Text 21] Prayers by the Demigods 147

fe: aaeA Tas
TT: HA TATHTAT: 122

kim adya tasmin karaniyam dsu me
yad artha-tantro na vihanti vikramam

striyah svasur gurumatya vadho ’yarh
yasah Sriyam hanty anukalam dyuh

kim—what; adya—now, immediately; tasmin—in this situation;
karaniyam—is to be done; a4Su—without delay; me—my duty; yat—be-
cause; artha-tantrah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is al-
ways determined to protect the sddhus and kill the asddhus; na—does
not; vihanti—give up; vikramam—His prowess; striyah—of a woman;
svasuh—of my sister; guru-matyah—especially when she is pregnant;
vadhah ayam—the killing; yasah—fame; sriyam—opulence; hanti—
will vanquish; anukdlam—forever; @yuh—and the duration of life.

TRANSLATION

Karnsa thought: What is my duty now? The Supreme Lord, who
knows His purpose [paritranaya sadhanarh vinaéaya ca duskrtam],
will not give up His prowess. Devaki is a woman, she is my sister,
and moreover she is now pregnant. If I kill her, my reputation,
opulence and duration of life will certainly be vanquished.

PURPORT

According to Vedic principles, a woman, a bréhmana, an old man, a
child and a cow should never be killed. It appears that Karnsa, although a
great enemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was aware of the
Vedic culture and conscious of the fact that the soul transmigrates from
one body to another and that one suffers in the next life according to the
karmas of this life. Therefore he was afraid of killing Devaki, since she
was a woman, she was his sister, and she was pregnant. A ksatriya be-
comes famous by performing heroic acts. But what would be heroic about
killing a woman who, while confined in his custody, was under his
shelter? Therefore, he did not want to act drastically by killing Devaki.
Karnsa’s enemy was within Devaki’s womb, but killing an enemy in such
