पूतनाघातपूर्वाणि कर्माण्य् अस्य विशेषतः ॥
त्वया कीर्तयतास्माकं भूयः प्रच्यावितं मनः ॥
अवलिप्तस्य मूर्खस्य केशवं स्तोतुम् इच्छतः ॥
कथं भीष्म न ते जिह्वा शतधेयं विदीर्यते ॥
यत्र कुत्सा प्रयोक्तव्या भीष्म बालतरैर् नरैः ॥
तम् इमं ज्ञानवृद्धः सन् गोपं संस्तोतुम् इच्छसि ॥
pūtanāghātapūrvāṇi karmāṇy asya viśeṣataḥ ||
tvayā kīrtayatāsmākaṃ bhūyaḥ pracyāvitaṃ manaḥ ||
avaliptasya mūrkhasya keśavaṃ stotum icchataḥ ||
kathaṃ bhīṣma na te jihvā śatadheyaṃ vidīryate ||
yatra kutsā prayoktavyā bhīṣma bālatarair naraiḥ ||
tam imaṃ jñānavṛddhaḥ san gopaṃ saṃstotum icchasi ||
"The slaying of Putana and his other deeds, praised by you, have disturbed our mind still further. How, O Bhishma, does your tongue not split into a hundred pieces — that of a conceited fool wishing to praise Keshava? The one whom even younger men would rightly censure — this cowherd — you, an elder in knowledge, wish to praise!"
d251bca1aa96 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:40:28 PM UTC
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Mocking, Shishupala lists "the slaying of Putana and other deeds" — and thereby, unwittingly, proclaims the Lord's glory: even slander cannot describe His acts as anything but victories over evil. Telling is the word "cowherd," hurled as a reproach: to the blind the greatest appears lowly, and the lotus-eyed Lord of the universe is seen as a mere herdsman. The verse teaches that the Lord's līlā, gentle and human, is the sweetest revelation to the humble and an occasion for contempt to the proud; the very same deed elevates the loving and hardens the envious. And the tongue that slanders Keshava exposes not Him but itself — it deserved to split, yet it only exposes its owner.