970 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 18

TEXT 37

gfa wieaniid aaa: aaasela |
agald H Galant Aad F Tage loll

iti langhita-maryadam
taksakah saptame’hani

danksyati sma kulangaram
codito me tata-druham

iti-thus; langhita—surpassing; maryddam—etiquette; taksakah—snake-
bird; saptame—on the seventh; ahani—day; danksyati—will bite; sma—
certainly; kula-angaram—the wretched of the dynasty; coditah—having
done; me—by; tata-druham—enmity towards the father.

TRANSLATION

The brahmana’s son cursed the King thus: On the seventh day from
today a snake-bird will bite the most wretched one of that dynasty
{Maharaja Pariksit] because of his having broken the laws of etiquette by
insulting my father.

PURPORT

Thus the beginning of the misuse of brahminical power began, and
gradually the brahmanas in the age of Kali became devoid of both
brahminical powers and culture. The brahmana boy considered Maharaja
Panksit to be kulangara, or the wretched of the dynasty, but factually the
brahmana boy himself was so because from him only the brahmana caste
became powerless, like the snake whose poisoned teeth are broken. The
snake is fearful as long as his poison teeth are there, otherwise he is fearful
only to children. The personality of Kali conquered the brahmana boy
first, and gradually the other castes. Thus the whole scientific system of the
orders of society in this age has assumed the form of a vitiated caste sys-
tem which is now being uprooted by another class of men similarly in-
fluenced by the age of Kali. One should see to the root cause of vitiation
and not try to condemn the system as it is, without knowledge of its
scientific value.
