Shloka 32

Kṛṣṇa Enters Mathurā: City Splendor, Devotees’ Reception, and the Washerman’s Fate

Devanagari script

रजकं कञ्चिदायान्तं रङ्गकारं गदाग्रज: । द‍ृष्ट्वायाचत वासांसि धौतान्यत्युत्तमानि च ॥ ३२ ॥

Transliteration

rajakaṁ kañcid āyāntaṁ raṅga-kāraṁ gadāgrajaḥ dṛṣṭvāyācata vāsāṁsi dhautāny aty-uttamāni ca

Translation

အဝတ်အထည်များကို အရောင်ဆိုးနေသော လျှော်ဖွပ်သမားတစ်ဦး လာနေသည်ကို မြင်၍ သီရိကൃഷ്ണက သူ့ထံမှ အလွန်ကောင်းမွန်စွာ လျှော်သန့်ထားသော အဝတ်အစားများကို တောင်းယူ하였다။

Synonyms

• रजकम्: a washerman
• रजकम्: कर्म (कर्मकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कञ्चित्: a certain
• कञ्चित्: विशेषण (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite)

• आयान्तम्: coming
• आयान्तम्: विशेषण (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ+√या (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle)

• रङ्ग-कारम्: a dyer (one who colors cloth)
• रङ्ग-कारम्: कर्म (कर्मकारक; रजकस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: रङ्गस्य कारः (dyer/cloth-colorer)

• गदा-अग्रजः: Gadāgraja (Balarāma)
• गदा-अग्रजः: कर्ता (कर्तृकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्रज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: गदायाः अग्रजः (elder brother of the mace-bearer) = बलरामः

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: पूर्वकाल (क्रियाविशेषण; having done)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययीभाव (gerund/absolutive)

• अयाचत: asked/begged
• अयाचत: क्रिया (कर्तृ-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+√याच् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः आ-

• वासांसि: garments
• वासांसि: कर्म (कर्मकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• धौतानि: washed/clean
• धौतानि: विशेषण (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धौत (कृदन्त; √धाव्/√धौ धातु 'to wash/clean')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP); विशेषणं वासांसि

• अति-उत्तमानि: excellent, very fine
• अति-उत्तमानि: विशेषण (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपसर्ग/उपपद 'अति' द्वारा अतिशयार्थ

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Gada
• Washerman (Rājaka)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about Krishna meeting the washerman in Mathura?

In Canto 10, Chapter 41, Kṛṣṇa sees the royal washerman approaching and asks him for first-class, freshly laundered garments—setting the stage for a lesson on humility and proper response to the Lord.

Why did Krishna ask the washerman for clothes in Canto 10?

Kṛṣṇa and His companions were entering Mathurā and desired suitable, fine garments; the washerman served the royal establishment, so Kṛṣṇa requested high-quality washed clothes from him.

How can this Bhagavatam verse be applied in modern life?

It highlights that when given a chance to serve the Divine (or saintly persons), one should respond with humility and generosity rather than pride in one’s position or possessions.