SB 10.2.21 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

किमद्य तस्मिन् करणीयमाशु मेयदर्थतन्त्रो न विहन्ति विक्रमम् स्त्रिया: स्वसुर्गुरुमत्या वधोऽयंयश: श्रियं हन्त्यनुकालमायु: ॥ २१ ॥

Verse text

kim adya tasmin karaṇīyam āśu me yad artha-tantro na vihanti vikramam striyāḥ svasur gurumatyā vadho ’yaṁ yaśaḥ śriyaṁ hanty anukālam āyuḥ

Synonyms

kim — what ; adya — now, immediately ; tasmin — in this situation ; karaṇīyam — is to be done ; āśu — without delay ; me — my duty ; yat — because ; artha — tantraḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always determined to protect the sādhus and kill the asādhus ; na — does not ; vihanti — give up ; vikramam — His prowess ; striyāḥ — of a woman ; svasuḥ — of my sister ; guru — matyāḥ — especially when she is pregnant ; vadhaḥ ayam — the killing ; yaśaḥ — fame ; śriyam — opulence ; hanti — will vanquish ; anukālam — forever ; āyuḥ — and the duration of life .

Translation

Kaṁsa thought: What is my duty now? The Supreme Lord, who knows His purpose will not give up His prowess. Devakī is a woman, she is my sister, and moreover she is now pregnant. If I kill her, my reputation, opulence and duration of life will certainly be vanquished.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Kaṁsa thought: What is my duty now? The Supreme Lord, who knows His purpose [paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām Bg. 4.8], will not give up His prowess. Devakī is a woman, she is my sister, and moreover she is now pregnant. If I kill her, my reputation, opulence and duration of life will certainly be vanquished. KB 10.2.21 Kaṁsa thought, “What is to be done with Devakī? Surely she has Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa within her womb, so it is certain that Kṛṣṇa has come to execute the mission of the demigods. And even if I immediately kill Devakī, His mission cannot be frustrated.” Kaṁsa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose of Viṣṇu. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His purpose will be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. Kaṁsa thought, “If I kill Devakī at the present moment, Viṣṇu will enforce His supreme will more vehemently. To kill Devakī just now would be a most abominable act. No one desires to kill his reputation, even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devakī now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devakī is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately my reputation, the results of my pious activities and my duration of life will all be finished.”

Purport

According to Vedic principles, a woman, a brāhmaṇa, an old man, a child and a cow should never be killed. It appears that Kaṁsa, although a great enemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was aware of the Vedic culture and conscious of the fact that the soul transmigrates from one body to another and that one suffers in the next life according to the karmas of this life. Therefore he was afraid of killing Devakī, since she was a woman, she was his sister, and she was pregnant. A kṣatriya becomes famous by performing heroic acts. But what would be heroic about killing a woman who, while confined in his custody, was under his shelter? Therefore, he did not want to act drastically by killing Devakī. Kaṁsa’s enemy was within Devakī’s womb, but killing an enemy in such a nescient state would not be an exhibition of prowess. According to kṣatriya rules, an enemy should be fought face to face and with proper weapons. Then if the enemy is killed, the victor becomes famous. Kaṁsa very conscientiously deliberated upon these facts and therefore refrained from killing Devakī, although he was completely confident that his enemy had already appeared within her womb.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse he speaks more clearly his intentions. "What should I do about Hari (tasmin)? Is it proper to kill him while he is still an embryo? No, because those interested in their own welfare (artha tantra) do not destroy their own good name. By killing him now my reputation of prowess will be destroyed. But if he is born and grows, and then I fight with him, whether I am victorious or defeated, my glory will remain intact. Killing a child in the womb is not an act of bravery. Not only will it destroy my fame, but dharma also gets destroyed." Thus he says by killing a woman, a sister, and a foetus, fame, power and lifespan will be permanently lost. This temporary restriction on his evil nature was because of fear. Thus he began thinking of his reputation through careful discrimination.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

(First meaning is: Viṣṇu will not give up his prowess and will try to kill me. But killing a woman is sinful.) According to Śrīdhara Svāmī there is a second meaning. “A person knowing his own benefit does not give up his prowess. Thus killing a woman is not good since one loses fame, wealth and longevity.” Right now, immediately what should I do? His evil nature became restricted because of fear, and he thought of how to act for his benefit. If I kill her, will it not be a temporary means to protect my life? If I kill her, will I not obtain long lasting infamy and loss of wealth? It is bad to kill a woman, worse if she is my sister, and worst if she is pregnant. And by killing her, it is bad to lose fame, worse to lose wealth and worst to lose long life. By killing her, my life is destroyed. What will be the good of that?