FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.1.24

हिंसा तदभिमानेन दण्डपारुष्ययोर्यथा । वैषम्यमिह भूतानां ममाहमिति पार्थिव ॥ २४ ॥
hiṁsā tad-abhimānena
[himsaa tad-abhimaanena]
daṇḍa-pāruṣyayor yathā
[danda-paarushyayor yathaa]
vaiṣamyam iha bhūtānāṁ
[vaishamyam iha bhootaanaam]
mamāham iti pārthiva
[mamaaham iti paarthiva]
hiṁsā — suffering tat — of this abhimānena — by the false conception daṇḍa-pāruṣyayoḥ — when there is punishment and chastisement yathā — just as vaiṣamyam — misconception iha — here (in this body) bhūtānām — of the living entities mama-aham — mine and I iti — thus pārthiva — O lord of the earth.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
hiṁsā tad-abhimānena
hiṁsā
suffering
tat
of this
abhimānena
by the false conception
daṇḍa-pāruṣyayor yathā
daṇḍa-pāruṣyayoḥ
when there is punishment and chastisement
yathā
just as
vaiṣamyam iha bhūtānāṁ
vaiṣamyam
misconception
iha
here (in this body)
bhūtānām
of the living entities
mamāham iti pārthiva
mama-aham
mine and I
iti
thus
pārthiva
O lord of the earth.
My dear King, the conditioned soul, being in the bodily conception of life, considers his body to be his self and considers everything in relationship with the body to be his. Because he has this wrong conception of life, he is subjected to dualities like praise and chastisement.

Only when a conditioned soul accepts the body as himself does he feel the effects of chastisement or praise. Then he determines one person to be his enemy and another his friend and wants to chastise the enemy and welcome the friend. This creation of friends and enemies is a result of one’s bodily conception of life.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O King! Ideas of violence arise by identification with the body. When ideas of punishment and threats arise, there is unequal treatment for all beings in this world. One thinks, “These are my enemies. These are my friends. I will kill these enemies and protect these friends.” Happiness and distress arise by thinking “He criticizes or praises me” because of identification with the body. “He attacks me” arises in the same way when there is beating and threatening (pāruṣyam), such as “I will beat you.” This unevenness (vaiṣamyam) is accomplished for all beings in this world. “These are my enemies. These are my friends. I will kill these enemies and protect these friends.”
When you mistake the body for the self, every chastisement wounds and every compliment puffs you up. The friend-enemy distinction is born from this same mistake. Loosening identification with the body loosens the grip of both flattery and offense.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom did you label friend or enemy this week based on how they made your body or ego feel?
  • What would shift if you treated even harsh words as feedback to the body, not to you?
📝 My note

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