Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 4 Verse 30

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 4: Satī Quits Her Body

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.4.30

so 'yaḿ durmarṣa-hṛdayo brahma-dhruk ca

loke 'pakīrtiḿ mahatīm avāpsyati

yad-ańgajāḿ svāḿ puruṣa-dviḍ udyatāḿ

na pratyaṣedhan mṛtaye 'parādhataḥ

SYNONYMS

saḥ — he; ayam — that; durmarṣa-hṛdayaḥ — hardhearted; brahma-dhruk — unworthy to be a brāhmaṇa; ca — and; loke — in the world; apakīrtim — ill fame; mahatīm — extensive; avāpsyati — will gain; yat-ańga-jām — the daughter of whom; svām — own; puruṣa-dviṭ — the enemy of Lord Śiva; udyatām — who was preparing; na pratyaṣedhat — did not prevent; mṛtaye — for death; aparādhataḥ — because of his offenses.

TRANSLATION

Dakṣa, who is so hardhearted that he is unworthy to be a brāhmaṇa, will gain extensive ill fame because of his offenses to his daughter, because of not having prevented her death, and because of his great envy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

Dakṣa is described here as most hardhearted and therefore unqualified to be a brāhmaṇa. Brahma-dhruk is described by some commentators to mean brahma-bandhu, or friend of the brāhmaṇas. A person who is born in a brāhmaṇa family but has no brahminical qualifications is called a brahma-bandhu. Brāhmaṇas are generally very softhearted and forbearing because they have the power to control the senses and the mind. Dakṣa, however, was not forbearing. For the simple reason that his son-in-law, Lord Śiva, did not stand up to show him the formality of respect, he became so angry and hardhearted that he tolerated even the death of his dearest daughter. Satī tried her best to mitigate the misunderstanding between the son-in-law and the father-in-law by coming to her father's house, even without an invitation, and at that time Dakṣa should have received her, forgetting all past misunderstandings. But he was so hardhearted that he was unworthy to be called an Āryan or brāhmaṇa. Thus his ill fame still continues. Dakṣa means "expert," and he was given this name because of his ability to beget many hundreds and thousands of children. Persons who are too sexually inclined and materialistic become so hardhearted because of a slight loss of prestige that they can tolerate even the death of their children.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness