SB 4.19.23

SB 4.19.23

Devanagari

यानि रूपाणि जगृहे इन्द्रो हयजिहीर्षया । तानि पापस्य खण्डानि लिङ्गं खण्डमिहोच्यते ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

yāni rūpāṇi jagṛhe indro haya-jihīrṣayā tāni pāpasya khaṇḍāni liṅgaṁ khaṇḍam ihocyate

Synonyms

yāni all those which ; rūpāṇi forms ; jagṛhe accepted ; indraḥ the King of heaven ; haya the horse ; jihīrṣayā with a desire to steal ; tāni all those ; pāpasya of sinful activities ; khaṇḍāni signs ; liṅgam the symbol ; khaṇḍam the word khaṇḍa ; iha here ; ucyate is said .

Translation

Whatever different forms Indra assumed as a mendicant because of his desire to seize the horse were symbols of atheistic philosophy.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Whatever forms Indra accepted for stealing the horse, those became symbols or khaṇḍa of sin. Thus those persons are called pākhaṇḍas or pāṣaṇḍas. This verse derives the meaning of pākhāṇḍa (heretic). The plural is used to indicate that many varieties of pāṣaṇdaṣ appeared.

Purport

According to Vedic civilization, sannyāsa is one of the essential items in the program of the varṇāśrama institution. One should accept sannyāsa according to the paramparā system of the ācāryas. At the present moment, however, many so-called sannyāsīs or mendicants have no understanding of God consciousness. Such sannyāsa was introduced by Indra because of his jealousy of Mahārāja Pṛthu, and what he introduced is again appearing in the Age of Kali. Practically none of the sannyāsīs in this age are bona fide. No one can introduce any new system into the Vedic way of life; if one does so out of malice, he is to be known as a pāṣaṇḍī, or atheist. In the Vaiṣṇava Tantra it is said: yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ samatvenaiva vīkṣeta sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam Although it is forbidden, there are many pāṣaṇḍīs who coin terms like daridra-nārāyaṇa and svāmi-nārāyaṇa, although not even such demigods as Brahmā and Śiva can be equal to Nārāyaṇa.