FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.4

निजग्राहौजसा वीर: कलिं दिग्विजये क्‍वचित् । नृपलिङ्गधरं शूद्रं घ्नन्तं गोमिथुनं पदा ॥ ४ ॥
nijagrāhaujasā vīraḥ
[nijagraahaujasaa veerah]
kaliṁ digvijaye kvacit
[kalim digvijaye kvachit]
nṛpa-liṅga-dharaṁ śūdraṁ
[nripa-linga-dharam shoodram]
ghnantaṁ go-mithunaṁ padā
[ghnantam go-mithunam padaa]
nijagrāha — sufficiently punished ojasā — by prowess vīraḥ — valiant hero kalim — unto Kali, the master of the age digvijaye — on his way to conquer the world kvacit — once upon a time nṛpa-liṅga-dharam — one who passes in the dress of a king śūdram — the lower class ghnantam — hurting go-mithunam — a cow and bull padā — on the leg.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nijagrāhaujasā vīraḥ
nijagrāha
sufficiently punished
ojasā
by prowess
vīraḥ
valiant hero
kaliṁ digvijaye kvacit
kalim
unto Kali, the master of the age
digvijaye
on his way to conquer the world
kvacit
once upon a time
nṛpa-liṅga-dharaṁ śūdraṁ
nṛpa-liṅga-dharam
one who passes in the dress of a king
śūdram
the lower class
ghnantaṁ go-mithunaṁ padā
ghnantam
hurting
go-mithunam
a cow and bull
padā
on the leg.
Once, when Mahārāja Parīkṣit was on his way to conquer the world, he saw the master of Kali-yuga, who was lower than a śūdra, disguised as a king and hurting the legs of a cow and bull. The King at once caught hold of him to deal sufficient punishment.

The purpose of a king’s going out to conquer the world is not for self-aggrandizement. Mahārāja Parīkṣit went out to conquer the world after his ascendance to the throne, but this was not for the purpose of aggression on other states. He was the Emperor of the world, and all small states were already under his regime. His purpose in going out was to see how things were going on in terms of the godly state. The king, being the representative of the Lord, has to execute the will of the Lord duly. There is no question of self-aggrandizement. Thus as soon as Mahārāja Parīkṣit saw that a lower-class man in the dress of a king was hurting the legs of a cow and a bull, at once he arrested and punished him. The king cannot tolerate insults to the most important animal, the cow, nor can he tolerate disrespect for the most important man, the brāhmaṇa. Human civilization means to advance the cause of brahminical culture, and to maintain it, cow protection is essential. There is a miracle in milk, for it contains all the necessary vitamins to sustain human physiological conditions for higher achievements. Brahminical culture can advance only when man is educated to develop the quality of goodness, and for this there is a prime necessity of food prepared with milk, fruits and grains. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was astonished to see that a black śūdra, dressed like a ruler, was mistreating a cow, the most important animal in human society.

The Age of Kali means mismanagement and quarrel. And the root cause of all mismanagement and quarrel is that worthless men with the modes of lower-class men, who have no higher ambition in life, come to the helm of the state management. Such men at the post of a king are sure to first hurt the cow and the brahminical culture, thereby pushing all society towards hell. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, trained as he was, got the scent of this root cause of all quarrel in the world. Thus he wanted to stop it in the very beginning.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
One time, while touring his kingdom, the hero valiantly punished Kali, a śūdra dressed as a king, who was kicking a cow and bull.
On his way to conquer the world, Parīkṣit saw Kali — disguised as a king — hurting a cow and bull. He at once caught him to deal sufficient punishment. The right leader intervenes immediately when he sees abuse.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'cow being hurt' have I seen lately and not intervened on?
  • Where could immediate action protect the helpless?
📝 My note

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