SB 4.26.24 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तस्मिन्दधे दममहं तव वीरपत्नि योऽन्यत्र भूसुरकुलात्कृतकिल्बिषस्तम् । पश्ये न वीतभयमुन्मुदितं त्रिलोक्या- मन्यत्र वै मुररिपोरितरत्र दासात् ॥ २४ ॥

Verse text

tasmin dadhe damam ahaṁ tava vīra-patni yo ’nyatra bhūsura-kulāt kṛta-kilbiṣas tam paśye na vīta-bhayam unmuditaṁ tri-lokyām anyatra vai mura-ripor itaratra dāsāt

Synonyms

tasmin — unto him ; dadhe — shall give ; damam — punishment ; aham — I ; tava — to you ; vīra — patni — O wife of the hero ; yaḥ — one who ; anyatra — besides ; bhū — sura — kulāt — from the group of demigods on this earth (the brāhmaṇas ) ; kṛta — done ; kilbiṣaḥ — offense ; tam — him ; paśye — I see ; na — not ; vīta — without ; bhayam — fear ; unmuditam — without anxiety ; tri — lokyām — within the three worlds ; anyatra — elsewhere ; vai — certainly ; mura — ripoḥ — of the enemy of Mura (Kṛṣṇa) ; itaratra — on the other hand ; dāsāt — than the servant .

Translation

O hero’s wife, kindly tell me if someone has offended you. I am prepared to give such a person punishment as long as he does not belong to the brāhmaṇa caste. But for the servant of Muraripu [Kṛṣṇa], I excuse no one within or beyond these three worlds. No one can freely move after offending you, for I am prepared to punish him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O wife of a hero! Except for the brāhmaṇa and the Vaiṣṇava, I will punish anyone who has offended you. I do not see anyone in the three worlds who can remain fearless and joyful in my presence other than these two. O wife of a hero! You are the wife of a king! I will punish whoever has offended you, because I belong to you (aham tava), I am dependent on you. But I do not have power over the brāhmaṇas and the servants of Viṣṇu. Puraṣjana is actually Prācīnabarhiṣat, who would not break the rules established by his father and grandfather (Pṛthu). The rule was: sarvatrāskhalitādeśaḥ sapta-dvīpaika-daṇḍa-dhṛk anyatra brāhmaṇa-kulād anyatrācyuta-gotrataḥ His order was unchallenged anywhere. He had authority over all except the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. SB 4.21.12 Pṛthu would not punish or take taxes from the brāhmaṇas or Vaiṣṇavas. Other than these two, I do not see anyone in the three worlds or beyond the three worlds who can remain without fear and have great joy. That offender will die out of fear of me. Spiritually speaking, the following is implied. “If I have faults because of old impressions or committing sin, I will perform charity, vows and pious acts to atone (damam) for the faults. But if an obstacle has arisen from the anger of a brāhmaṇa or offense to a Vaiṣṇava, that is difficult to remove. Except for offenses to brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas I can make atonement. The only relief from offending these two is their mercy, and nothing else.” He speaks with pride at being able to uproot irreligion in the last two lines of the verse.

Purport

According to Vedic civilization, a brāhmaṇa, or one who is properly qualified to understand the Absolute Truth — that is, one belonging to the most intelligent social order — as well as the devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Muradviṣa, enemy of a demon named Mura, is not subject to the rules and regulations of the state. In other words, upon breaking the laws of the state, everyone can be punished by the government except the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. Brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas never transgress the laws of the state or the laws of nature because they know perfectly well the resultant reactions caused by such law-breaking. Even though they may sometimes appear to violate the laws, they are not to be punished by the king. This instruction was given to King Prācīnabarhiṣat by Nārada Muni. King Puraṣjana was a representative of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, and Nārada Muni was reminding King Prācīnabarhiṣat of his forefather, Mahārāja Pṛthu, who never chastised a brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava. One’s pure intelligence, or pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, becomes polluted by material activities. Pure consciousness can be revived by the process of sacrifice, charity, pious activities, etc., but when one pollutes his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by offending a brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava, it is very difficult to revive. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described the vaiṣṇava-aparādha, or offense to a Vaiṣṇava, as “the mad elephant offense.” One should be very careful not to offend a Vaiṣṇava or a brāhmaṇa. Even the great yogī Durvāsā was harassed by the Sudarśana cakra when he offended the Vaiṣṇava Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, who was neither a brāhmaṇa nor a sannyāsī but an ordinary householder. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was a Vaiṣṇava, and consequently Durvāsā Muni was chastised. The conclusion is that if Kṛṣṇa consciousness is covered by material sins, one can eliminate the sins simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, but if one pollutes his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by offending a brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava, one cannot revive it until one properly atones for the sin by pleasing the offended Vaiṣṇava or brāhmaṇa. This was the course that Durvāsā Muni had to follow, for he surrendered unto Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. A vaiṣṇava-aparādha cannot be atoned for by any means other than by begging the pardon of the offended Vaiṣṇava.