śrī-śuka uvāca
tatra teṣv ātma-pakṣeṣv a-
gṛṇatsu vijigīṣayā
vācaḥ peśaiḥ smayan bhṛtyam
uddhavaḿ prāha keśavaḥ
sri-sukah uvaca -- Sukadeva Gosvami said; tatra -- there; teshu -- they (the Yadavas); atma -- His own; paksheshu -- supporters; agrinatsu -- not agreeing; vijigishaya -- because of their desire to conquer (Jarasandha); vacah -- of speech; pesaih -- with charming usage; smayan -- smiling; bhrityam -- to His servant; uddhavam -- Sri Uddhava; praha -- spoke; kesavah -- Lord Krishna.
Sukadeva Gosvami said: When His supporters, the Yadavas, objected to this proposal out of eagerness to defeat Jarasandha, Lord Kesava turned to His servant Uddhava and, smiling, addressed him with fine words.
Srila Prabhupada explains, "Just before the great sage Narada arrived in the Sudharma assembly house of Dvaraka, Lord Krishna and His ministers and secretaries had been considering how to attack the kingdom of Jarasandha. Because they were seriously considering this subject, Narada's proposal that Lord Krishna go to Hastinapura for Maharaja Yudhishthira's great Rajasuya sacrifice did not much appeal to them. Lord Krishna could understand the intentions of His associates because He is the ruler of even Lord Brahma. Therefore, in order to pacify them, He smilingly [spoke] to Uddhava."
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti points out that the Lord smiled because He was about to demonstrate Uddhava's brilliant ability to give counsel in difficult situations.
