FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.64.35

ब्रह्मस्वं दुरनुज्ञातं भुक्तं हन्ति त्रिपूरुषम् । प्रसह्य तु बलाद् भुक्तं दश पूर्वान् दशापरान् ॥ ३५ ॥
brahma-svaṁ duranujñātaṁ
[brahma-svam duranujnaatam]
bhuktaṁ hanti tri-pūruṣam
[bhuktam hanti tri-poorusham]
prasahya tu balād bhuktaṁ
[prasahya tu balaad bhuktam]
daśa pūrvān daśāparān
[dasha poorvaan dashaaparaan]
Word-for-word
brahma - svam — a brāhmaṇa’s property duranujñātam — not given proper permission bhuktam — enjoyed hanti — destroys tri — three pūruṣam — persons prasahya — by force tu — but balāt — resorting to external power (of the government, etc.) bhuktam — enjoyed daśa — ten pūrvān — previous daśa — ten aparān — subsequent .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
brahma-svaṁ duranujñātaṁ
brahma - svam
a brāhmaṇa’s property
duranujñātam
not given proper permission
bhuktaṁ hanti tri-pūruṣam
bhuktam
enjoyed
hanti
destroys
tri
three
pūruṣam
persons
prasahya tu balād bhuktaṁ
prasahya
by force
tu
but
balāt
resorting to external power (of the government, etc.)
bhuktam
enjoyed
daśa pūrvān daśāparān
daśa
ten
pūrvān
previous
daśa
ten
aparān
subsequent .
Important Words
  • duranujñātam — without proper permission
    Dur (poorly) + anu-√jñā (to authorise). The first category: enjoyed without the brāhmaṇa's consent. The poet recognises an additional dimension of consent — even what was once given may, in certain contexts, require re-consent.
  • tri - pūruṣam — three persons / generations
    Tri (three) + pūruṣa (person, generation). The first scale of destruction: three generations (self and two collateral). The Bhāgavata's standard śāstric reckoning for moderate violations.
  • prasahya — by force, overpowering
    From pra-√sah (to overpower). Paired in the verse with balāt (by external strength). The second category of theft: outright seizure, especially with state-power backing it. The contemporary application is uncomfortable — kings (and modern states) who appropriate temple-lands fall here.
  • daśa pūrvān daśa aparān — ten ancestors and ten descendants
    Daśa (ten) + pūrva (former) + apara (later). The escalated scale for forcible seizure: ten generations before, ten after — twenty in all, plus the thief himself. The reversibility-into-the-past is the verse's most striking claim.
If a person enjoys a brāhmaṇa’s property without receiving due permission, that property destroys three generations of his family. But if he takes it by force or gets the government or other outsiders to help him usurp it, then ten generations of his ancestors and ten generations of his descendants are all destroyed.
Purport

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, tri-pūruṣa refers to oneself, one’s sons and one’s grandsons.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
If a person enjoys a brāhmaṇa's property without receiving due permission, that property destroys three generations of his family. But if he takes it by force or gets the government or other outsiders to help him usurp it, then ten generations of his ancestors and ten generations of his descendants are all destroyed.
Commentary

"My friend and helper, without my giving it, is enjoying my wealth, therefore let him enjoy it." This is the meaning of not getting proper consent (duranujnata). Enjoying in this way destroys oneself, ones sons and ones grandsons. If using force or the influence of the king, one enjoys, then ten generations previous and after suffer.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

This verse describes how much destruction takes place.

Related values & verses
Related values
Dana (Charity / Generosity)Prema (Divine Love)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Yajña (Sacrifice / Spirit of Offering)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Santosha (Contentment)Bhakti (Devotion)
Related verses
BG 17.20 BG 16.1 BG 7.1 BG 8.2 BG 17.4 BG 13.8 BG 8.1 BG 18.1
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Enjoying a brāhmaṇa's property without permission destroys three generations; taking it by force destroys ten generations of ancestors and descendants. The gravity of the offense scales with the level of force used.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I using subtle force — pressure, social influence — to take what is not freely given?
  • How does the multigenerational reach of such acts call for caution today?
Analogy

The accountancy of aparādha runs forward and backward through time. Even past ancestors are charred by a present descendant's theft from a brāhmaṇa. The Bhāgavata's vision of dharma is dynastic and bidirectional — what one generation takes, ten generations on each side pay.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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