Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
धर्मव्यतिक्रमो दृष्ट ईश्वराणां च साहसम् ।
तेजीयसां न दोषाय वह्ने: सर्वभुजो यथा ॥ २९ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
dharma-vyatikramo dṛṣṭa
īśvarāṇāṁ ca sāhasam
tejīyasāṁ na doṣāya
vahneḥ sarva-bhujo yathā
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
dharma
—
vyatikramaḥ — the transgression of religious or moral principles
;
dṛṣṭaḥ
—
seen
;
īśvarāṇām
—
of powerful controllers
;
ca
—
even
;
sāhasam
—
due to audacity
;
tejīyasām
—
who are spiritually potent
;
na
—
does not
;
doṣāya
—
(lead) to any fault
;
vahneḥ
—
of fire
;
sarva
—
everything
;
bhujaḥ
—
devouring
;
yathā
—
as .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The status of powerful controllers is not harmed by any apparently audacious transgression of morality we may see in them, for they are just like fire, which devours everything fed into it and remains unpolluted.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The status of powerful controllers is not harmed by any apparently audacious transgression of morality we may see in them, for they are just like fire, which devours everything fed into it and remains unpolluted.
KB 10.33.29
Śukadeva Gosvāmī immediately replied that transgressions of religious principles by the supreme controller testify to His great power. For example, fire can consume any abominable thing; that is the manifestation of the supremacy of fire. Similarly, the sun can absorb water from a urinal or from stool, and the sun is not polluted; rather, due to the influence of the sunshine, the polluted, contaminated place becomes disinfected and sterilized.
Purport
Great, potent personalities are not ruined by an apparent transgression of moral principles. Śrīdhara Svāmī mentions the examples of Brahmā, Indra, Soma, Viśvāmitra and others. A fire devours all that is fed into it but the fire does not change its nature. Similarly, a great personality does not fall from his position by an irregularity in behavior. In the following verse, however, Śukadeva Gosvāmī makes it clear that if we try to imitate the great personalities ruling the universe, the result will be catastrophic.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Though the demigods commit adharma, they do not receive the reactions for that. What then to speak of the Supreme Lord? In this verse Sukadeva answers Pariksit’s first question in six verses. Though personalities such as Rudra (isvaranam) commit adharama (dharma vyatikramah) out of rashness(sahasa), they do not need to atone for those acts.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
In seven verses, out of affection which is his nature, or out of affection for his disciple, Śukadeva rejects conclusions other than those presented by Parīkṣit through hidden meaning, while rejecting Parīkṣit’s apparent words of criticism. One sees acts of adharma in persons who are not dependent on dharma (īśvarānām) such as Brahmā being attracted to his daughter, done without fear (sāhasam), such as Bṛhaspati approaching the wife of Utathya (his elder brother). There is no fault in these powerful beings. An example is given. The fire burns everything but does not become impure.