1142 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 25

TEXT 8

Ua at adhe Bed ad a |
TAIN: - Feeseraeqaanrya: lc tl

ete tvarm sampratiksante
smaranto vaisasam tava

samparetam ayah-kiitais
chindanty utthita-manyavah

ete—all of them; tu@m—you; sampratiksante—are awaiting; smarantah—
remembering; vaisasam—injuries; tava—of you; samparetam—after your
death; ayah—made of iron; kiitaih—by the horns; chindanti—pierce;
utthita—enlivened; manyavah—anger.

TRANSLATION

All these animals are awaiting your death so that they can avenge the
injuries you have inflicted upon them. After you die, they will angrily
pierce your body with iron horns.

PURPORT

Narada Muni wanted to draw King Pracinabarhigat’s attention to the
excesses of killing animals in sacrifices. It is said in the sastras that by
killing animals in a sacrifice, one immediately promotes them to human
birth. Similarly, by killing their enemies on a battlefield, the ksatriyas who
fight for a right cause are elevated to the heavenly planets after death. In
Manu-samhita it is stated that it is necessary for a king to execute a mur-
derer so that the murderer will not suffer for his criminal actions in his
next life. On the basis of such understanding, Narada Muni warns the King
that the animals killed in sacrifices by the King await him at his death in
order to avenge themselves. Narada Muni is not contradicting himself here.
Narada Muni wanted to convince the King that overindulgence in animal
sacrifice is risky because as soon as there is a small discrepancy in the
execution of such a sacrifice, the slaughtered animal may not be promoted
to a human form of life. Consequently the person performing sacrifice will
be responsible for the death of the animal, just as much as a murderer is
responsible for killing another man. When animals are killed in a slaughter-
house, six people connected with the killing are responsible for the murder.
The person who gives permission for the killing, the person who kills, the
