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Library » Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) » Canto 5: The Creative Impetus » CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ŚB 5.26.24

Devanagari

ये त्विह वै श्वगर्दभपतयो ब्राह्मणादयो मृगयाविहारा अतीर्थे च मृगान्निघ्नन्ति तानपि सम्परेताँल्लक्ष्यभूतान् यमपुरुषा इषुभिर्विध्यन्ति ॥ २४ ॥

Text

ye tv iha vai śva-gardabha-patayo brāhmaṇādayo mṛgayā vihārā atīrthe ca mṛgān nighnanti tān api samparetāḻ lakṣya-bhūtān yama-puruṣā iṣubhir vidhyanti.

Synonyms

ye — those who; tu — but; iha — in this life; vai — or; śva — of dogs; gardabha — and asses; patayaḥ — maintainers; brāhmaṇa-ādayaḥ — brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas; mṛgayā vihārāḥ — taking pleasure in hunting animals in the forest; atīrthe — other than prescribed; ca — also; mṛgān — animals; nighnanti — kill; tān — them; api — indeed; samparetān — having died; lakṣya-bhūtān — becoming the targets; yama-puruṣāḥ — the assistants of Yamarāja; iṣubhiḥ — by arrows; vidhyanti — pierce.

Translation

If in this life a man of the higher classes [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya] is very fond of taking his pet dogs, mules or asses into the forest to hunt and kill animals unnecessarily, he is placed after death into the hell known as Prāṇarodha. There the assistants of Yamarāja make him their targets and pierce him with arrows.

Purport

In the Western countries especially, aristocrats keep dogs and horses to hunt animals in the forest. Whether in the West or the East, aristocratic men in the Kali-yuga adopt the fashion of going to the forest and unnecessarily killing animals. Men of the higher classes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas) should cultivate knowledge of Brahman, and they should also give the śūdras a chance to come to that platform. If instead they indulge in hunting, they are punished as described in this verse. Not only are they pierced with arrows by the agents of Yamarāja, but they are also put into the ocean of pus, urine and stool described in the previous verse.