FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.17.5

कस्त्वं मच्छरणे लोके बलाद्धंस्यबलान् बली । नरदेवोऽसि वेशेण नटवत्कर्मणाद्विज: ॥ ५ ॥
kas tvaṁ mac-charaṇe loke
[kas tvam mach-charane loke]
balād dhaṁsy abalān balī
[balaad dhamsy abalaan balee]
nara-devo ’si veṣeṇa
[nara-devo ’si veshena]
naṭavat karmaṇā ’dvijaḥ
[natavat karmanaa ’dvijah]
kaḥ — who are tvam — you mat — my śaraṇe — under protection loke — in this world balāt — by force haṁsi — killing abalān — those who are helpless balī — although full of strength nara-devaḥ — man-god asi — appear to be veṣeṇa — by your dress naṭa-vat — like a theatrical player karmaṇā — by deeds advi-jaḥ — a man not twice-born by culture.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kas tvaṁ mac-charaṇe loke
kaḥ
who are
tvam
you
mat
my
śaraṇe
under protection
loke
in this world
balād dhaṁsy abalān balī
balāt
by force
haṁsi
killing
abalān
those who are helpless
balī
although full of strength
nara-devo ’si veṣeṇa
nara-devaḥ
man-god
asi
appear to be
veṣeṇa
by your dress
naṭavat karmaṇā ’dvijaḥ
naṭa-vat
like a theatrical player
karmaṇā
by deeds
advi-jaḥ
a man not twice-born by culture.
Oh, who are you? You appear to be strong and yet you dare kill, within my protection, those who are helpless! By your dress you pose yourself to be a godly man [king], but by your deeds you are opposing the principles of the twice-born kṣatriyas.

The brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are called twice-born because for these higher classes of men there is one birth by parental conjugation and there is another birth of cultural rejuvenation by spiritual initiation from the bona fide ācārya, or spiritual master. So a kṣatriya is also twice-born like a brāhmaṇa, and his duty is to give protection to the helpless. The kṣatriya king is considered to be the representative of God to give protection to the helpless and chastise the miscreants. Whenever there are anomalies in this routine work by the administrators, there is an incarnation of the Lord to reestablish the principles of a godly kingdom. In the Age of Kali, the poor helpless animals, especially the cows, which are meant to receive all sorts of protection from the administrative heads, are killed without restriction. Thus the administrative heads under whose noses such things happen are representatives of God in name only. Such powerful administrators are rulers of the poor citizens by dress or office, but factually they are worthless, lower-class men without the cultural assets of the twice-born. No one can expect justice or equality of treatment from once-born (spiritually uncultured) lower-class men. Therefore in the Age of Kali everyone is unhappy due to the maladministration of the state. The modern human society is not twice-born by spiritual culture. Therefore the people’s government, by the people who are not twice-born, must be a government of Kali in which everyone is unhappy.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Who are you, having power? You attack the weak with force in the world under my protection. Like an actor, you appear to be a king by dress, but by actions you are a śūdra.
Commentary

“Who are you to commit violence in my presence?” “I am a king.” “Since I am the king, how can you be the king?” “I am king because I am wearing the dress of a king, and acting like one.” “No! You are a śūdra by your actions. A real actor imitates the actions of another as truly as possible.”

Who are you? You appear strong yet kill the helpless within my protection. By dress a king, by deed against kṣatriya principles. Posing and acting must align. The discrepancy itself is the crime.
Reflection Questions
  • Where in my own life does my pose contradict my action?
  • What alignment would resolve a current dissonance?
📝 My note

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