FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.14.31

हन्यतां हन्यतामेष पाप: प्रकृतिदारुण: । जीवञ्जगदसावाशु कुरुते भस्मसाद् ध्रुवम् ॥ ३१ ॥
hanyatāṁ hanyatām eṣa
[hanyataam hanyataam esha]
pāpaḥ prakṛti-dāruṇaḥ
[paapah prakriti-daarunah]
jīvaṣ jagad asāv āśu
[jeevash jagad asaav aashu]
kurute bhasmasād dhruvam
[kurute bhasmasaad dhruvam]
hanyatām — kill him hanyatām — kill him eṣaḥ — this king pāpaḥ — representative of sin prakṛti — by nature dāruṇaḥ — most dreadful jīvan — while living jagat — the whole world asau — he āśu — very soon kurute — will make bhasmasāt — into ashes dhruvam — certainly.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
hanyatāṁ hanyatām eṣa
hanyatām
kill him
hanyatām
kill him
eṣaḥ
this king
pāpaḥ prakṛti-dāruṇaḥ
pāpaḥ
representative of sin
prakṛti
by nature
dāruṇaḥ
most dreadful
jīvaṣ jagad asāv āśu
jīvan
while living
jagat
the whole world
asau
he
āśu
very soon
kurute bhasmasād dhruvam
kurute
will make
bhasmasāt
into ashes
dhruvam
certainly.
All the great saintly sages immediately cried: Kill him! Kill him! He is the most dreadful, sinful person. If he lives, he will certainly turn the whole world into ashes in no time.

Saintly persons are generally very kind to all kinds of living entities, but they are not unhappy when a serpent or a scorpion is killed. It is not good for saintly persons to kill, but they are encouraged to kill demons, who are exactly like serpents and scorpions. Therefore all the saintly sages decided to kill King Vena, who was so dreadful and dangerous to all human society. We can appreciate the extent to which the saintly sages actually controlled the king. If the king or government becomes demonic, it is the duty of a saintly person to upset the government and replace it with deserving persons who follow the orders and instructions of saintly persons.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
This sinful person should be killed! He should be killed! If he continues living, certainly this sinful person of cruel nature will quickly turn the whole world to ashes. He will turn the world to ashes. Therefore he should be turned to ashes.
The sages cried 'Kill him! He'll turn the world to ashes!' Sometimes the saintly are the very ones who must call for the demonic to be ended; sentimental neutrality is not their dharma.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I confuse spiritual maturity with sentimental neutrality in the face of real evil?
  • What 'killing' (of a project, a habit, a regime, a structure) is the actual saintly call I'm avoiding?
📝 My note

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