SB 7.15.10 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

द्रव्ययज्ञैर्यक्ष्यमाणं द‍ृष्ट्वा भूतानि बिभ्यति । एष माकरुणो हन्यादतज्ज्ञो ह्यसुतृप्ध्रुवम् ॥ १० ॥

Verse text

dravya-yajṣair yakṣyamāṇaṁ dṛṣṭvā bhūtāni bibhyati eṣa mākaruṇo hanyād ataj-jṣo hy asu-tṛp dhruvam

Synonyms

dravya — yajṣaiḥ — with animals and other eatable things ; yakṣyamāṇam — the person engaged in such sacrifices ; dṛṣṭvā — by seeing ; bhūtāni — the living entities (animals) ; bibhyati — become afraid ; eṣaḥ — this person (the performer of sacrifice) ; mā — us ; akaruṇaḥ — who is inhumane and merciless ; hanyāt — will kill ; a — tat — jṣaḥ — most ignorant ; hi — indeed ; asu — tṛp — who is most satisfied by killing others ; dhruvam — certainly .

Translation

Upon seeing the person engaged in performing the sacrifice, animals meant to be sacrificed are extremely afraid, thinking, “This merciless performer of sacrifices, being ignorant of the purpose of sacrifice and being most satisfied by killing others, will surely kill us.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Upon seeing a person engaged in performing the sacrifice, animals to be sacrificed become extremely afraid, thinking, “This merciless performer of sacrifices, being ignorant of the truth about ātmā and simply in order to maintain himself, will kill us.” “This cruel person, who does not know the truth about ātmā, will kill me (mā).” Śruti says na taṁ vidātha imā jajānānyad yuṣmākam antaraṁ babhūva nīhāreṇa prāvṛtā jalpyāś cāsutṛp uktha śāsaś caranti: you do not know the person who has produced these creatures, who dwells within you; surrounded by ignorance, uttering mantras to maintain themselves, the priests carry out their actions. (Ṛg Veda 10.82.7)

Purport

Animal sacrifice in the name of religion is current practically all over the world in every established religion. It is said that Lord Jesus Christ, when twelve years old, was shocked to see the Jews sacrificing birds and animals in the synagogues and that he therefore rejected the Jewish system of religion and started the religious system of Christianity, adhering to the Old Testament commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” At the present day, however, not only are animals killed in the name of sacrifice, but the killing of animals has increased enormously because of the increasing number of slaughterhouses. Slaughtering animals, either for religion or for food, is most abominable and is condemned herein. Unless one is merciless, one cannot sacrifice animals, either in the name of religion or for food.