136 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 15

As far as killing the body of a brahmana is concerned, Srimad-Bhagavatam
(1.7.53) gives the following injunction:

Sri bhagavan uvaca
brahma-bandhur na hantavya
atatayi vadhar-hanah
mayaivobhayam amnatam
paripahy anusdsanam
“The Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna said: A friend of a brahmana is not to be
killed, but if he is an aggressor, he must be killed. All these rulings are in the
scriptures, and you should act accordingly.”

Quoting from the smrti, Srila Sridhara Svami comments on this quotation from

Srimad-Bhagavatam:
atatayinam ayantam
api vedanta-paragam
jigham-santarh jighamsiyan
na tena brahmaha bhavet
“Even though an aggressor may be a very learned scholar of Vedanta, he should
be killed because of his envy in killing others. In such a case, it is not sinful to kill a
brahmana.”
It is also stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.57):
vapanam dravinadanam
sthanadn niryapanam tatha
esa hi brahma-bandhinadm
vadho nanyo ’sti daihikah
“Cutting the hair from his head, depriving him of his wealth and driving him from
his residence are the prescribed punishments for the relative of a brahmana. There
is no injunction for killing the body.”

Such punishment is sufficient for a brahma-bandhu. There is no need to per-
sonally kill his body. As far as Sathi, the daughter of Sarvabhauma Bhattacdrya,
was concerned, she was advised to give up her relationship with her husband.
Concerning this, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.18) states, na patis ca sa syan na
mocayed yah samupeta-mrtyum: “One cannot be a husband if he cannot liberate
his dependents from inevitable death.” If a person is not in Krsna consciousness
and is bereft of spiritual power, he cannot protect his wife from the path of re-
peated birth and death. Consequently such a person cannot be accepted as a
husband. A wife should dedicate her life and everything to Krsna for further ad-
