Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.19.30
न वध्यो भवतामिन्द्रो यद्यज्ञो भगवत्तनु: ।
यं जिघांसथ यज्ञेन यस्येष्टास्तनव: सुरा: ॥ ३० ॥
na vadhyo bhavatām indro
[na vadhyo bhavataam indro]
yad yajño bhagavat-tanuḥ
[yad yajno bhagavat-tanuh]
yaṁ jighāṁsatha yajñena
[yam jighaamsatha yajnena]
yasyeṣṭās tanavaḥ surāḥ
[yasyeshtaas tanavah suraah]
Word-for-word
na
—
not
vadhyaḥ
—
ought to be killed
bhavatām
—
by all of you
indraḥ
—
the King of heaven
yat
—
because
yajñaḥ
—
a name of Indra
bhagavat-tanuḥ
—
part of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
yam
—
whom
jighāṁsatha
—
you wish to kill
yajñena
—
by performing sacrifice
yasya
—
of Indra
iṣṭāḥ
—
being worshiped
tanavaḥ
—
parts of the body
surāḥ
—
the demigods.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na vadhyo bhavatām indro
na
not
vadhyaḥ
ought to be killed
bhavatām
by all of you
indraḥ
the King of heaven
yad yajño bhagavat-tanuḥ
yat
because
yajñaḥ
a name of Indra
bhagavat-tanuḥ
part of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
yaṁ jighāṁsatha yajñena
yam
whom
jighāṁsatha
you wish to kill
yajñena
by performing sacrifice
yasyeṣṭās tanavaḥ surāḥ
yasya
of Indra
iṣṭāḥ
being worshiped
tanavaḥ
parts of the body
surāḥ
the demigods.
Lord Brahmā addressed them thus: My dear sacrificial performers, you cannot kill Indra, the King of heaven. It is not your duty. You should know that Indra is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, he is one of the most powerful assistants of the Personality of Godhead. You are trying to satisfy all the demigods by the performance of this yajña, but you should know that all these demigods are but parts and parcels of Indra, the King of heaven. How, then, can you kill him in this great sacrifice?
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
You should not kill Indra because he is the body of the Lord. You wish to kill Indra by a sacrifice in which the devatās, part of his body, are worshipped.
Indra is the body of the Lord. The brāhmaṇas should not try to kill the form of the Lord. What is the use of being brāhmaṇas then (bhavatām)? You wish to kill him by sacrifice, but how can you kill the personification of sacrifice, Indra, by sacrifice? It is like throwing a small amount of milk in a fire. Moreover, the devatās, who are parts of his body, are worshipped by us in the sacrifice. How can he die? You did not consider this.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Brahmā says: don't kill Indra; he's also a powerful assistant of the Lord. The 'enemy' often turns out to be in a complex divine arrangement; don't burn him.
Reflection Questions
- Whom am I treating as enemy who is actually part of a divine arrangement I don't see?
- Where would the longer-view from a higher authority reveal collaborators in my apparent rivals?
My note
Source: vedabase.io