व्रजे वसन्किमकरोन्मधुपुर्यां च केशवः भ्रातरं चावधीत्कंसं मातुरद्धातदर्हणम्
vraje vasan kim akaron madhupuryāṁ ca keśavaḥ bhrātaraṁ cāvadhīt kaṁsaṁ mātur addhātad-arhaṇam
Synonyms
vraje—at Vṛndāvana; vasan—while residing; kim akarot—what did He do; madhupuryām—in Mathurā; ca—and; keśavaḥ—Kṛṣṇa, the killer of Keśī; bhrātaram—the brother; ca—and; avadhīt—killed; kaṁsam—Kaṁsa; mātuḥ—of His mother; addhā—directly; a-tat-arhaṇam—which was not at all sanctioned by the śāstras..
Translation
Lord Kṛṣṇa lived both in Vṛndāvana and in Mathurā. What did He do there? Why did He kill Kaṁsa, His mother's brother? Such killing is not at all sanctioned in the śāstras.
Purport
One's maternal uncle, the brother of one's mother, is on the level of one's father. When a maternal uncle has no son, his nephew legally inherits his property. Therefore, why did Kṛṣṇa directly kill Kaṁsa, the brother of His mother? Mahārāja Parīkṣit was very much inquisitive about the facts in this regard.