Text 30
yo vai tvayā dvi-nava-kṛtva udātta-cakra
bhagno mṛdhe khalu bhavantam ananta-vīryam
jitvā nṛ-loka-nirataṁ sakṛd ūḍha-darpo
yuṣmat-prajā rujati no ’jita tad vidhehi
yaḥ — who; vai — indeed; tvayā — by You; dvi — twice; nava — nine; kṛtvaḥ — times; udātta — upraised; cakra — O You whose disc weapon; bhagnaḥ — crushed; mṛdhe — in battle; khalu — surely; bhavantam — You; ananta — unlimited; vīryam — whose power; jitvā — defeating; nr-loka — in human affairs; niratam — absorbed; sakṛt — only once; ūḍha — inflated; darpaḥ — whose pride; yuṣmat — Your; prajāḥ — subjects; rujati — torments; naḥ — us; ajita — O unconquerable one; tat — that; vidhehi — please rectify.
O wielder of the disc! Your strength is unlimited, and thus seventeen times You crushed Jarāsandha in battle. But then, absorbed in human affairs, You allowed him to defeat You once. Now he is so filled with pride that he dares to torment us, Your subjects. O unconquerable one, please rectify this situation.
The word nṛ-loka-niratam indicates that the Lord was absorbed in playing within the world of human beings. Thus, while acting like a human king He allowed Jarāsandha to be victorious in a single battle after the Lord had crushed him seventeen times. The kings here imply that Jarāsandha is especially harassing them because they are souls surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they beg the Lord, “O You who hold the cakra weapon high, please make the proper arrangement.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda expresses the kings’ feelings as follows: “My dear Lord, You have already fought with Jarāsandha eighteen times consecutively, out of which You have defeated him seventeen times by surpassing his extraordinary powerful position. But in Your eighteenth fight You exhibited Your human behavior, and thus it appeared that You were defeated. My dear Lord, we know very well that Jarāsandha cannot defeat You at any time, because Your power, strength, resources and authority are all unlimited. No one can equal You or surpass You. The appearance of defeat by Jarāsandha in the eighteenth engagement is nothing but an exhibition of human behavior. Unfortunately, foolish Jarāsandha could not understand Your tricks, and he has since then become puffed up over his material power and prestige. Specifically, he has arrested us and imprisoned us, knowing fully that as Your devotees, we are subordinate to Your sovereignty.”