Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 17 Verse 26

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 17: Mahārāja Pṛthu Becomes Angry at the Earth

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.17.26

pumān yoṣid uta klība

ātma-sambhāvano 'dhamaḥ

bhūteṣu niranukrośo

nṛpāṇāḿ tad-vadho 'vadhaḥ

SYNONYMS

pumān — a man; yoṣit — a woman; uta — also; klībaḥ — a eunuch; ātma-sambhāvanaḥ — interested in self -maintenance; adhamaḥ — lowest of humankind; bhūteṣu — to other living entities; niranukrośaḥ — without compassion; nṛpāṇām — for the kings; tat — of him; vadhaḥ — killing; avadhaḥ — not killing.

TRANSLATION

Any cruel person — be he a man, woman or impotent eunuch — who is only interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king. Such killing can never be considered actual killing.

PURPORT

The planet earth is actually a woman in her constitutional form, and as such she needs to be protected by the king. Pṛthu Mahārāja argues, however, that if a citizen within the state — be he man, woman or eunuch — is not compassionate upon his fellow men, he or she may be killed by the king, and such killing is never to be considered actual killing. As far as the field of spiritual activities is concerned, when a devotee is self-satisfied and does not preach the glories of Kṛṣṇa, he is not considered a first-class devotee. A devotee who tries to preach, who has compassion upon innocent persons who have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, is a superior devotee. In his prayer to the Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja said that he was not personally interested in liberation from this material world; rather, he did not wish to be liberated from this material condition until all fallen souls were delivered. Even in the material field, if a person is not interested in others' welfare, he should be considered to be condemned by the Personality of Godhead or His incarnation like Pṛthu Mahārāja.

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