Text 10] The Doorkeepers Cursed by the Sages 645

TEXT 10

§ & aaénrercediciar
AISI FACTS |
RAATATEM CT eAeTT AT
DU VU AA FAN SAY 112 ol |

ye me tanur dvija-varan duhatir madiya
bhutany alabdha-saranani ca bheda-buddhya

draksyanty agha-ksata-drso hy ahi-manyavas tan
grdhra rusa mama kusanty adhidanda-netuh

ye—which persons; me—My; tanuh—body; dvija-varan—the best of the
brahmanas; duhatih—cows; madiyah—relating to Me; bhitani—living enti-
lies; alabdha-saranani—defenseless; ca—and; bheda-buddh ya—considering
as different; draksyanti—see; agha—by sin; ksata—is impaired; drsah—whose
faculty of judgement; hi—because; ahi—like a snake; manyavah—angry;
tdn—those same persons; grdhrah—the vulturelike messengers; rusd—angrily ;
mama—My; kusanti—tear; adhidanda-netuh—of the superintendent of
punishment, Yamaraja.

TRANSLATION

The brahmanas, the cows and the defenseless creatures are My own
body. Those whose faculty of judgment has been impaired by their own
sin look upon these as distinct from Me. They are just like furious serpents,
and they are angrily torn apart by the bills of the vulturelike messengers
of Yamaraja, the superintendent of sinful persons.

PURPORT

The defenseless creatures, according to Brahma-samhita, are the cows,
brahmanas, women, children and old men. Of these five, the brahmanas
and cows are especially mentioned in this verse because the Lord is always
anxious about the benefit of the brahmanas and cows and is prayed to in
this way. The Lord especially instructs, therefore, that no one should be
envious of these five, especially the cows and brahmanas. In some of the
Bhagavatam readings, the word duhitrh is used instead of duhatih. But in
either case, the meaning is the same. Duhatih means cow, and duhit7h can
also be used to mean cow because the cow is supposed to be the daughter
