886 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 17
PURPORT
At least up to the time of Maharaja Pariksit, no one could imagine the
wretched conditions of the cow and the bull. Maharaja Pariksit was,
therefore, astonished to see such a horrible scene. He inquired, therefore,
whether the bull was not a demigod assuming such a wretched condition
to indicate the future of the cow and the bull.
TEXT 8
° ba aq
Tag SAI aeveh eT
aa ATATA ay TAT Tora Dall ¢ UI
na jatu karuavendranam
dordanda-parirambhite
bhutale ‘nupatanty asmin
vina te praninam sucah
na—not; jatu—at any time; kauravendranam—of the kings in the Kuru
dynasty; dordanda—strength of arms; parirambhite—protected by; bhu-
tale—on the surface of the earth; anupatanti—grieving; asmin—up till now;
vina—save and except; te—you; praninam—of the living being; sucah—
tears in the eyes.
TRANSLATION
Now for the first time in a kingdom well protected by the arms of
the kings of the Kuru dynasty, I see you grieving with tears in your eyes.
Up till now no one on earth has ever shed tears because of royal negligence.
PURPORT
The protection of the lives of both the human being and the animals is
the first and foremost duty of a government. A government must not
discriminate in such principles. It is simply horrible for a purehearted
soul to see organized animal killing by the state in this age of Kali.
Maharaja Pariksit was lamenting for the tears in the eyes of the bull, and
he was astonished to see such an unprecedented thing in his good kingdom.
Both men and animals were equally protected as far as life was concerned.
That is the way in God’s kingdom.
