dṛṣá¹vÄ samatvaá¹ tac chaureḥ
satye caiva vyavasthitim
kaá¹sas tuá¹£á¹a-manÄ rÄjan
prahasann idam abravīt
dṛṣá¹vÄ - by seeing; samatvam - being equipoised, undisturbed in distress or happiness; tat - that; Å›aureḥ - of Vasudeva; satye - in truthfulness; ca - indeed; eva - certainly; vyavasthitim - the firm situation; kaá¹saḥ - Kaá¹sa; tuá¹£á¹a-manÄḥ - being very satisfied (with Vasudeva's behavior in delivering the first child to keep his promise); rÄjan - O MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it; prahasan - with a smiling face; idam - this; abravÄ«t - said.
My dear King ParÄ«ká¹£it, when Kaá¹sa saw that Vasudeva, being situated in truthfulness, was completely equipoised in giving him the child, he was very happy. Therefore, with a smiling face, he spoke as follows.
The word samatvam is very significant in this verse. Samatvam refers to one who is always equipoised, unaffected by either happiness or distress. Vasudeva was so steadily equipoised that he did not seem in the least agitated when delivering his first-born child into the hands of Kaá¹sa to be killed. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (2.56) it is said, duḥkheá¹£v anudvigna-manÄḥ sukheá¹£u vigata-spá¹›haḥ. In the material world, one should not be very eager to be happy, nor should one be very much disturbed by material distress. Lord Kṛṣṇa advised Arjuna:
mÄtrÄ-sparÅ›Äs tu kaunteya
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dÄḥ
ÄgamÄpÄyino ’nityÄs
tÄá¹s titiká¹£asva bhÄrata
“O son of KuntÄ«, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.†(Bg. 2.14) The self-realized soul is never disturbed by so-called distress or happiness, and this is especially true of an exalted devotee like Vasudeva, who showed this by his practical example. Vasudeva was not at all disturbed when delivering his first child to Kaá¹sa to be killed.
