SB 3.16.10 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ये मे तनूर्द्विजवरान्दुहतीर्मदीया भूतान्यलब्धशरणानि च भेदबुद्ध्या । द्रक्ष्यन्त्यघक्षतद‍ृशो ह्यहिमन्यवस्तान् गृध्रा रुषा मम कुषन्त्यधिदण्डनेतु: ॥ १० ॥

Verse text

ye me tanūr dvija-varān duhatīr madīyā bhūtāny alabdha-śaraṇāni ca bheda-buddhyā drakṣyanty agha-kṣata-dṛśo hy ahi-manyavas tān gṛdhrā ruṣā mama kuṣanty adhidaṇḍa-netuḥ

Synonyms

ye — which persons ; me — My ; tanūḥ — body ; dvija — varān — the best of the brāhmaṇas ; duhatīḥ — cows ; madīyāḥ — relating to Me ; bhūtāni — living entities ; alabdha — śaraṇāni — defenseless ; ca — and ; bheda — buddhyā — considering as different ; drakṣyanti — see ; agha — by sin ; kṣata — is impaired ; dṛśaḥ — whose faculty of judgment ; hi — because ; ahi — like a snake ; manyavaḥ — angry ; tān — those same persons ; gṛdhrāḥ — the vulturelike messengers ; ruṣā — angrily ; mama — My ; kuṣanti — tear ; adhidaṇḍa — netuḥ — of the superintendent of punishment, Yamarāja .

Translation

The brāhmaṇas, the cows and the defenseless creatures are My own body. Those whose faculty of judgment has been impaired by their own sin look upon these as distinct from Me. They are just like furious serpents, and they are angrily torn apart by the bills of the vulturelike messengers of Yamarāja, the superintendent of sinful persons.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The enraged servants of Yama, with forms like vultures, tear out the eyes of those who, with vision destroyed by sin, see difference between my forms and the brāhmaṇas, cows and shelterless beings. What to speak of those who do not tolerate offenses of brāhmaṇas, those who see difference between me and brāhmaṇas go to hell. Those persons who see my forms as different from the brāhmaṇas, the cows (duhatīḥ) and those without shelter, go to hell. Instead of duhatīḥ sometimes duhitṛ (daughter) is seen. This also means cow since the cow arose from the sun as part of the universal form. The cow is daughter of the sun. The enraged (ahi manyavaḥ) servants of Yama, empowered by me, who have forms like vultures, tear those persons’ eyes with their beaks.

Purport

The defenseless creatures, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are the cows, brāhmaṇas, women, children and old men. Of these five, the brāhmaṇas and cows are especially mentioned in this verse because the Lord is always anxious about the benefit of the brāhmaṇas and the cows and is prayed to in this way. Therefore the Lord especially instructs that no one should be envious of these five, especially the cows and brāhmaṇas. In some of the Bhāgavatam readings, the word duhitṝḥ is used instead of duhatīḥ. But in either case, the meaning is the same. Duhatīḥ means “cow,” and duhitṝḥ can also be used to mean “cow” because the cow is supposed to be the daughter of the sun-god. Just as children are taken care of by the parents, women as a class should be taken care of by the father, husband or grown-up son. Those who are helpless must be taken care of by their respective guardians; otherwise the guardians will be subjected to the punishment of Yamarāja, who is appointed by the Lord to supervise the activities of sinful living creatures. The assistants, or messengers, of Yamarāja are likened here to vultures, and those who do not execute their respective duties in protecting their wards are compared to serpents. Vultures deal very seriously with serpents, and similarly the messengers will deal very seriously with neglectful guardians.