The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information - to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brahmana and to kill a cow

Expressions researched:
"The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information—to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brāhmaṇa and to kill a cow"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information—to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brāhmaṇa and to kill a cow. This is very abominable, punishful. Child, brāhmaṇa, cow and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction. They have to be protected.

750615 - Lecture SB 06.01.07 - Honolulu

Just like if you get one person, by force, get out from his apartment—he is not dying, of course, but still, it is criminal because you are forcing him to go out of the apartment. So that is the law of nature. You cannot force anyone to get out of the body. Then you are punishable.

So the punishments are different. So therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī is informing, na ced ihaivāpacitiṁ yathāṁhasaḥ. You have done something, sinful activity, and if you do not atone for it before your next death, kṛtasya kuryān mana-ukta-pāṇibhiḥ, the sinful activities which you have done with your body, with your mind, with your senses, that you have to atone for it. "Otherwise," dhruvaṁ sa vai pretya narakān upaiti, dhruvam, "surely he will get the different types of hellish condition of life," ye kīrtitā me, "as I have already described," bhavatas tigma-yātanāḥ, "before you how they are suffering." This is karma-kāṇḍa vicāra, means for one sinful activities, another pious activity, counteraction. But this will be discussed in the next verse, that prāyaścittam. Prāyaścitta means atonement. That is the next verse here:

tasmāt puraivāśv iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau

yateta mṛtyor avipadyatātmanā

doṣasya dṛṣṭvā guru-lāghavaṁ yathā

bhiṣak cikitseta rujāṁ nidānavit

(SB 6.1.8)

So according to degree of sinful activities. . . So degree. . . The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information—to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brāhmaṇa and to kill a cow. This is very abominable, punishful. Child, brāhmaṇa, cow and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction. They have to be protected. So this should be very carefully done. Strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnām (SB 1.4.25). Strī, they are considered either as innocent as the child or as innocent as the animal. So they should be given always protection. So here it is said that tasmāt puraiva āśu iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau. Very busy. We do not know when is, when we shall die. But we must know we have committed so many sinful activities; therefore before the next death, yateta mṛtyor avipadyatātmanā. Mṛtyu: we have to die. Before death, we have to make the atonement. "Otherwise," Parīkṣit Mahārāja. . . Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "as I have already described the different position of hellish condition of life, one has to suffer." And how it will be done? Doṣasya dṛṣṭvā lāghu. . . guru-lāghavaṁ yathā. There are degrees. The first degree sinful activity, I have already said.