Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 30

Kṛṣṇa Kills Dantavakra; Balarāma’s Pilgrimage and the Slaying of Romaharṣaṇa

Devanagari script

अस्य ब्रह्मासनं दत्तमस्माभिर्यदुनन्दन । आयुश्चात्माक्लमं तावद् यावत् सत्रं समाप्यते ॥ ३० ॥

Transliteration

asya brahmāsanaṁ dattam asmābhir yadu-nandana āyuś cātmāklamaṁ tāvad yāvat satraṁ samāpyate

Translation

“O favorite of the Yadus, we gave him the seat of the spiritual master and promised him long life and freedom from physical pain for as long as this sacrifice continues.

Synonyms

• asya: of this one / his
• asya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; pronoun

• brahma-āsanam: the brahma-seat
• brahma-āsanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + āsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘seat of Brahmā / brahma-seat’

• dattam: given
• dattam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; agrees with brahma-āsanam

• asmābhiḥ: by us
• asmābhiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; 1st person pronoun

• yadu-nandana: O Yadu’s descendant
• yadu-nandana: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yadu (प्रातिपदिक) + nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘delighter/descendant of Yadu’

• āyuḥ: life-span
• āyuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चय)

• ātma-aklamam: bodily vigor (absence of fatigue)
• ātma-aklamam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + aklama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘freedom from fatigue of body/self’

• tāvat: so long
• tāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) ‘so long/that long’

• yāvat: until / as long as
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Correlative indeclinable (यावत्…तावत्)

• satram: the sacrificial session (satra)
• satram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• samāpyate: is completed
• samāpyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√āp (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Passive (कर्मणि), 3rd Person, Singular

Purport

Although Romaharṣaṇa was not a brāhmaṇa, having been born of a mixed marriage, he was invested with that status by the assembled sages and thus given the brahmāsana, the seat of the chief officiating priest.

Characters & Entities

• Yadunandana (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam mean by giving someone a 'brahmāsana'?

In this verse, 'brahmāsana' signifies the highest seat of honor—an extraordinary boon or status—granted by powerful beings, yet still limited by time and divine arrangement.

Why is Kṛṣṇa addressed as Yadunandana in this shloka?

Śukadeva Gosvāmī uses 'Yadunandana'—“delight of the Yadu dynasty”—to address Kṛṣṇa affectionately while narrating how events unfold around Him in the Yadu line’s history.

Practical application: what does this verse teach about worldly blessings?

Even the greatest honors and seemingly effortless comforts are temporary; a devotee should value lasting spiritual gain over time-bound boons and prestige.