Text 23] The Atrocities of King Karhsa 297
TRANSLATION
In the bodily conception of life, one remains in darkness, with-
out self-realization, thinking, “I am being killed’’ or “I have
killed my enemies.” As long as a foolish person thus considers the
self to be the killer or the killed, he continues to be responsible
for material obligations, and consequently he suffers the reactions
of happiness and distress.
PURPORT
By the grace of the Lord, Karnsa felt sincere regret for having unnec-
essarily persecuted such Vaisnavas as Devaki and Vasudeva, and thus he
came to the transcendental stage of knowledge. “Because I am situated
on the platform of knowledge,” Karhsa said, “‘understanding that I am
not at all the killer of your sons, I have no responsibility for their death.
As long as I thought that I would be killed by your son, I was in ig-
norance, but now I am free from this ignorance, which was due to a
bodily conception of life.” As stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.17):
yasya naharkrto bhavo
buddhir yasya na lipyate
hatvapi sa imal lokan
na hanti na nibadhyate
“One who is not motivated by false ego, whose intelligence is not en-
tangled, though he kills men in this world, is not the slayer. Nor is he
bound by his actions.” According to this axiomatic truth, Karnsa pleaded
that he was not responsible for having killed the sons of Devaki and
Vasudeva. “Please try to excuse me for such false, external activities,”
he said, “‘and be pacified with this same knowledge.”
TEXT 23
ame AH ENT ATI STATA: |
FY x
TYFAAGS: Wel Mls: SORT AAAI
ksamadhvarh mama daurétmyam
sadhavo dina-vatsalah
