Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.72.30

evam āvedito rājā

jahāsoccaiḥ sma māgadhaḥ

āha cāmarṣito mandā

yuddhaḿ tarhi dadāmi vaḥ

SYNONYMS

evam — thus; āveditaḥ — invited; rāja — the King; jahāsa — laughed; uccaiḥ — out loud; sma — indeed; māgadhaḥ — Jarāsandha; āha — he said; ca — and; amarṣitaḥ — intolerant; mandāḥ — O fools; yuddham — battle; tarhi — then; dadāmi — I will give; vaḥ — to you.

TRANSLATION

[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Thus challenged, Magadharāja laughed out loud and contemptuously said, "All right, you fools, I'll give you a fight!

PURPORT

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments that Jarāsandha felt inner satisfaction because he thought that his enemies had been humiliated by having to dress like brāhmaṇas to approach him. Thus the ācārya understands Jarāsandha's mind as follows: "O weak ones, forget the botheration of fighting. Why not just accept my head? By dressing yourselves as brāhmaṇas begging charity, you have made your heroism set like the sun, but if somehow you have not lost your courage, I will give you battle."

The ācārya finally points out that the goddess of learning intends the phrase amarṣito mandāḥ to read amarṣito 'mandāḥ. In other words, Lord Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas are amandāḥ, "never foolish." And that is why they chose the best tactic for doing away once and for all with the cruel Jarāsandha.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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