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Chastisement (BG and SB)

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 2.3, Translation:

O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.

BG 2.9, Translation:

Sañjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Kṛṣṇa, "Govinda, I shall not fight," and fell silent.

BG 2.11, Purport:

The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, "You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned—one who knows what is body and what is soul—does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition." As explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the condition of the material body.

BG 4.33, Translation:

O chastiser of the enemy, the sacrifice performed in knowledge is better than the mere sacrifice of material possessions. After all, O son of Pṛthā, all sacrifices of work culminate in transcendental knowledge.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 10.38, Purport:

There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the agency of chastisement represents Kṛṣṇa. Among those who are trying to be victorious in some field of activity, the most victorious element is morality. Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly. The wise man is he who can discriminate between matter and spirit, between God's superior and inferior natures. Such knowledge is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 18.41, Translation:

Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures in accordance with the material modes, O chastiser of the enemy.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

After this incident the Lord began to preach and propagate His Bhāgavata-dharma, or saṅkīrtana movement, more vigorously, and whoever stood against this propagation of the yuga-dharma, or duty of the age, was properly punished by various types of chastisement. Two brāhmaṇa gentlemen named Cāpala and Gopāla, who also happened to be maternal uncles of the Lord, were inflicted with leprosy by way of chastisement, and later, when they were repentant, they were accepted by the Lord. In the course of His preaching work, He used to send daily all His followers, including Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu and Ṭhākura Haridāsa, two chief whips of His party, from door to door to preach the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam All of Navadvīpa was surcharged with His saṅkīrtana movement, and His headquarters were situated at the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and Śrī Advaita Prabhu, two of His chief householder disciples.

SB Introduction:

The Lord had a very high estimation of the affections of the damsels of Vrajabhūmi (Vṛndāvana) for Kṛṣṇa, and in appreciation of their unalloyed service to the Lord, once Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chanted the holy names of the gopīs (cowherd girls) instead of the names of the Lord. At this time some of His students, who were also disciples, came to see Him, and when they saw that the Lord was chanting the names of the gopīs, they were astonished. Out of sheer foolishness they asked the Lord why He was chanting the names of the gopīs and advised Him to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. The Lord, who was in ecstasy, was thus disturbed by these foolish students. He chastised them and chased them away. The students were almost the same age as the Lord, and thus they wrongly thought of the Lord as one of their peers. They held a meeting and resolved that they would attack the Lord if He dared to punish them again in such a manner. This incident provoked some malicious talks about the Lord on the part of the general public.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.3.22, Purport:

He even challenged the authority of Śrī Rāma, the Personality of Godhead, and kidnapped His wife, Sītā. Of course, Lord Rāma had come to chastise such atheists, answering the prayer and desire of the demigods. He therefore took up the challenge of Rāvaṇa, and the complete activity is the subject matter of the Rāmāyaṇa. Because Lord Rāmacandra was the Personality of Godhead, He exhibited superhuman activities which no human being, including the materially advanced Rāvaṇa, could perform. Lord Rāmacandra prepared a royal road on the Indian Ocean with stones that floated on the water. The modern scientists have done research in the area of weightlessness, but it is not possible to bring in weightlessness anywhere and everywhere. But because weightlessness is the creation of the Lord by which He can make the gigantic planets fly and float in the air, He made the stones even within this earth to be weightless and prepared a stone bridge on the sea without any supporting pillar. That is the display of the power of God.

SB 1.4.9, Purport:

The birth of Mahārāja Parīkṣit is wonderful because in the womb of his mother he was protected by the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His activities are also wonderful because he chastised Kali, who was attempting to kill a cow. To kill cows means to end human civilization. He wanted to protect the cow from being killed by the great representative of sin. His death is also wonderful because he got previous notice of his death, which is wonderful for any mortal being, and thus he prepared himself for passing away by sitting down on the bank of the Ganges and hearing the transcendental activities of the Lord. During all the days he heard Bhāgavatam, he did not take food or drink, nor did he sleep a moment. So everything about him is wonderful, and his activities are worth hearing attentively. Desire is expressed herein to hear about him in detail.

SB 1.5.19, Purport:

A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. The sufferings of an orphan and the sufferings of a beloved child of a king are not one and the same. An orphan is really poor because he has no one to take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his capable father. A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of accumulating some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his devotional service.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that such fallen devotees are given a chance to take birth in a family of highly qualified brāhmaṇas or in a rich mercantile family. A devotee in such a position is not as fortunate as one who is chastised by the Lord and put into a position seemingly of helplessness.

SB 1.7.5, Purport:

The Lord does not desire that a living being be illusioned by external energy. The external energy is aware of this fact, but still she accepts a thankless task of keeping the forgotten soul under illusion by her bewildering influence. The Lord does not interfere with the task of the illusory energy because such performances of the illusory energy are also necessary for reformation of the conditioned soul. An affectionate father does not like his children to be chastised by another agent, yet he puts his disobedient children under the custody of a severe man just to bring them to order. But the all-affectionate Almighty Father at the same time desires relief for the conditioned soul, relief from the clutches of the illusory energy.

SB 1.7.8, Purport:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī was a liberated soul from the very beginning of his birth, and his father taught him Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Amongst mundane scholars, there is some diversity of opinion as to the date of compilation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is, however, certain from the text of the Bhāgavatam that it was compiled before the disappearance of King Parīkṣit and after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Mahārāja Parīkṣit was ruling the world as the King of Bhārata-varṣa, he chastised the personality of Kali. According to revealed scriptures and astrological calculation, the age of Kali is in its five thousandth year. Therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was compiled not less than five thousand years ago. Mahābhārata was compiled before Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the Purāṇas were compiled before Mahābhārata. That is an estimation of the date of compilation of the different Vedic literatures. The synopsis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was given before the detailed description under instruction of Nārada. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science for following the path of nivṛtti-mārga. The path of pravṛtti-mārga was condemned by Nārada. That path is the natural inclination for all conditioned souls. The theme of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the cure of the materialistic disease of the human being, or stopping completely the pangs of material existence.

SB 1.8.31, Purport:

The Supreme Lord also accepts the loving service of His devotees more relishably when the service is rendered spontaneously out of pure affection, without anything of reverential admiration. Generally the Lord is worshiped by the devotees in a reverential attitude, but the Lord is meticulously pleased when the devotee, out of pure affection and love, considers the Lord to be less important than himself. The Lord's pastimes in the original abode of Goloka Vṛndāvana are exchanged in that spirit. The friends of Kṛṣṇa consider Him one of them. They do not consider Him to be of reverential importance. The parents of the Lord (who are all pure devotees) consider Him a child only. The Lord accepts the chastisements of the parents more cheerfully than the prayers of the Vedic hymns. Similarly, He accepts the reproaches of His fiancees more palatably than the Vedic hymns.

SB 1.9.26, Purport:

It is just the reverse in the injunctions of the śāstras. The administrative class must be well versed in the śāstras, but must not take to the profession of teachers. Their energy should be especially directed toward killing the thieves, the dacoits, the black marketeers and all such undesirable elements of society. The administrators should never pretend to become nonviolent and thereby go to hell. When Arjuna wanted to become a nonviolent coward on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, he was severely chastised by Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Lord degraded Arjuna at that time to the status of an uncivilized man for his avowed acceptance of the cult of nonviolence. The administrative class must be personally trained in military education. Cowards should not be elevated to the presidential throne by dint of numerical votes only.

SB 1.10.4, Purport:

Do they not require, therefore, proper protection for a joyful life by being fed with a sufficient quantity of grass in the field? Why should men kill cows for their selfish purposes? Why should man not be satisfied with grains, fruits and milk, which, combined together, can produce hundreds and thousands of palatable dishes. Why are there slaughterhouses all over the world to kill innocent animals? Mahārāja Parīkṣit, grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, while touring his vast kingdom, saw a black man attempting to kill a cow. The King at once arrested the butcher and chastised him sufficiently. Should not a king or executive head protect the lives of the poor animals who are unable to defend themselves? Is this humanity? Are not the animals of a country citizens also? Then why are they allowed to be butchered in organized slaughterhouses? Are these the signs of equality, fraternity and nonviolence?

SB 1.10.25, Purport:

The Lord then appears in His transcendental form without any tinge of material qualities. He descends just to keep the state of His creation in a normal condition. The normal condition is that the Lord has provided each and every planet with all the needs of the native living beings. They can happily live and execute their predestined occupations to attain salvation at the end, following the rules and regulations mentioned in the revealed scriptures. The material world is created to satisfy the whims of the nitya-baddha, or everlasting conditioned souls, just as naughty boys are provided with playing cradles. Otherwise, there was no need of the material world. But when they become intoxicated with the power of material science to exploit the resources unlawfully without the sanction of the Lord, and that also only for sense gratification, there is necessity of the Lord's incarnation to chastise the rebellious and to protect the faithful.

SB 1.12.25, Purport:

Prahlāda Mahārāja: A perfect devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa (Viṣṇu). His father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, chastised him severely when he was only five years old for his becoming an unalloyed devotee of the Lord. He was the first son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, and his mother's name was Kayādhu. Prahlāda Mahārāja was an authority in the devotional service of the Lord because he had his father killed by Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, setting the example that even a father should be removed from the path of devotional service if such a father happens to be an obstacle. He had four sons, and the eldest son, Virocana, is the father of Bali Mahārāja, mentioned above. The history of Prahlāda Mahārāja's activities is described in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

SB 1.12.26, Translation:

This child will be the father of kings who will be like sages. For world peace and for the sake of religion, he will be the chastiser of the upstarts and the quarrelsome.

SB 1.12.26, Purport:

In the line of royal succession in the family of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, all the kings, without exception, were the wisest men of their times, and so also it is foretold about Mahārāja Parīkṣit and his son Mahārāja Janamejaya, who was yet to be born. Such wise kings can become chastisers of upstarts and uprooters of Kali, or quarrelsome elements. As will be clear in the chapters ahead, Mahārāja Parīkṣit wanted to kill the personified Kali, who was attempting to kill a cow, the emblem of peace and religion. The symptoms of Kali are (1) wine, (2) women, (3) gambling and (4) slaughterhouses. Wise rulers of all states should take lessons from Mahārāja Parīkṣit in how to maintain peace and morality by subduing the upstarts and quarrelsome people who indulge in wine, illicit connection with women, gambling and meat-eating supplied by regularly maintained slaughterhouses. In this age of Kali, regular license is issued for maintaining all of these different departments of quarrelsome people. So how can they expect peace and morality in the state? The state fathers, therefore, must follow the principles of becoming wiser by devotion to the Lord, by chastising the breaker of discipline and by uprooting the symptoms of quarrel, as mentioned above. If we want blazing fire, we must use dry fuel. Blazing fire and moist fuel go ill together. Peace and morality can prosper only by the principles of Mahārāja Parīkṣit and his followers.

SB 1.13.8, Purport:

Mahātmā Vidura could follow this intrigue of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and company, and therefore, even though he was a faithful servitor of his eldest brother, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he did not like his political ambition for the sake of his own sons. He was therefore very careful about the protection of the Pāṇḍavas and their widow mother. Thus he was, so to speak, partial to the Pāṇḍavas, preferring them to the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, although both of them were equally affectionate in his ordinary eyes. He was equally affectionate to both the camps of nephews in the sense that he always chastised Duryodhana for his intriguing policy against his cousins. He always criticized his elder brother for his policy of encouragement to his sons, and at the same time he was always alert in giving special protection to the Pāṇḍavas. All these different activities of Vidura within the palace politics made him well-known as partial to the Pāṇḍavas. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira has referred to the past history of Vidura before his going away from home for a prolonged pilgrim's journey. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira reminded him that he was equally kind and partial to his grown-up nephews, even after the Battle of Kurukṣetra, a great family disaster.

SB 1.13.41, Purport:

Every living being, either in this material world or in the spiritual world, is under the control of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead. Beginning from Brahmājī, the leader of this universe, down to the insignificant ant, all are abiding by the order of the Supreme Lord. Thus the constitutional position of the living being is subordination under the control of the Lord. The foolish living being, especially man, artificially rebels against the law of the Supreme and thus becomes chastised as an asura, or lawbreaker. A living being is placed in a particular position by the order of the Supreme Lord, and he is again shifted from that place by the order of the Supreme Lord or His authorized agents. Brahmā, Śiva, Indra, Candra, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira or, in modern history, Napoleon, Akbar, Alexander, Gandhi, Shubhash and Nehru all are servants of the Lord, and they are placed in and removed from their respective positions by the supreme will of the Lord. None of them is independent. Even though such men or leaders rebel so as not to recognize the supremacy of the Lord, they are put under still more rigorous laws of the material world by different miseries.

SB 1.17.4, Purport:

An administrative head or king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, with full majestic authority, well equipped with weapons to chastise miscreants, can challenge the agents of the age of Kali. Then only will it be possible to counteract the degraded age. And in the absence of such strong executive heads, there is always disruption of tranquillity. The elected show-bottle executive head, as representative of a degraded public, cannot be equal with a strong king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit. The dress or style of royal order does not count. It is one's actions which are counted.

SB 1.17.5, Purport:

The brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are called twice-born because for these higher classes of men there is one birth by parental conjugation and there is another birth of cultural rejuvenation by spiritual initiation from the bona fide ācārya, or spiritual master. So a kṣatriya is also twice-born like a brāhmaṇa, and his duty is to give protection to the helpless. The kṣatriya king is considered to be the representative of God to give protection to the helpless and chastise the miscreants. Whenever there are anomalies in this routine work by the administrators, there is an incarnation of the Lord to reestablish the principles of a godly kingdom. In the age of Kali, the poor helpless animals, especially the cows, which are meant to receive all sorts of protection from the administrative heads, are killed without restriction. Thus the administrative heads under whose noses such things happen are representatives of God in name only.

SB 1.17.9, Purport:

As men are made after the form and features of the Supreme Lord, so also the cows are made after the form and features of the surabhi cows in the spiritual kingdom. In the material world the human society gives all protection to the human being, but there is no law to protect the descendants of Surabhi, who can give all protection to men by supplying the miracle food, milk. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit and the Pāṇḍavas were fully conscious of the importance of the cow and bull, and they were prepared to punish the cow-killer with all chastisement, including death. There has sometimes been agitation for the protection of the cow, but for want of pious executive heads and suitable laws, the cow and the bull are not given protection. The human society should recognize the importance of the cow and the bull and thus give all protection to these important animals, following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. For protecting the cows and brahminical culture, the Lord, who is very kind to the cow and the brāhmaṇas (go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya), will be pleased with us and will bestow upon us real peace.

SB 1.17.16, Translation:

The supreme duty of the ruling king is to give all protection to law-abiding persons and to chastise those who stray from the ordinances of the scriptures in ordinary times, when there is no emergency.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.7.9, Translation:

Mahārāja Vena went astray from the path of righteousness, and the brāhmaṇas chastised him by the thunderbolt curse. By this King Vena was burnt with his good deeds and opulence and was en route to hell. The Lord, by His causeless mercy, descended as his son, by the name of Pṛthu, delivered the condemned King Vena from hell, and exploited the earth by drawing all kinds of crops as produce.

SB 2.7.9, Purport:

Mahārāja Vena did not adhere to this principle of ruling, and he disobeyed the learned brāhmaṇas. The broad-minded brāhmaṇas were not self-interested, but looked to the interest of complete welfare for all the subjects. They wanted to chastise King Vena for his misconduct and so prayed to the Almighty Lord as well as cursed the king.

SB 2.7.20, Purport:

The manvantara incarnation chastises all the miscreant rulers of different planets with as much power as that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who punishes the miscreants with His wheel weapon. The manvantara incarnations disseminate the transcendental glories of the Lord.

SB 2.7.22, Purport:

Those going against the prescribed rules and regulations of conditional life are called brahmojjhita-pathas, or persons going against the path of the Absolute Truth, and they are liable to be punished. Lord Paraśurāma, the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, appeared in such a state of worldly affairs and killed all the miscreant kings twenty-one times. Many kṣatriya kings fled from India to other parts of the world at that time, and according to the authority of the Mahābhārata, the kings of Egypt originally migrated from India because of Paraśurāma's program of chastisement. The kings or administrators are similarly chastised in all circumstances whenever they become godless and plan a godless civilization. That is the order of the Almighty.

SB 2.7.28, Translation:

Then also when the cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned water of the River Yamunā, and after the Lord (in His childhood) revived them by His merciful glance, just to purify the water of the River Yamunā He jumped into it as if playing and chastised the venomous Kāliya snake, which was lurking there, its tongue emitting waves of poison. Who can perform such herculean tasks but the Supreme Lord ?

SB 2.7.29, Translation:

On the very night of the day of the chastisement of the Kāliya snake, when the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi were sleeping carefreely, there was a forest fire ablaze due to dry leaves, and it appeared that all the inhabitants were sure to meet their death. But the Lord, along with Balarāma, saved them simply by closing His eyes. Such are the superhuman activities of the Lord.

SB 2.7.38, Translation:

Thereafter, at the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher castes, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the lowborn śūdra class or those less than them, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.1.43, Purport:

As declared in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord appears in the mortal world to execute His much-needed mission of killing the miscreants and giving protection to the suffering faithful. In spite of that mission, Lord Kṛṣṇa tolerated the insult to Draupadī by the Kurus and the injustices perpetrated against the Pāṇḍavas, as well as insults to Himself. The question may be raised, "Why did He tolerate such injustices and insults in His presence? Why did He not chastise the Kurus immediately?" When Draupadī was insulted in the assembly by the Kurus by their attempt to see her naked in the presence of all, the Lord protected Draupadī by supplying an unlimited length of clothing. But He did not chastise the insulting party immediately. This silence of the Lord did not mean, however, that He excused the offenses of the Kurus.

SB 3.2.31, Translation:

The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were perplexed by great difficulties because a certain portion of the Yamunā was poisoned by the chief of the reptiles (Kāliya). The Lord chastised the snake-king within the water and drove him away, and after coming out of the river, He caused the cows to drink the water and proved that the water was again in its natural state.

SB 3.14.35, Translation:

Let me offer my obeisances unto the angry Lord Śiva, who is simultaneously the very ferocious great demigod and the fulfiller of all material desires. He is all-auspicious and forgiving, but his anger can immediately move him to chastise.

SB 3.14.41, Purport:

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8), the Lord descends as an incarnation to deliver the devotees and kill the miscreants. The Lord of the universe and of everything would appear to kill the sons of Diti because of their offending the devotees of the Lord. There are many agents of the Lord, such as Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, goddess Durgā, and Kālī, who can chastise any formidable miscreants in the world. The example of mountains being smashed by a thunderbolt is very appropriate. The mountain is considered the most strongly built body within the universe, yet it can be easily smashed by the arrangement of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not need to descend in order to kill any strongly built body; He comes down just for the sake of His devotees.

SB 3.18.9, Purport:

The Lord could have chastised the demon immediately while the demon was deriding the Lord with ill words, but the Lord tolerated him to please the demigods and to show that they should not be afraid of demons while discharging their duties. Therefore His toleration was displayed mainly to drive away the fears of the demigods, who should know that the Lord is always present to protect them. The demon's derision of the Lord was just like the barking of dogs; the Lord did not care about it, since He was doing His own work in delivering the earth from the midst of the water. Materialistic demons always possess large amounts of gold in various shapes, and they think that a large amount of gold, physical strength and popularity can save them from the wrath of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 3.21.50, Purport:

It appears from many Vedic literatures, especially histories like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the purāṇas, that the pious kings of old used to tour their kingdoms in order to give protection to the pious citizens and to chastise or kill the impious. Sometimes they used to kill animals in the forests to practice the killing art because without such practice they would not be able to kill the undesirable elements. Kṣatriyas are allowed to commit violence in that way because violence for a good purpose is a part of their duty. Here two terms are clearly mentioned: vadhāya, "for the purpose of killing," and asatām, "those who are undesirable." The protecting energy of the king is supposed to be the energy of the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.8) the Lord says, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām.

SB 3.28.18, Purport:

Another significant word in this verse is puṇya-śloka-yaśaskaram. The devotee is called puṇya-śloka. As one becomes purified by chanting the holy name of the Lord, so one can become purified simply by chanting the name of a holy devotee. The pure devotee of the Lord and the Lord Himself are nondifferent. It is sometimes feasible to chant the name of a holy devotee. This is a very sanctified process. Lord Caitanya was once chanting the holy names of the gopīs when His students criticized Him: "Why are You chanting the names of the gopīs? Why not 'Kṛṣṇa'?" Lord Caitanya was irritated by the criticism, and so there was some misunderstanding between Him and His students. He wanted to chastise them for desiring to instruct Him on the transcendental process of chanting.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.3.15, Purport:

The difference between the pleasure and pain of this material world and that of the spiritual world is that in the spiritual world the effect is qualitatively absolute. Therefore one may feel sorry in the absolute world, but the manifestation of so-called pain is always full of bliss. For instance, once Lord Kṛṣṇa, in His childhood, was chastised by His mother, Yaśodā, and Lord Kṛṣṇa cried. But although He shed tears from His eyes, this is not to be considered a reaction of the mode of ignorance, for the incident was full of transcendental pleasure. When Kṛṣṇa was playing in so many ways, sometimes it appeared that He caused distress to the gopīs, but actually such dealings were full of transcendental bliss.

SB 4.7.2, Purport:

There are two types of punishment. One is that which a conqueror imposes on an enemy, and the other is like that a father imposes on his son. There is a gulf of difference between these two kinds of punishment. Lord Śiva is by nature a Vaiṣṇava, a great devotee, and his name in this connection is Āśutoṣa. He is always satisfied, and therefore he did not become angry as if he were an enemy. He is not inimical to any living entity; rather, he always wishes the welfare of all. Whenever he chastises a person, it is just like a father's punishment of his son. Lord Śiva is like a father because he never takes seriously any offense by any living entities, especially the demigods.

SB 4.12.42, Purport:

The Supreme Godhead is unconquerable; no one can conquer the Lord. But He voluntarily accepts subordination to the devotional qualities of His devotees. For example, Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted subordination to the control of mother Yaśodā because she was a great devotee. The Lord likes to be under the control of His devotees. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that everyone comes before the Lord and offers Him exalted prayers, but the Lord does not feel as pleased when offered such prayers as He does when a devotee, out of pure love, chastises Him as a subordinate. The Lord forgets His exalted position and willingly submits to His pure devotee. Dhruva Mahārāja conquered the Supreme Lord because at a very tender age, only five years old, he underwent all the austerities of devotional service. This devotional service was of course executed under the direction of a great sage, Nārada. This is the first principle of devotional service—ādau gurv-āśrayam. In the beginning one must accept a bona fide spiritual master, and if a devotee follows strictly the direction of the spiritual master, as Dhruva Mahārāja followed the instruction of Nārada Muni, then it is not difficult for him to achieve the favor of the Lord.

SB 4.16.4, Translation and Purport:

This King, Mahārāja Pṛthu, is the best amongst those who are following religious principles. As such, he will engage everyone in the pursuit of religious principles and give those principles all protection. He will also be a great chastiser to the irreligious and atheistic.

The duty of the king or the head of the government is described very nicely in this verse. It is the duty of the governmental head to see that people strictly follow a religious life. A king should also be strict in chastising the atheists. In other words, an atheistic or godless government should never be supported by a king or governmental chief. That is the test of good government.

SB 4.16.18, Translation:

The King will consider all embodied living entities as dear as his own self, and he will always be increasing the pleasures of his friends. He will intimately associate with liberated persons, and he will be a chastising hand to all impious persons.

SB 4.22.45, Translation:

Since only a person who is completely educated according to the principles of Vedic knowledge deserves to be commander-in-chief, ruler of the state, the first to chastise and the proprietor of the whole planet, Pṛthu Mahārāja offered everything to the Kumāras.

SB 4.23.36, Purport:

Since a kṣatriya king naturally desires to rule the world, he wishes to make all other kings subordinate to him. This was also the position many years ago when Pṛthu Mahārāja was ruling over the earth. At that time he was the only emperor on this planet. Even five thousand years ago, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and Mahārāja Parīkṣit were the sole emperors of this planet. Sometimes the subordinate kings rebelled, and it was necessary for the emperor to go and chastise them. This process of chanting the narrations of the life and character of Pṛthu Mahārāja is recommended for conquering kings if they want to fulfill their desire to rule the world.

SB 4.26.22, Translation:

My dear slender maiden, when a master chastises his servant, the servant should accept this as great mercy. One who becomes angry must be very foolish not to know that such is the duty of his friend.

SB 4.26.24, Purport:

This instruction was given to King Prācīnabarhiṣat by Nārada Muni. King Purañjana was a representative of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, and Nārada Muni was reminding King Prācīnabarhiṣat of his forefather, Mahārāja Pṛthu, who never chastised a brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava.

One's pure intelligence, or pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, becomes polluted by material activities. Pure consciousness can be revived by the process of sacrifice, charity, pious activities, etc., but when one pollutes his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by offending a brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava, it is very difficult to revive. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described the vaiṣṇava-aparādha, or offense to a Vaiṣṇava, as "the mad elephant offense." One should be very careful not to offend a Vaiṣṇava or a brāhmaṇa. Even the great yogī Durvāsā was harassed by the Sudarśana cakra when he offended the Vaiṣṇava Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, who was neither a brāhmaṇa nor a sannyāsī but an ordinary householder. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was a Vaiṣṇava, and consequently Durvāsā Muni was chastised.

SB 4.27.11, Purport:

Śrīla Nārada Muni chastised Vyāsadeva for compiling so many Vedic supplementary scriptures, which are all intended for guiding the people in general. Nārada Muni condemned these scriptures because they do not mention direct devotional service. Under Nārada's instructions, direct worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was set forth by Vyāsadeva. The conclusion is that neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, nor His devotee ever sanctions animal-killing in the name of religion. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa incarnated Himself as Lord Buddha to put an end to animal-killing in the name of religion.

SB 4.28.19, Translation:

King Purañjana then began to think of his past dealings with his wife. He recalled that his wife would not take her dinner until he had finished his, that she would not take her bath until he had finished his, and that she was always very much attached to him, so much so that if he would sometimes become angry and chastise her, she would simply remain silent and tolerate his misbehavior.

SB 4.29.49, Purport:

In this verse the great sage Nārada Muni directly insults the King because he was engaged in performing sacrifices that entail the killing of a great number of animals. The King was thinking that he was great for having performed so many sacrifices, but the great sage Nārada directly chastises him, informing him that his animal-killing only leads to his being puffed up with false prestige. Actually, anything that is done which does not lead to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a sinful activity, and any education that does not lead one to understand Kṛṣṇa is false education. If Kṛṣṇa consciousness is missing, one is simply engaged in false activities and false educational pursuits.

SB 4.30.39-40, Purport:

An Āryan is one who does not boast, but is an actual devotee of the Lord. Āryan means "advanced." Formerly, those who claimed to be Āryans had to be devotees of the Lord. For instance, in Bhagavad-gītā (2.2) Kṛṣṇa chastised Arjuna by saying that he was speaking like a non-Āryan.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
viṣame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
akīrti-karam arjuna

"The Supreme Person (Bhagavān) said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy." Arjuna, the kṣatriya, was refusing to fight despite being directly ordered by the Supreme Lord. He was thus chastised by the Lord as belonging to a non-Āryan family.

SB 4.31.20, Purport:

In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes dependent on His devotee. The Lord is invincible, yet He is conquered by His pure devotee. He enjoys being dependent on His devotee, just as Kṛṣṇa enjoyed being dependent on the mercy of mother Yaśodā. Thinking Himself dependent on the devotee gives the Supreme Lord great enjoyment. Sometimes a king may engage a joker, and in the process of joking, the king is sometimes insulted. The king, however, enjoys these activities. Everyone worships the Supreme Lord with great reverence; therefore the Lord sometimes wants to enjoy the chastisement of His devotees. In this way the relationship eternally existing between the Lord and His devotees is fixed, just like the sky overhead.

SB 4.31.21, Purport:

Such devotees are free from attachment to family, society, friendship, children and so on. They abandon affection for all these material possessions and are always happy in possessing the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. The Supreme Personality of Godhead understands the position of His devotee. If a person derides a pure devotee, he is never recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, the Supreme Lord never excuses one who offends a pure devotee. There are many examples of this in history. A great mystic yogi, Durvāsā Muni, offended the great devotee Ambarīṣa Mahārāja. The great sage Durvāsā was to be chastised by the Sudarśana cakra of the Lord. Even though the great mystic directly approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he was never excused. Those on the path of liberation should be very careful not to offend a pure devotee.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.8.22, Translation:

When I placed all the sacrificial ingredients on the kuśa grass, the deer, when playing, would touch the grass with its teeth and thus pollute it. When I chastised the deer by pushing it away, it would immediately become fearful and sit down motionless, exactly like the son of a saintly person. Thus it would stop its play.

SB 5.10 Summary:

In this chapter Bharata Mahārāja, now Jaḍa Bharata, was successfully accepted by King Rahūgaṇa, ruler of the states known as Sindhu and Sauvīra. The King forced Jaḍa Bharata to carry his palanquin and chastised him because he did not carry it properly. A carrier of King Rahūgaṇa's palanquin was needed, and to fulfill this need the chief carriers found Jaḍa Bharata as the most likely person to do the work. He was therefore forced to carry the palanquin. Jaḍa Bharata, however, did not protest this proud order, but humbly accepted the job and carried the palanquin. While carrying it, however, he was very careful to see that he did not step on an ant, and whenever he saw one, he would stop until the ant had passed. Because of this, he could not keep pace with the other carriers. The King within the palanquin became very disturbed and chastised Jaḍa Bharata with filthy language, but Jaḍa Bharata, being completely freed from the bodily conception, did not protest; he proceeded carrying the palanquin. When he continued as before, the King threatened him with punishment, and being threatened by the King, Jaḍa Bharata began to talk. He protested against the filthy language used by the King when the King chastised him, and the King, hearing the instructions of Jaḍa Bharata, was awakened to his real knowledge. When he came to his consciousness, he understood that he had offended a great, learned and saintly person.

SB 5.10.3, Purport:

According to political science, a king sometimes tries to pacify his subordinates, sometimes chastises them, sometimes derides them and sometimes rewards them. In this way the king rules his subordinates. The bearers of the palanquin could understand that the King was angry and that he would chastise them.

SB 5.10.8, Translation:

Thinking himself a king, King Rahūgaṇa was in the bodily conception and was influenced by material nature's modes of passion and ignorance. Due to madness, he chastised Jaḍa Bharata with uncalled-for and contradictory words. Jaḍa Bharata was a topmost devotee and the dear abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although considering himself very learned, the King did not know about the position of an advanced devotee situated in devotional service, nor did he know his characteristics. Jaḍa Bharata was the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; he always carried the form of the Lord within his heart. He was the dear friend of all living beings, and he did not entertain any bodily conception. He therefore smiled and spoke the following words.

SB 5.10.8, Purport:

The distinction between a person in the bodily conception and a person beyond the bodily conception is presented in this verse. In the bodily conception, King Rahūgaṇa considered himself a king and chastised Jaḍa Bharata in so many unwanted ways. Being self-realized, Jaḍa Bharata, who was fully situated on the transcendental platform, did not at all become angry; instead, he smiled and began to deliver his teachings to King Rahūgaṇa. A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava devotee is a friend to all living entities, and consequently he is a friend to his enemies also. In fact, he does not consider anyone to be his enemy. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām (SB 3.25.21). Sometimes a Vaiṣṇava becomes superficially angry at a nondevotee, but this is good for the nondevotee. We have several examples of this in Vedic literature. Once Nārada became angry with the two sons of Kuvera, Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, and he chastised them by turning them into trees. The result was that later they were liberated by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The devotee is situated on the absolute platform, and when he is angry or pleased, there is no difference, for in either case he bestows his benediction.

SB 5.10.9, Translation:

The great brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: My dear King and hero, whatever you have spoken sarcastically is certainly true. Actually these are not simply words of chastisement, for the body is the carrier. The load carried by the body does not belong to me, for I am the spirit soul. There is no contradiction in your statements because I am different from the body. I am not the carrier of the palanquin; the body is the carrier. Certainly, as you have hinted, I have not labored carrying the palanquin, for I am detached from the body. You have said that I am not stout and strong, and these words are befitting a person who does not know the distinction between the body and the soul. The body may be fat or thin, but no learned man would say such things of the spirit soul. As far as the spirit soul is concerned, I am neither fat nor skinny; therefore you are correct when you say that I am not very stout. Also, if the object of this journey and the path leading there were mine, there would be many troubles for me, but because they relate not to me but to my body, there is no trouble at all.

SB 5.10.13, Translation:

My dear King, you have said, "You rascal, you dull, crazy fellow! I am going to chastise you, and then you will come to your senses." In this regard, let me say that although I live like a dull, deaf and dumb man, I am actually a self-realized person. What will you gain by punishing me? If your calculation is true and I am a madman, then your punishment will be like beating a dead horse. There will be no effect. When a madman is punished, he is not cured of his madness.

SB 5.10.14, Translation:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, when King Rahūgaṇa chastised the exalted devotee Jaḍa Bharata with harsh words, that peaceful, saintly person tolerated it all and replied properly. Nescience is due to the bodily conception, and Jaḍa Bharata was not affected by this false conception. Out of his natural humility, he never considered himself a great devotee, and he agreed to suffer the results of his past karma. Like an ordinary man, he thought that by carrying the palanquin, he was destroying the reactions of his past misdeeds. Thinking in this way, he began to carry the palanquin as before.

SB 5.11.1, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa similarly chastised Arjuna. Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: "While speaking learned words, you are lamenting for what is not worthy of grief." (BG 2.11) Similarly, among people in general, 99.9 percent try to talk like experienced advisers, but they are actually devoid of spiritual knowledge and are therefore like inexperienced children speaking nonsensically. Consequently their words cannot be given any importance. One has to learn from Kṛṣṇa or His devotee. If one speaks on the basis of this experience-that is, on the basis of spiritual knowledge—one's words are valuable. At the present moment, the entire world is full of foolish people. Bhagavad-gītā describes these people as mūḍhas. They are trying to rule human society, but because they are devoid of spiritual knowledge, the entire world is in a chaotic condition. To be released from these miserable conditions, one has to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and take lessons from an exalted personality like Jaḍa Bharata, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Kapiladeva. That is the only way to solve the problems of material life.

SB 5.13.8, Purport:

That will help one become elevated to the transcendental world and return home, back to Godhead. Another sentence in this verse is very significant: kauṭumbikaḥ krudhyati vai janāya. When one's mind is disturbed in so many ways, he satisfies himself by becoming angry with his poor wife and children. The wife and children are naturally dependent on the father, but the father, being unable to maintain the family properly, becomes mentally distressed and therefore chastises the family members unnecessarily. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.2.8): ācchinna-dāra-draviṇā yāsyanti giri-kānanam. Being disgusted with family life, one separates from the family by divorce or some other means. If one has to separate, why not separate willingly? Systematic separation is better than forced separation. Forced separation cannot make anyone happy, but by mutual consent or by the Vedic arrangement one must separate from his family affairs at a certain age and fully depend on Kṛṣṇa. This makes one's life successful.

SB 5.13.10, Translation:

Sometimes, in order to have a little insignificant sex enjoyment, one searches after debauched women. In this attempt, one is insulted and chastised by the women's kinsmen. This is like going to take honey from a beehive and being attacked by the bees. Sometimes, after spending lots of money, one may acquire another woman for some extra sense enjoyment. Unfortunately, the object of sense enjoyment, the woman, is taken away or kidnapped by another debauchee.

SB 5.13.10, Purport:

In a great forest, honeycombs are very important. People often go there to collect honey from the combs, and sometimes the bees attack and punish them. In human society, those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious remain in the forest of material life simply for the honey of sex life. Such debauchees are not at all satisfied with one wife. They want many women. Day after day, with great difficulty, they try to secure such women, and sometimes, while trying to taste this kind of honey, one is attacked by a woman's kinsmen and chastised very heavily. By bribing others, one may secure another woman for enjoyment, yet another debauchee may kidnap her or offer her something better. This woman hunting is going on in the forest of the material world, sometimes legally, and sometimes illegally. Consequently in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement the devotees are forbidden to have illicit sex. Thus they avoid so many difficulties. One should remain satisfied with one woman, being duly married. One can satisfy one's lusty desires with his wife without creating disturbances in society and being punished for doing so.

SB 5.14 Summary:

The path of fruitive activities leads to difficult mountains, and sometimes the conditioned soul wants to cross these mountains, but he is never successful, and consequently he becomes more and more aggrieved and disappointed. Becoming materially and financially embarrassed, the conditioned soul unnecessarily chastises his family. In the material condition there are four principal needs, out of which sleep is compared to a python. When asleep, the conditioned soul completely forgets his real existence, and in sleep he does not feel the tribulations of material life. Sometimes, being in need of money, the conditioned soul steals and cheats, although he may apparently be associated with devotees for spiritual advancement. His only business is getting out of the clutches of māyā, but due to improper guidance he becomes more and more entangled in material dealings. This material world is simply an embarrassment and is composed of tribulations presented as happiness, distress, attachment, enmity and envy. On the whole it is simply full of tribulation and misery.

SB 5.14.11, Translation and Purport:

Sometimes the conditioned soul is very aggrieved by the chastisement of his enemies and government servants, who use harsh words against him directly or indirectly. At that time his heart and ears become very saddened. Such chastisement may be compared to the sounds of owls and crickets.

There are different types of enemies within this material world. The government chastises one due to not paying income taxes. Such criticism, direct or indirect, saddens one, and sometimes the conditioned soul tries to counteract that chastisement. Unfortunately, he cannot do anything.

SB 5.14.22, Translation:

The conditioned soul is sometimes attracted to the little happiness derived from sense gratification. Thus he has illicit sex or steals another's property. At such a time he may be arrested by the government or chastised by the woman's husband or protector. Thus simply for a little material satisfaction, he falls into a hellish condition and is put into jail for rape, kidnapping, theft and so forth.

SB 5.14.36, Purport:

It is said that necessity knows no law. When the conditioned soul needs money to acquire life's bare necessities, he adopts any means. He begs, borrows or steals. Instead of receiving these things, he is insulted and chastised. Unless one is very well organized, one cannot accumulate riches by unfair means. Even if one acquires riches by unfair means, he cannot avoid punishment and insult from the government or the general populace. There are many instances of important people's embezzling money, getting caught and being put in prison. One may be able to avoid the punishment of prison, but one cannot avoid the punishment of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who works through the agency of material nature. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. Nature is very cruel. She does not excuse anyone. When people do not care for nature, they commit all kinds of sinful activities, and consequently they have to suffer.

SB 5.14.43, Purport:

In this verse the Lord is described as Uttamaśloka. Uttama means "the best," and śloka means "reputation." Lord Kṛṣṇa is full in six opulences, one of which is reputation. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). Kṛṣṇa's reputation is still expanding. We are spreading the glories of Kṛṣṇa by pushing forward this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṇa's reputation, five thousand years after the Battle of Kurukṣetra, is still expanding throughout the world. Every important individual within this world must have heard of Kṛṣṇa, especially at the present moment, due to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Even people who do not like us and want to suppress the movement are also somehow or other chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. They say, "The Hare Kṛṣṇa people should be chastised." Such foolish people do not realize the true value of this movement, but the mere fact that they want to criticize it gives them a chance to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and this is its success.

SB 5.18.27, Purport:

Unfortunately such materialists, either singly or combined in the form of the United Nations, cannot fulfill their plans. The truth is that the many millions of human beings, animals, birds and trees—indeed, all living entities—are maintained solely by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān: one person, the Supreme Lord, is supplying the necessities of life for all other living entities. To challenge the authority of Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the business of asuras (demons). Yet sometimes suras, or devotees, are also bewildered by the illusory energy and falsely claim to be the maintainer of the entire universe. Such incidents are described in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells how Lord Brahmā and King Indra became puffed up and were eventually chastised by Kṛṣṇa.

SB 5.26.6, Purport:

"The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is." One should understand the nature of karma, vikarma and akarma, and one must act accordingly. This is the law of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conditioned souls, who have come to this material world for sense gratification, are allowed to enjoy their senses under certain regulative principles. If they violate these regulations, they are judged and punished by Yamarāja. He brings them to the hellish planets and properly chastises them to bring them back to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By the influence of māyā, however, the conditioned souls remain infatuated with the mode of ignorance. Thus in spite of repeated punishment by Yamarāja, they do not come to their senses, but continue to live within the material condition, committing sinful activities again and again.

SB 5.26.8, Translation:

My dear King, a person who appropriates another's legitimate wife, children or money is arrested at the time of death by the fierce Yamadūtas, who bind him with the rope of time and forcibly throw him into the hellish planet known as Tāmisra. On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by the Yamadūtas, who beat and rebuke him. He is starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus the wrathful assistants of Yamarāja cause him severe suffering, and sometimes he faints from their chastisement.

SB 5.26.28, Translation:

A person who in this life bears false witness or lies while transacting business or giving charity is severely punished after death by the agents of Yamarāja. Such a sinful man is taken to the top of a mountain eight hundred miles high and thrown headfirst into the hell known as Avīcimat. This hell has no shelter and is made of strong stone resembling the waves of water. There is no water there, however, and thus it is called Avīcimat (waterless). Although the sinful man is repeatedly thrown from the mountain and his body broken to tiny pieces, he still does not die but continuously suffers chastisement.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.3.27, Translation:

My dear servants, please do not approach such devotees, for they have fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are equal to everyone, and their narrations are sung by the demigods and the inhabitants of Siddhaloka. Please do not even go near them. They are always protected by the club of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore Lord Brahmā and I and even the time factor are not competent to chastise them.

SB 6.7 Summary:

Because of his disrespectful behavior toward his spiritual master. Indra lost all his opulence and was conquered by the demons, who defeated the demigods in a great fight and occupied Indra's throne. King Indra, along with the other demigods, later took shelter of Lord Brahmā. Understanding the situation, Lord Brahmā chastised the demigods for their offense to their spiritual master. Following Lord Brahmā's orders, the demigods accepted Viśvarūpa, who was a brāhmaṇa and the son of Tvaṣṭā, as their priest. Then they performed yajñas under the priesthood of Viśvarūpa and were able to conquer the demons.

SB 6.7.21, Purport:

Lord Brahmā recognized the brahminical qualifications of Bṛhaspati, who was the spiritual master of the demigods because of his awareness of the Supreme Brahman. Bṛhaspati was very much in control of his senses and mind, and therefore he was a most qualified brāhmaṇa. Lord Brahmā chastised the demigods for not properly respecting this brāhmaṇa, who was their guru. Lord Brahmā wanted to impress upon the demigods that one's guru should not be disrespected under any circumstances. When Bṛhaspati entered the assembly of the demigods, they and their king, Indra, took him for granted. Since he came every day, they thought, they did not need to show him special respect. As it is said, familiarity breeds contempt.

SB 6.12.13, Purport:

It is not good to be falsely puffed up, saying that by one's own effort one has become opulent, learned, beautiful and so on. All such good fortune is achieved through the mercy of the Lord. From another point of view, no one wants to die, and no one wants to be poor or ugly. Therefore, why does the living entity, against his will, receive such unwanted troubles? It is due to the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that one gains or loses everything material. No one is independent; everyone is dependent on the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Lord. There is a common saying in Bengal that the Lord has ten hands. This means that He has control everywhere—in the eight directions and up and down. If He wants to take everything away from us with His ten hands, we cannot protect anything with our two hands. Similarly, if He wants to bestow benedictions upon us with His ten hands, we cannot factually receive them all with our two hands; in other words, the benedictions exceed our ambitions. The conclusion is that even though we do not wish to be separated from our possessions, sometimes the Lord forcibly takes them from us; and sometimes He showers such benedictions upon us that we are unable to receive them all. Therefore either in opulence or in distress we are not independent; everything is dependent on the sweet will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 6.17.15, Purport:

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." To surrender to Kṛṣṇa means to surrender to His devotees also, for no one can be a proper servant of Kṛṣṇa unless he is a proper servant of a devotee. Chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: without serving a servant of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot be elevated to being a servant of Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore mother Pārvatī spoke to Citraketu exactly like a mother who says to her naughty child, "My dear child, I am punishing you so that you won't do anything like this again." This tendency of a mother to punish her child is found even in mother Yaśodā, who became the mother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mother Yaśodā punished Kṛṣṇa by binding Him and showing Him a stick. Thus it is the duty of a mother to chastise her beloved son, even in the case of the Supreme Lord. It is to be understood that mother Durgā was justified in punishing Citraketu. This punishment was a boon to Citraketu because after taking birth as the demon Vṛtrāsura, he was promoted directly to Vaikuṇṭha.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.1.23, Translation:

The great sage Śrī Nāradajī said: O King, blasphemy and praise, chastisement and respect, are experienced because of ignorance. The body of the conditioned soul is planned by the Lord for suffering in the material world through the agency of the external energy.

SB 7.1.23, Purport:

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of material energy." A material body is manufactured by the external energy according to the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conditioned soul, being seated on this machine, wanders throughout the universe, and because of his bodily conception of life he only suffers. Actually the suffering of being blasphemed and the enjoyment of being praised, the acceptance of a good welcome or of chastisement by harsh words, are felt in the material conception of life; but since the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not material but sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), He is unaffected by insults or greetings, blasphemy or prayers. Being always unaffected and complete, He does not feel extra pleasure when offered nice prayers by the devotee, although the devotee benefits by offering prayers to the Lord. Indeed, the Lord is very kind to His so-called enemy because one who always thinks of the Personality of Godhead as an enemy also benefits, although he thinks of the Lord adversely. If a conditioned soul, thinking of the Lord as an enemy or a friend, somehow or other becomes attached to the Lord, he receives great benefit.

SB 7.1.24, Translation and Purport:

My dear King, the conditioned soul, being in the bodily conception of life, considers his body to be his self and considers everything in relationship with the body to be his. Because he has this wrong conception of life, he is subjected to dualities like praise and chastisement.

Only when a conditioned soul accepts the body as himself does he feel the effects of chastisement or praise. Then he determines one person to be his enemy and another his friend and wants to chastise the enemy and welcome the friend. This creation of friends and enemies is a result of one's bodily conception of life.

SB 7.1.25, Translation:

Because of the bodily conception of life, the conditioned soul thinks that when the body is annihilated the living being is annihilated. Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the supreme controller, the Supersoul of all living entities. Because He has no material body, He has no false conception of "I and mine." It is therefore incorrect to think that He feels pleasure or pain when blasphemed or offered prayers. This is impossible for Him. Thus He has no enemy and no friend. When He chastises the demons it is for their good, and when He accepts the prayers of the devotees it is for their good. He is affected neither by prayers nor by blasphemy.

SB 7.1.26, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has very nicely explained the word bhayena, which means "by fear." When the gopīs went to Kṛṣṇa in the dead of night, they certainly feared chastisement by their relatives—their husbands, brothers and fathers—but nonetheless, not caring for their relatives, they went to Kṛṣṇa. There was certainly fear, but this fear could not check their devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

SB 7.2.60, Purport:

This is described by Prahlāda Mahārāja as bharam. In the materialistic conception, modern civilization makes enormous arrangements for huge roads, houses, mills and factories, and this is man's conception of the advancement of civilization. People do not know, however, that at any time they themselves may be kicked out of the scene and forced to accept bodies that have nothing to do with these enormous houses, palaces, roads and automobiles. Therefore when Arjuna was thinking in terms of his bodily relationships with his kinsmen, Kṛṣṇa immediately chastised him, saying, kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya juṣṭam: "This bodily conception of life is befitting the anāryas, the non-Āryans, who are not advanced in knowledge." An Āryan civilization is a civilization advanced in spiritual knowledge. Not merely by stamping oneself an Āryan does one become an Āryan. To keep oneself in the deepest darkness concerning spiritual knowledge and at the same time claim to be an Āryan is a non-Āryan position.

SB 7.3.12, Purport:

In the material world, a servant is provided for by the master but is always planning how to capture the master's post. There have been many instances of this in history. Especially in India during the Mohammedan rule, many servants, by plans and devices, took over the posts of their masters. It is learned from Caitanya literature that one big Zamindar, Subuddhi Rāya, kept a Mohammedan boy as a servant. Of course, he treated the boy as his own child, and sometimes, when the boy would steal something, the master would chastise him by striking him with a cane. There was a mark on the boy's back from this chastisement. Later, after that boy had by crooked means become Hussain Shah, Nawab of Bengal, one day his wife saw the mark on his back and inquired about it. The Nawab replied that in his childhood he had been a servant of Subuddhi Rāya, who had punished him because of some mischievous activities. Upon hearing this, the Nawab's wife immediately became agitated and requested her husband to kill Subuddhi Rāya. Nawab Hussain Shah, of course, was very grateful to Subuddhi Rāya and therefore refused to kill him, but when his wife requested him to turn Subuddhi Rāya into a Mohammedan, the Nawab agreed.

SB 7.4.9-12, Translation:

The steps of King Indra's residence were made of coral, the floor was bedecked with invaluable emeralds, the walls were of crystal, and the columns of vaidūrya stone. The wonderful canopies were beautifully decorated, the seats were bedecked with rubies, and the silk bedding, as white as foam, was decorated with pearls. The ladies of the palace, who were blessed with beautiful teeth and the most wonderfully beautiful faces, walked here and there in the palace, their ankle bells tinkling melodiously, and saw their own beautiful reflections in the gems. The demigods, however, being very much oppressed, had to bow down and offer obeisances at the feet of Hiraṇyakaśipu, who chastised the demigods very severely and for no reason. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu lived in the palace and severely ruled everyone.

SB 7.4.42, Purport:

Apparently Prahlāda Mahārāja was placed in circumstances in which he was always tortured by his father. In such material conditions, one cannot have an undisturbed mind, but since bhakti is unconditional (ahaituky apratihatā), Prahlāda Mahārāja was never disturbed by the chastisements of Hiraṇyakaśipu. On the contrary, the bodily symptoms of his ecstatic love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead turned the minds of his friends, who had also been born in atheistic families. Instead of being disturbed by the torments of his father, Prahlāda influenced these friends and cleansed their minds. A devotee is never contaminated by material conditions, but persons subjected to material conditions can become spiritually advanced and blissful upon seeing the behavior of a pure devotee.

SB 7.4.43, Purport:

When a demon like Hiraṇyakaśipu, despite his elevated position due to severe austerities, begins to tease a devotee, he begins falling down, and the results of his austerities dwindle. One who oppresses a pure devotee loses all the results of his austerities, penances and pious activities. Since Hiraṇyakaśipu was now inclined to chastise his most exalted devotee son, Prahlāda Mahārāja, his opulences began dwindling.

SB 7.4.45, Translation:

A father and mother are always affectionate to their children. When the children are disobedient the parents chastise them, not due to enmity but only for the child's instruction and welfare. How did Hiraṇyakaśipu, the father of Prahlāda Mahārāja, chastise such a noble son? This is what I am eager to know.

SB 7.4.46, Purport:

In the history of human society, an affectionate father is rarely found to chastise a noble and devoted son. Therefore Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira wanted Nārada Muni to dissipate his doubt.

SB 7.5 Summary:

However, when the teachers inquired from Prahlāda Mahārāja why he was going against their teachings, Prahlāda Mahārāja taught the teachers that the mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. The teachers, being very angry at this answer, chastised and threatened the boy with many fearful conditions. They taught him to the best of their ability and then brought him before his father.

Hiraṇyakaśipu affectionately took his son Prahlāda on his lap and then inquired from him what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. As usual, Prahlāda Mahārāja began praising the nine processes of devotional service, such as śravaṇam and kīrtanam. Thus the King of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, being extremely angry, chastised the teachers, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, for having wrongly trained Prahlāda Mahārāja. The so-called teachers informed the King that Prahlāda Mahārāja was automatically a devotee and did not listen to their instructions.

SB 7.5.7, Purport:

In either case, since Hare Kṛṣṇa is absolute, whether one chants it jokingly or sincerely, it will have its effect. The Vaiṣṇavas are pleased when the demons chant Hare Kṛṣṇa because this shows that the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is taking ground. The greater demons, like Hiraṇyakaśipu, are always prepared to chastise the Vaiṣṇavas, and they try to make arrangements so that Vaiṣṇavas will not come to sell their books and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus what was done by Hiraṇyakaśipu long, long ago is still being done. That is the way of materialistic life. Demons or materialists do not at all like the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they try to hinder it in many ways. Yet the preachers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness must go forward—in their Vaiṣṇava dress or any other dress—for the purpose of preaching. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that if an honest person deals with a great cheater, it is necessary for him to become a cheater also, not for the purpose of cheating but to make his preaching successful.

SB 7.5.15, Translation:

The great saint Nārada Muni continued: The great soul Prahlāda Mahārāja became silent after saying this to his teachers, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the seminal sons of Śukrācārya. These so-called brāhmaṇas then became angry at him. Because they were servants of Hiraṇyakaśipu, they were very sorry, and to chastise Prahlāda Mahārāja they spoke as follows.

SB 7.5.15, Purport:

The word śukra means "semen." The sons of Śukrācārya were brāhmaṇas by birthright, but an actual brāhmaṇa is one who possesses the brahminical qualities. The brāhmaṇas Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, being seminal sons of Śukrācārya, did not actually possess real brahminical qualifications, for they engaged as servants of Hiraṇyakaśipu. An actual brāhmaṇa is very much satisfied to see anyone, not to speak of his disciple, become a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Such brāhmaṇas are meant to satisfy the supreme master. A brāhmaṇa is strictly prohibited from becoming a servant of anyone else, for that is the business of dogs and śūdras. A dog must satisfy his master, but a brāhmaṇa does not have to satisfy anyone; he is simply meant to satisfy Kṛṣṇa (ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167)). That is the real qualification of a brāhmaṇa. Because Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka were seminal brāhmaṇas and had become servants of such a master as Hiraṇyakaśipu, they unnecessarily wanted to chastise Prahlāda Mahārāja.

SB 7.5.16, Purport:

In political affairs, when a person disobediently agitates against the government, four principles are used to suppress him—legal orders, pacification, the offer of a post, or, finally, weapons. When there are no other arguments, he is punished. In logic, this is called argumentum ad baculum. When the two seminal brāhmaṇas Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka failed to extract from Prahlāda Mahārāja the cause for his having opinions different from those of his father, they called for a stick with which to chastise him to satisfy their master, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Because Prahlāda had become a devotee, they considered him to be contaminated by bad intelligence and to be the worst descendant in the family of demons. As it is said, where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise. In a society or family in which everyone is a demon, for someone to become a Vaiṣṇava is certainly folly. Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja was charged with bad intelligence because he was among demons, including his teachers, who were supposedly brāhmaṇas.

SB 7.5.16, Purport:

Because of their fault of being devotees, the American boys who have sacrificed everything for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness are charged with being members of the CIA. Moreover, the seminal brāhmaṇas in India, who say that one can become a brāhmaṇa only if born in a brāhmaṇa family, charge us with ruining the Hindu system of religion. Of course, the fact is that one becomes a brāhmaṇa by qualification. Because we are training Europeans and Americans to become qualified and are awarding them brahminical status, we are being charged with destroying the Hindu religion. Nonetheless, confronting all kinds of difficulties, we must spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement with great determination, like that of Prahlāda Mahārāja. In spite of being the son of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu, Prahlāda never feared the chastisements of the seminal brāhmaṇa sons of a demoniac father.

SB 7.5.18, Translation:

Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the teachers of Prahlāda Mahārāja, chastised and threatened their disciple in various ways and began teaching him about the paths of religion, economic development and sense gratification. This is the way they educated him.

SB 7.5.23-24, Purport:

Now let us discuss the offenses in Deity worship. The following are offenses: (a) to enter the temple with shoes or being carried on a palanquin, (b) not to observe the prescribed festivals, (c) to avoid offering obeisances in front of the Deity, (d) to offer prayers in an unclean state, not having washed one's hands after eating, (e) to offer obeisances with one hand, (f) to circumambulate directly in front of the Deity, (g) to spread one's legs before the Deity, (h) to sit before the Deity while holding one's ankles with one's hands, (i) to lie down before the Deity, (j) to eat before the Deity, (k) to speak lies before the Deity, (l) to address someone loudly before the Deity, (m) to talk nonsense before the Deity, (n) to cry before the Deity, (o) to argue before the Deity, (p) to chastise someone before the Deity, ...

SB 7.5.26, Purport:

In this verse the word asāram, meaning, "having no substance," is significant. For a demon there is no substance in the process of devotional service, but to a devotee devotional service is the only essential factor in life. Since Hiraṇyakaśipu did not like devotional service, the essence of life, he chastised Prahlāda Mahārāja's teachers with harsh words.

SB 7.5.45, Translation:

Hiraṇyakaśipu thought: I have used many ill names in chastising this boy Prahlāda and have devised many means of killing him, but despite all my endeavors, he could not be killed. Indeed, he saved himself by his own powers, without being affected in the least by these treacherous and abominable actions.

SB 7.8.3-4, Translation:

When Hiraṇyakaśipu understood the entire situation, he was extremely angry, so much so that his body trembled. Thus he finally decided to kill his son Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu was by nature very cruel, and feeling insulted, he began hissing like a snake trampled upon by someone's foot. His son Prahlāda was peaceful, mild and gentle, his senses were under control, and he stood before Hiraṇyakaśipu with folded hands. According to Prahlāda's age and behavior, he was not to be chastised. Yet with staring, crooked eyes, Hiraṇyakaśipu rebuked him with the following harsh words.

SB 7.8.5, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, however, has derived a meaning from this word durvinīta by the mercy of the goddess of learning, Sarasvatī. He says that duḥ refers to this material world. This is confirmed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in His instruction in Bhagavad-gītā that this material world is duḥkhālayam, full of material conditions. Vi means viśeṣa, "specifically," and nīta means "brought in." By the mercy of the Supreme Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja was especially brought to this material world to teach people how to get out of the material condition. Lord Kṛṣṇa says, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). When the entire population, or part of it, becomes forgetful of its own duty, Kṛṣṇa comes. When Kṛṣṇa is not present the devotee is present, but the mission is the same: to free the poor conditioned souls from the clutches of the māyā that chastises them.

SB 7.8.14, Translation:

Being obsessed with anger, Hiraṇyakaśipu, who was very great in bodily strength, thus chastised his exalted devotee-son Prahlāda with harsh words. Cursing him again and again, Hiraṇyakaśipu took up his sword, got up from his royal throne, and with great anger struck his fist against the column.

SB 7.9.37, Purport:

"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bhārata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself." It is simply foolish to think of the Lord as being originally impersonal but accepting a material body when He appears as a personal incarnation. Whenever the Lord appears, He appears in His original transcendental form, which is spiritual and blissful. But unintelligent men, such as the Māyāvādīs, cannot understand the transcendental form of the Lord, and therefore the Lord chastises them by saying, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam: (BG 9.11) "Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form." Whenever the Lord appears, whether as a fish, a tortoise, a hog or any other form, one should understand that He maintains His transcendental position and that His only business, as stated here, is hatvā—to kill the demons. The Lord appears in order to protect the devotees and kill the demons (paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8)). Since the demons are always ready to oppose Vedic civilization, they are sure to be killed by the transcendental form of the Lord.

SB 7.10.42, Purport:

The demon Hiraṇyakaśipu had so many ways to try to become God himself, but although Prahlāda Mahārāja was chastised and threatened in many ways, he rigidly refused to accept his powerful demoniac father as God. Following in the footsteps of Prahlāda Mahārāja, we should reject all the rascals who pretend to be God. We must accept Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations, and no one else.

SB 7.10.49, Purport:

"The impersonal Brahman is My partial manifestation, and there is no truth superior to Me." That same Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acted as the supreme friend and relative of the Pāṇḍavas, and sometimes He even acted as their servant by carrying a letter from the Pāṇḍavas to Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana. Because Kṛṣṇa was the well-wisher of the Pāṇḍavas, He also acted as guru by becoming the spiritual master of Arjuna. Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as his spiritual master (śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam (BG 2.7)), and Kṛṣṇa sometimes chastised him. For example, the Lord said, aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: (BG 2.11) "while speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief." The Lord also said, kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam: "My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you?" Such was the intimate relationship between the Pāṇḍavas and Kṛṣṇa. In the same way, a pure devotee of the Lord is always with Kṛṣṇa through thick and thin; his way of life is Kṛṣṇa. This is the statement of the authority Śrī Nārada Muni.

SB 7.15.20, Translation and Purport:

The strong bodily desires and needs of a person disturbed by hunger and thirst are certainly satisfied when he eats. Similarly, if one becomes very angry, that anger is satisfied by chastisement and its reaction. But as for greed, even if a greedy person has conquered all the directions of the world or has enjoyed everything in the world, still he will not be satisfied.

In Bhagavad-gītā (3.37) it is stated that lust, anger and greed are the causes of the conditioned soul's bondage in this material world. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. When strong lusty desires for sense gratification are unfulfilled, one becomes angry. This anger can be satisfied when one chastises his enemy, but when there is an increase in lobha, or greed, which is the greatest enemy caused by rajo-guṇa, the mode of passion, how can one advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

SB Canto 8

SB 8.6.32, Translation:

O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, chastiser of enemies, the demigods and the demons thereafter made an armistice between them. Then, with great enterprise, they arranged to produce nectar, as proposed by Lord Indra.

SB 8.11.10, Translation:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After thus rebuking Indra, King of heaven, with sharp words, Bali Mahārāja, who could subdue any other hero, drew back to his ear the arrows known as nārācas and attacked Indra with these arrows. Then he again chastised Indra with strong words.

SB 8.22.5, Translation:

Since Your Lordship is indirectly the greatest well-wisher of us demons, You act for our best welfare by posing as if our enemy. Because demons like us always aspire for a position of false prestige, by chastising us You give us the eyes by which to see the right path.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.3.20, Purport:

This shows the values of Vedic culture. According to the circumstances, Sukanyā had been given a husband who was too old to be compatible with her. Because Cyavana Muni was diseased and very old, he was certainly unfit for the beautiful daughter of King Śaryāti. Nonetheless, her father expected her to be faithful to her husband. When he suddenly saw that his daughter had accepted someone else, even though the man was young and handsome, he immediately chastised her as asatī, unchaste, because he assumed that she had accepted another man in the presence of her husband. According to Vedic culture, even if a young woman is given an old husband, she must respectfully serve him. This is chastity. It is not that because she dislikes her husband she may give him up and accept another. This is against Vedic culture. According to Vedic culture, a woman must accept the husband given to her by her parents and remain chaste and faithful to him. Therefore King Śaryāti was surprised to see a young man by the side of Sukanyā.

SB 9.3.22, Purport:

Although the father chastised the daughter, assuming that she had accepted another husband, the daughter knew that she was completely honest and chaste, and therefore she was smiling. When she explained that her husband, Cyavana Muni, had now been transformed into a young man, she was very proud of her chastity, and thus she smiled as she talked with her father.

SB 9.4 Summary:

By mystic power, Durvāsā Muni could understand that this had happened, and he was very angry. When he returned he began to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, but he was not satisfied, and finally he created from his hair a demon appearing like the fire of death. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is always the protector of His devotee, and to protect Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, He sent His disc, the Sudarśana cakra, which immediately vanquished the fiery demon and then pursued Durvāsā, who was so envious of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Durvāsā fled to Brahmaloka, Śivaloka and all the other higher planets, but he could not protect himself from the wrath of the Sudarśana cakra. Finally he went to the spiritual world and surrendered to Lord Nārāyaṇa, but Lord Nārāyaṇa could not excuse a person who had offended a Vaiṣṇava. To be excused from such an offense, one must submit to the Vaiṣṇava whom he has offended. There is no other way to be excused. Thus Lord Nārāyaṇa advised Durvāsā to return to Mahārāja Ambarīṣa and beg his pardon.

SB 9.4.45, Purport:

A devotee cannot be defeated by a so-called mystic yogī. This will be proved by the failure of Durvāsā Muni's endeavor to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ (SB 5.18.12). One who is not a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord has no good qualifications, however great a mystic, philosopher or fruitive worker he may be. Only a devotee emerges victorious in all circumstances, as will be shown in this incident involving the rivalry between Durvāsā and Mahārāja Ambarīṣa.

SB 9.4.68, Purport:

Since Durvāsā Muni wanted to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, it is to be understood that he wanted to give pain to the heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the Lord says, sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyam: "The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart." The Lord's feelings are like those of a father, who feels pain when his child is in pain. Therefore, offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee are serious. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has very strongly recommended that one not commit any offense at the lotus feet of a devotee. Such offenses are compared to a mad elephant because when a mad elephant enters a garden it causes devastation. Therefore one should be extremely careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of a pure devotee. Actually Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was not at all at fault; Durvāsā Muni unnecessarily wanted to chastise him on flimsy grounds.

SB 9.7 Summary:

When Triśaṅku kidnapped the daughter of a brāhmaṇa, his father cursed him for this sinful act, and Triśaṅku became a caṇḍāla, worse than a śūdra. Later, by the influence of Viśvāmitra, he was brought to the heavenly planets, but by the influence of the demigods he fell back downward. He was stopped in his fall, however, by the influence of Viśvāmitra. The son of Triśaṅku was Hariścandra. Hariścandra once performed a Rājasūya-yajña, but Viśvāmitra cunningly took all of Hariścandra's possessions as a dakṣiṇa contribution and chastised Hariścandra in various ways. Because of this, a quarrel arose between Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha. Hariścandra had no sons, but on the advice of Nārada he worshiped Varuṇa and in this way got a son named Rohita. Hariścandra promised that Rohita would be used to perform a Varuṇa-yajña.

SB 9.14.8, Translation:

When Lord Brahmā was fully informed by Aṅgirā about the entire incident, he severely chastised the moon-god, Soma. Thus Lord Brahmā delivered Tārā to her husband, who could then understand that she was pregnant.

SB 9.18 Summary:

Devayānī, being very angry, rebuked Śarmiṣṭhā, who also became very angry and responded by rebuking Devayānī and throwing her into a well. By chance, King Yayāti came to that well to drink water, and he found Devayānī and rescued her. Thus Devayānī accepted Mahārāja Yayāti as her husband. Thereafter, Devayānī, crying loudly, told her father about Śarmiṣṭhā's behavior. Upon hearing of this incident, Śukrācārya was very angry and wanted to chastise Vṛṣaparvā, Śarmiṣṭhā's father. Vṛṣaparvā, however, satisfied Śukrācārya by offering Śarmiṣṭhā as Devayānī's maidservant. Thus Śarmiṣṭhā, as the maidservant of Devayānī, also went to the house of Devayānī's husband. When Śarmiṣṭhā found her friend Devayānī with a son she also desired to have a son. Therefore, at the proper time for conception, she also requested Mahārāja Yayāti for sex. When Śarmiṣṭhā became pregnant also, Devayānī was very envious.

SB 9.18.26, Translation:

King Vṛṣaparvā understood that Śukrācārya was coming to chastise or curse him. Consequently, before Śukrācārya came to his house, Vṛṣaparvā went out and fell down in the street at the feet of his guru and satisfied him, checking his wrath.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.1 Summary:

The Ninth Chapter, which has twenty-three verses, describes how Kṛṣṇa disturbed His mother while she was churning butter. Because she left Kṛṣṇa to see to the stove, where the milk was boiling, and did not allow Him to suck her breast, Kṛṣṇa was very angry and broke a pot of yogurt. To chastise her naughty child, mother Yaśodā wanted to bind Him with rope, but every time she tried she failed because of a shortage of rope when the time came to knot it. In the Tenth Chapter there are forty-three verses. This chapter describes how Kṛṣṇa, as Dāmodara, caused the twin Yamalārjuna trees to fall and how the two demigods within the trees were delivered by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. In the Eleventh Chapter there are fifty-nine verses. This chapter describes how Nanda Mahārāja released Kṛṣṇa from the ropes, how Kṛṣṇa showed His mercy to a fruit seller while exchanging grains for fruit, and how Nanda Mahārāja and others decided to leave Gokula for Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṇa killed Vatsāsura and Bakāsura.

SB 10.1 Summary:

The Sixteenth Chapter contains sixty-seven verses. This chapter describes the chastisement of Kāliya by Kṛṣṇa, and it also describes the prayers offered by Kāliya's wives. In the Seventeenth Chapter there are twenty-five verses. This chapter describes why Kāliya entered the River Yamunā after leaving his home, Nāgālaya, one of the dvīpas, which according to some corresponds to the Fiji Islands. This chapter also describes how Garuḍa was cursed by Saubhari Ṛṣi, how the cowherd boys, Kṛṣṇa's friends, were enlivened when Kṛṣṇa emerged from the Yamunā, and how Kṛṣṇa stopped the forest fire and saved the sleeping inhabitants of Vraja.

SB 10.2.37, Purport:

Even though such a devotee is in a material body, he has nothing to do with this body, for he is transcendentally situated. Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati: because a devotee is engaged in transcendental activities, he is not afraid of being materially embodied. (SB 6.17.28) Illustrating this liberated position, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4) "All I want is Your causeless devotional service in My life, birth after birth." Even if a devotee, by the supreme will of the Lord, takes birth in this material world, he continues his devotional service. When King Bharata made a mistake and in his next life became a deer, his devotional service did not stop, although some slight chastisement was given to him because of his negligence. Nārada Muni says that even if one falls from the platform of devotional service, he is not lost, whereas nondevotees are lost entirely because they are not engaged in service.

SB 10.4.7, Translation:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Piteously embracing her daughter and crying, Devakī begged Kaṁsa for the child, but he was so cruel that he chastised her and forcibly snatched the child from her hands.

SB 10.4.35, Purport:

There are principles that govern even fighting. If an enemy has no chariot, is unmindful of the fighting art because of fear, or is unwilling to fight, he is not to be killed. Kaṁsa's ministers reminded Kaṁsa that despite his power, he was cognizant of the principles of fighting, and therefore he had excused the demigods because of their incapability. "But the present emergency," the ministers said, "is not intended for such mercy or military etiquette. Now you should prepare to fight under any circumstances." Thus they advised Kaṁsa to give up the traditional etiquette in fighting and chastise the enemy at any cost.

SB 10.7.37, Purport:

"In this way, to chastise and kill the demons, the child Kṛṣṇa demonstrated many activities in the house of Nanda Mahārāja, and the inhabitants of Vraja enjoyed these incidents."

evaṁ sa vavṛdhe viṣṇur
nanda-gehe janārdanaḥ
kurvann aniśam ānandaṁ
gopālānāṁ sa-yoṣitām

"To increase the transcendental pleasure of the gopas and the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa, the killer of all demons, was thus raised by His father and mother, Nanda and Yaśodā."

SB 10.8 Summary:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī next described how the two children crawled, walked on Their small legs, played with the cows and calves, stole butter and other milk products and broke the butter pots. In this way, he described many naughty activities of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. The most wonderful of these occurred when Kṛṣṇa's playmates complained to mother Yaśodā that Kṛṣṇa was eating earth. Mother Yaśodā wanted to open Kṛṣṇa's mouth to see the evidence so that she could chastise Him. Sometimes she assumed the position of a chastising mother, and at the next moment she was overwhelmed with maternal love. After describing all this to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, at Mahārāja Parīkṣit's request, praised the fortune of mother Yaśodā and Nanda. Nanda and Yaśodā were formerly Droṇa and Dharā, and by the order of Brahmā they came to this earth and had the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their son.

SB 10.8.31, Translation:

"When Kṛṣṇa is caught in His naughty activities, the master of the house will say to Him, 'Oh, You are a thief,' and artificially express anger at Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will then reply, 'I am not a thief. You are a thief.' Sometimes, being angry, Kṛṣṇa passes urine and stool in a neat, clean place in our houses. But now, our dear friend Yaśodā, this expert thief is sitting before you like a very good boy." Sometimes all the gopīs would look at Kṛṣṇa sitting there, His eyes fearful so that His mother would not chastise Him, and when they saw Kṛṣṇa's beautiful face, instead of chastising Him they would simply look upon His face and enjoy transcendental bliss. Mother Yaśodā would mildly smile at all this fun, and she would not want to chastise her blessed transcendental child.

SB 10.8.31, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa's business in the neighborhood was not only to steal but sometimes to pass stool and urine in a neat, clean house. When caught by the master of the house, Kṛṣṇa would chastise him, saying, "You are a thief." Aside from being a thief in His childhood affairs, Kṛṣṇa acted as an expert thief when He was young by attracting young girls and enjoying them in the rāsa dance. This is Kṛṣṇa's business. He is also violent, as the killer of many demons. Although mundane people like nonviolence and other such brilliant qualities, God, the Absolute Truth, being always the same, is good in any activities, even so-called immoral activities like stealing, killing and violence. Kṛṣṇa is always pure, and He is always the Supreme Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa may do anything supposedly abominable in material life, yet still He is attractive. Therefore His name is Kṛṣṇa, meaning "all-attractive." This is the platform on which transcendental loving affairs and service are exchanged. Because of the features of Kṛṣṇa's face, the mothers were so attracted that they could not chastise Him. Instead of chastising Him, they smiled and enjoyed hearing of Kṛṣṇa's activities. Thus the gopīs remained satisfied, and Kṛṣṇa enjoyed their happiness. Therefore another name of Kṛṣṇa is Gopī-jana-vallabha because He invented such activities to please the gopīs.

SB 10.8.32, Purport:

Here is another of Kṛṣṇa's transcendental activities invented to please the gopīs. First a complaint was lodged with mother Yaśodā about Kṛṣṇa's stealing, but mother Yaśodā did not chastise Him. Now, in an attempt to awaken mother Yaśodā's anger so that she would chastise Kṛṣṇa, another complaint was invented-that Kṛṣṇa had eaten earth.

SB 10.8.33, Translation:

Upon hearing this from Kṛṣṇa's playmates, mother Yaśodā, who was always full of anxiety over Kṛṣṇa's welfare, picked Kṛṣṇa up with her hands to look into His mouth and chastise Him. Her eyes fearful, she spoke to her son as follows.

SB 10.8.34, Purport:

Mother Yaśodā was agitated by Kṛṣṇa's restless misbehavior. Her house was full of sweetmeats. Why then should the restless boy eat dirt in a solitary place? Kṛṣṇa replied, "My dear mother, they have plotted together and lodged a complaint against Me so that you will punish Me. My elder brother, Balarāma, has joined them. Actually, I have not done this. Take My words as true. Do not be angry and chastise Me."

SB 10.9.8, Translation:

Kṛṣṇa, at that time, was sitting on an upside-down wooden mortar for grinding spices and was distributing milk preparations such as yogurt and butter to the monkeys as He liked. Because of having stolen, He was looking all around with great anxiety, suspecting that He might be chastised by His mother. Mother Yaśodā, upon seeing Him, very cautiously approached Him from behind.

SB 10.9.11, Translation:

When caught by mother Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa became more and more afraid and admitted to being an offender. As she looked upon Him, she saw that He was crying, His tears mixing with the black ointment around His eyes, and as He rubbed His eyes with His hands, He smeared the ointment all over His face. Mother Yaśodā, catching her beautiful son by the hand, mildly began to chastise Him.

SB 10.9.11, Purport:

Therefore, as we find in the history of Ajāmila, Yamarāja instructed his followers not even to approach the devotees, what to speak of capturing them. In other words, Yamarāja also fears Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's devotees. Yet this Kṛṣṇa became so dependent on mother Yaśodā that when she simply showed Kṛṣṇa the stick in her hand, Kṛṣṇa admitted to being an offender and began to cry like an ordinary child. Mother Yaśodā, of course, did not want to chastise her beloved child very much, and therefore she immediately threw her stick away and simply rebuked Kṛṣṇa, saying, "Now I shall bind You so that You cannot commit any further offensive activities. Nor for the time being can You play with Your playmates." This shows the position of a pure devotee, in contrast with others, like jñānīs, yogīs and the followers of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, in regarding the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth.

SB 10.9.12, Purport:

Mother Yaśodā wanted to bind Kṛṣṇa not in order to chastise Him but because she thought that the child was so restless that He might leave the house in fear. That would be another disturbance. Therefore, because of full affection, to stop Kṛṣṇa from leaving the house, she wanted to bind Him with rope. Mother Yaśodā wanted to impress upon Kṛṣṇa that since He was afraid merely to see her stick, He should not perform such disturbing activities as breaking the container of yogurt and butter and distributing its contents to the monkeys. Mother Yaśodā did not care to understand who Kṛṣṇa was and how His power spreads everywhere. This is an example of pure love for Kṛṣṇa.

SB 10.10.19, Purport:

When a sādhu chastises or punishes someone, he does not do so for revenge. Mahārāja Parīkṣit had inquired why Nārada Muni was subject to such a spirit of revenge (tamaḥ). But this was not tamaḥ, for Nārada Muni, in full knowledge of what was for the good of the two brothers, wisely thought of how to cure them. Vaiṣṇavas are good physicians. They know how to protect a person from material disease. Thus they are never in tamo-guṇa. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). Vaiṣṇavas are always situated on the transcendental platform, the Brahman platform. They cannot be subject to mistakes or the influence of the modes of material nature. Whatever they do, after full consideration, is meant just to lead everyone back home, back to Godhead.

SB 10.10.39, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa was smiling because He was thinking to Himself, "These two young demigods fell from the higher planetary system to this planet, and I have delivered them from the bondage of standing for a long time as trees, but as for Me, I am bound by the ropes of the gopīs and am subject to their chastisements." In other words, Kṛṣṇa submits to being chastised and bound by the gopīs because of pure love and affection worthy of being praised by a devotee in so many ways.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.16.2, Translation:

King Parīkṣit inquired: O learned sage, please explain how the Supreme Personality of Godhead chastised the serpent Kāliya within the unfathomable waters of the Yamunā, and how it was that Kāliya had been living there for so many ages.

SB 10.17.1, Translation:

(Having thus heard how Lord Kṛṣṇa chastised Kāliya,) King Parīkṣit inquired: Why did Kāliya leave Ramaṇaka Island, the abode of the serpents, and why did Garuḍa become so antagonistic toward him alone?

SB 10.17.13-14, Translation:

(Resuming his description of Kṛṣṇa's chastisement of Kāliya, Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:) Kṛṣṇa rose up out of the lake wearing divine garlands, fragrances and garments, covered with many fine jewels, and decorated with gold. When the cowherds saw Him they all stood up immediately, just like an unconscious person's senses coming back to life. Filled with great joy, they affectionately embraced Him.

SB 10.23.1, Translation:

The cowherd boys said: O Rāma, Rāma, mighty-armed one! O Kṛṣṇa, chastiser of the wicked ! We are being harassed by hunger, and You should do something about it.

SB 10.23.12, Translation:

When the brāhmaṇas failed to reply even with a simple yes or no, O chastiser of the enemy (Parīkṣit), the cowherd boys returned disappointed to Kṛṣṇa and Rāma and reported this to Them.

SB 10.23.30, Translation:

Our husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, other relatives and friends will no longer take us back, and how could anyone else be willing to give us shelter? Therefore, since we have thrown ourselves at Your lotus feet and have no other destination, please, O chastiser of enemies, grant our desire.

SB 10.26.12, Translation:

Kṛṣṇa chastised the most poisonous serpent, Kāliya, and after humbling him He drove him forcibly from the lake of the Yamunā. In this way the Lord made the water of that river free of the snake's powerful poison.

SB 10.43.1, Translation:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O chastiser of enemies, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, having executed all necessary purification, then heard the kettledrums resounding at the wrestling arena, and They went there to see what was happening.

SB 10.43.17, Translation:

The various groups of people in the arena regarded Kṛṣṇa in different ways when He entered it with His elder brother. The wrestlers saw Kṛṣṇa as a lightning bolt, the men of Mathurā as the best of males, the women as Cupid in person, the cowherd men as their relative, the impious rulers as a chastiser, His parents as their child, the King of the Bhojas as death, the unintelligent as the Supreme Lord's universal form, the yogīs as the Absolute Truth and the Vṛṣṇis as their supreme worshipable Deity.

SB 10.51.33, Translation:

The man who woke me was burned to ashes by the reaction of his sins. Just then I saw You, possessing a glorious appearance and the power to chastise Your enemies.

SB 11.19.28-32, Translation:

Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, O chastiser of the enemies, please tell me how many types of disciplinary regulations and regular daily duties there are. Also, my Lord, tell me what is mental equilibrium, what is self-control, and what is the actual meaning of tolerance and steadfastness. What are charity, austerity and heroism, and how are reality and truth to he described? What is renunciation, and what is wealth? What is desirable, what is sacrifice, and what is religious remuneration? My dear Keśava, O most fortunate one, how am I to understand the strength, opulence and profit of a particular person? What is the best education, what is actual humility, and what is real beauty? What are happiness and unhappiness? Who is learned, and who is a fool? What are the true and the false paths in life, and what are heaven and hell? Who is indeed a true friend, and what is one's real home? Who is a rich man, and who is a poor man? Who is wretched, and who is an actual controller? O Lord of the devotees, kindly explain these matters to me, along with their opposites.

SB 11.23.36, Translation:

Although he had taken a vow of silence, they would try to make him speak, and if he did not speak they would beat him with sticks. Others would chastise him, saying, "This man is just a thief." And others would bind him up with rope, shouting, "Tie him up! Tie him up!"

SB 12.12.31-33, Translation:

The chastisement of the serpent Kāliya; the rescue of Nanda Mahārāja from a great snake; the severe vows performed by the young gopīs, who thus satisfied Lord Kṛṣṇa; the mercy He showed the wives of the Vedic brāhmaṇas, who felt remorse; the lifting of Govardhana Hill followed by the worship and bathing ceremony performed by Indra and the Surabhi cow; Lord Kṛṣṇa's nocturnal pastimes with the cowherd girls; and the killing of the foolish demons Śaṅkhacūḍa, Ariṣṭa and Keśī—all these pastimes are elaborately recounted.

Page Title:Chastisement (BG and SB)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Mayapur, Rishab
Created:17 of Aug, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=6, SB=147, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:153