Text 157} Pastimes of the Lord in His Youth 341
sei Sastre kahe, —-pravetti-nivstti-marga-bheda
nivrtti-marge jiva-mdtra-vadhera nisedha
SYNONYMS
sei Sastre—in the scripture (the Koran); kahe—it is ordered; pravetti—of attach-
ment; nivrtti—of detachment; marga—ways; bheda—difference; nivrtti—of detach-
ment; marge—on the path; jiva-mdtra—of any living entity; vadhera—of killing;
nisedha— prohibition.
TRANSLATION
‘According to the Koran, there are two ways of advancement—through increasing
the propensity to enjoy and decreasing the propensity to enjoy. On the path of
decreasing attachment [nivrtti-marga] , the killing of animals is prohibited.
TEXT 157
aafe-aicst catay face fate ea |
Mite-eresta aH Cater alle atyt-en 1909 I
pravrtti-marge go-vadha karite vidhi haya
$astra-ajnrdya vadha kaite nahi paGpa-bhaya
SYNONYMS
pravytti-mdrge—on the path of attachment; go-vadha—the killing of cows; karite—
to execute; vidhi—regulative principles; haya—there are; sdstra-ajndya—on the order
of the scripture; vadha—killing; kailfe—if one commits; ndhi—there is no; pdpa-
bhaya—fear of sinful activities.
TRANSLATION
On the path of material activities, there is regulation for killing cows. {f such
killing is done under the guidance of scripture, there is no sin.
PURPORT
The word $dstra is derived from the dhdtu, or verbal root, sas. Sas-dhdtu pertains
to controlling or ruling. A government's ruling through force or weapons is called
$astra. Thus whenever there is rufing, either by weapons or by injunctions, the $as-
dhétu is the basic principle. Between sastra (ruling through weapons) and sdstra
{ruling through the injunctions of the scriptures), the better is sdstra. Our Vedic
scriptures are not ordinary law books of human common sense; they are the state-
ments of factually liberated persons unaffected by the imperfectness of the senses.
Sastra must be correct always, not sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect.
In the Vedic scriptures, the cow is described as a mother. Therefore she is a mother
