sadṛśaṃ dīyatām anulepanam*, 'give us ointment appropriate to our bodies.'

The Heart of It

Kṛṣṇa answers her with a smile and a specific request. He does not preach to her, does not pronounce her healed, does not turn her meeting into a doctrine. He asks her for some of the ointment she was taking to the king, 'of the sort that suits our bodies'. The Harivaṃśa's refusal to solemnize grace-moments is on full display. The most famous encounter between Kṛṣṇa and a marginalized woman in the Purāṇas is handled without any moral frame — she loves him, he smiles, he takes some of what she offers. The Varkari saints' teaching that the god does not require the devotee to be fixed before being loved — that love comes first, healing follows — is in this scene. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's open-door-to-everyone policy has Kubjā as its narrative sourcework.

HV 71.52

कृष्यमाणं तु तत् तेन विबाणं बाहुशालिना । मुष्टिदेशे विकूजित्वा द्विधाभूतम् अभज्यत ॥

kṛṣyamāṇaṃ tu tat tena vibāṇaṃ bāhuśālinā | muṣṭideśe vikūjitvā dvidhābhūtam abhajyata

That bow, unstrung, being drawn by him the mighty-armed, at the grip-section, making a sound, broke in two.

The Living Words

*Kṛṣyamāṇaṃ*, 'being drawn'; *vibāṇam*, 'without arrow' — the bow has not been strung yet. *Bāhuśālinā*, 'by the arm-endowed one' (Kṛṣṇa). *Muṣṭideśe*, 'at the grip-section' — the exact place the bow breaks. *Vikūjitvā*, 'making a sound' — a cracking noise. *Dvidhābhūtam abhajyata*, 'it broke in two.' The verse is precise to the point of surgical.

The Heart of It

The Harivaṃśa's choice to describe the breaking of a weapon more precisely than most of its battle-scenes. The bow has been unstrung; the boy picks it up; at the grip, exactly where a strong man would hold it, it breaks. The verse is told as if by an eyewitness. The Varkari tradition's enduring preference for the specific over the grand — the exact place the bow broke, the exact fragrance Kubjā gave — is one of the Harivaṃśa's own gifts to it. The god is not a generalization; the god is someone who, on a specific day, at a specific grip, broke a bow precisely in two.

Thread

The six verses trace a day of entries. Into the city (71.1), into the house of their birth (71.2), then into the street where Kubjā meets them and where a garland-seller bows (71.20), and across into the royal arena where the weapon that was meant to defeat them breaks in two. Kubjā's verses 25 and 27 are the chapter's tenderest pair; the bow-verse 52 is its most public. The Harivaṃśa lets both kinds of act fit in one chapter's walk across a city.

Echo in the saints

Kubjā's scene at HV 71.25 has been read, across centuries of Vaiṣṇava commentary, as the model for the devotee-lover who recognizes the Lord in a split second on the street. The Sanskrit's *dṛṣṭvaiva*, 'just by seeing', is the whole verse's philosophy. The Warkari saints' love of the unplanned, accidental, marketplace-encounter-with-the-god is in this lineage. Tukaram reports repeatedly being stopped mid-errand by the sight of Vitthal; Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh 1.1 assumes a devotee who arrives at the door without an appointment, and finds the god ready. HV 71.25-27 is the Sanskrit original scene of this whole devotional temperament.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 9.32

The Lord's grace is not confined to the qualified; it meets the marginalized on the street.

मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य ये ऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः । स्त्रियो वैश्यास् तथा शूद्रास् ते ऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ॥

māṃ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ | striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te 'pi yānti parāṃ gatim

Taking refuge in me, Pārtha, even those of inferior birth — women, vaiśyas, śūdras — they too reach the supreme goal.

HV 71.25's Kubjā, a hunchback maid-servant, is Gītā 9.32's entire argument in one character. The god meets her; the seeing is enough; the grace is instantaneous.

BORI critical edition, ed. P. L. Vaidya (1969). Digital text from the GRETIL Zurich constituted text. Distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.