प्रदाय मृत्यवे पुत्रान् मोचये कृपणामिमाम् । सुता मे यदि जायेरन् मृत्युर्वा न म्रियेत चेत् ॥ ४९ ॥ विपर्ययो वा किं न स्याद् गतिर्धातुर्दुरत्यया । उपस्थितो निवर्तेत निवृत्त: पुनरापतेत् ॥ ५० ॥
pradāya mṛtyave putrān mocaye kṛpaṇām imām sutā me yadi jāyeran mṛtyur vā na mriyeta cet viparyayo vā kiṁ na syād gatir dhātur duratyayā upasthito nivarteta nivṛttaḥ punar āpatet
- pradāya
- promising to deliver
- mṛtyave
- unto Kaṁsa, who is death personified for Devakī
- putrān
- my sons
- mocaye
- I am releasing her from imminent danger
- kṛpaṇām
- innocent
- imām
- Devakī
- sutāḥ
- sons
- me
- my
- yadi
- whether
- jāyeran
- should take birth
- mṛtyuḥ
- Kaṁsa
- vā
- or
- na
- not
- mriyeta
- should die
- cet
- if
- viparyayaḥ
- just the opposite
- vā
- or
- kim
- whether
- na
- not
- syāt
- it may happen
- gatiḥ
- the movement
- dhātuḥ
- of providence
- duratyayā
- very difficult to understand
- upasthitaḥ
- that which is presently obtained
- nivarteta
- may stop
- nivṛttaḥ
- Devakī’s death being stopped
- punaḥ āpatet
- in the future it may happen again (but what can I do)
Vasudeva considered: By delivering all my sons to Kaṁsa, who is death personified, I shall save the life of Devakī. Perhaps Kaṁsa will die before my sons take birth, or, since he is already destined to die at the hands of my son, one of my sons may kill him. For the time being, let me promise to hand over my sons so that Kaṁsa will give up this immediate threat, and if in due course of time Kaṁsa dies, I shall have nothing to fear.