FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.17.26

పుమాన్ యోషిదుత క్లీబ ఆత్మసమ్భావనోఽధమ: భూతేషు నిరనుక్రోశో నృపాణాం తద్వధోఽవధ: ॥ ౨౬ ॥
pumān yoṣid uta klība
[pumaan yoshid uta kleeba]
ātma-sambhāvano ’dhamaḥ
[aatma-sambhaavano ’dhamah]
bhūteṣu niranukrośo
[bhooteshu niranukrosho]
nṛpāṇāṁ tad-vadho ’vadhaḥ
[nripaanaam tad-vadho ’vadhah]
pumān — a man yoṣit — a woman uta — also klībaḥ — a eunuch ātma-sambhāvanaḥ — interested in self-maintenance adhamaḥ — lowest of humankind bhūteṣu — to other living entities niranukrośaḥ — without compassion nṛpāṇām — for the kings tat — of him vadhaḥ — killing avadhaḥ — not killing.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
pumān yoṣid uta klība
pumān
a man
yoṣit
a woman
uta
also
klībaḥ
a eunuch
ātma-sambhāvano ’dhamaḥ
ātma-sambhāvanaḥ
interested in self-maintenance
bhūteṣu niranukrośo
nṛpāṇāṁ tad-vadho ’vadhaḥ
adhamaḥ
lowest of humankind
bhūteṣu
to other living entities
niranukrośaḥ
without compassion
nṛpāṇām
for the kings
tat
of him
vadhaḥ
killing
avadhaḥ
not killing.
Any cruel person — be he a man, woman or impotent eunuch — who is only interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king. Such killing can never be considered actual killing.

The planet earth is actually a woman in her constitutional form, and as such she needs to be protected by the king. Pṛthu Mahārāja argues, however, that if a citizen within the state — be he man, woman or eunuch — is not compassionate upon his fellow men, he or she may be killed by the king, and such killing is never to be considered actual killing. As far as the field of spiritual activities is concerned, when a devotee is self-satisfied and does not preach the glories of Kṛṣṇa, he is not considered a first-class devotee. A devotee who tries to preach, who has compassion upon innocent persons who have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, is a superior devotee. In his prayer to the Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja said that he was not personally interested in liberation from this material world; rather, he did not wish to be liberated from this material condition until all fallen souls were delivered. Even in the material field, if a person is not interested in others’ welfare, he should be considered to be condemned by the Personality of Godhead or His incarnation like Pṛthu Mahārāja.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When a king kills a man, woman or eunuch who is only self-interested, low and merciless to other beings, it is not killing. ‘ You have said that I cannot kill a woman. This is the answer. Killing a person mad with ego (ātma-sambhāvanaḥ), who has no mercy, is not killing.
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 17