paṭu and mṛdu synonyms

Originally I translated Śrīla Raghunātha dās Gosvāmī’s ‚Svaniyama Daśakam‘, verse 5, as follows –

anādiḥ sādir vā paṭur ati mṛdur vā pratipadaṁ

pramīlat kāruṇyaḥ praguṇa karuṇā hīna iti vā

mahā vaikuṇṭheśādhika iha naro vā vrajapater

ayaṁ sūnur goṣṭhe prati-jani mamāstāṁ prabhu-varaḥ

            anādiḥ - beginningless; sa ādiḥ - with a beginning; vā - or; paṭuḥ - harsh; ati - very; mṛduḥ -soft; pratipadaṁ - always; pramīlat - obvious; kāruṇyaḥ - compassion; praguṇa - greatest qualities; karuṇā - mercy; hīna - without; iti - thus; vā - or; mahā - great; vaikuṇṭheśa - Lord of Vaikuṇṭha; adhika - more; iha - here; naraḥ - human being; vā - or; vrajapateḥ - of the Lord of Vraja; ayaṁ - this; sūnuḥ - son; goṣṭhe - in Vraja; prati-jani - every birth; mama - my; āstāṁ - may he be; prabhu - lord; varaḥ - best.

            He may be beginningless or with a beginning, harsh or very tender, most compassionate or merciless, more opulent and powerful than the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha or just an ordinary human being - the son of the Lord of Vraja is always my worshipable Lord, birth after birth!

The words "paṭu" and "mṛdu" can both have two meanings, creating the possibility of two juxtapositions in the verse – „Kṛṣṇa may be very soft (mṛdu) or very hard or cruel (paṭu)“ or: „Kṛṣṇa can be very expert (paṭu) or very tender“, meaning weak or clumsy (mṛdu). Both juxtapositions apply in the context of the verse.