Text 43]
The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa
315
PURPORT
The demigods and the Vaiṣṇavas especially are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, because they are always obedient to His orders ( oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ ). The demoniac followers of Kaṁsa thought that if the Vaiṣṇavas, saintly persons and sages were persecuted, the original body of Viṣṇu would naturally be destroyed. Thus they decided to suppress Vaiṣṇavasism. The  asuras  perpetually struggle to persecute the Vaiṣṇavas because they do not want Vaiṣṇavasism to spread. Vaiṣṇavas preach only devotional service, not encouraging  karmīs ,  jñānīs  and  yogīs , because if one must liberate oneself from material, conditional life, one must ultimately become a Vaiṣṇava. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directed with this understanding, and therefore the  asuras  always try to suppress it.
TEXT 43
श्रीशुक उवाच
एवं दुर्मन्त्रिभिः कंसः सह सम्मन्त्र्य दुर्मतिः । ब्रह्महिंसां हितं मेने कालपाशावृतोऽमुरः ॥४३॥
śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ durmantribhiḥ kaṁsaḥ saha sammantrya durmatiḥ brahma-hiṁsāṁ hitaṁ mene kāla-pāśāvṛto 'suraḥ
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evaṁ—in this way; durmantribhiḥ—his bad ministers; kaṁsaḥ—King Kaṁsa; saha—along with; sammantrya—after considering very elaborately; durmatiḥ—without good intelligence; brahma-hiṁsāṁ—persecution of the brāhmaṇas; hitaṁ—as the best way; mene—accepted; kāla-pāśāvṛtaḥ—being bound by the rules and regulations of Yamarāja; asuraḥ—because he was a demon.
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thus, having considered the instructions of his bad ministers, Kaṁsa, who was bound by the laws