SB 10.78.31 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अजानतैवाचरितस्त्वया ब्रह्मवधो यथा । योगेश्वरस्य भवतो नाम्नायोऽपि नियामक: ॥ ३१ ॥ यद्येतद् ब्रह्महत्याया: पावनं लोकपावन । चरिष्यति भवाँल्ल‍ोकसङ्ग्रहोऽनन्यचोदित: ॥ ३२ ॥

Verse text

ajānataivācaritas tvayā brahma-vadho yathā yogeśvarasya bhavato nāmnāyo ’pi niyāmakaḥ yady etad-brahma-hatyāyāḥ pāvanaṁ loka-pāvana cariṣyati bhavāḻ loka- saṅgraho ’nanya-coditaḥ

Synonyms

ajānatā — not knowing ; eva — only ; ācaritaḥ — done ; tvayā — by You ; brahma — of a brāhmaṇa ; vadhaḥ — the killing ; yathā — actually ; yoga — of mystic power ; īśvarasya — for the Lord ; bhavataḥ — Yourself ; na — not ; āmnāyaḥ — scriptural injunction ; api — even ; niyāmakaḥ — regulator ; yadi — if ; etat — for this ; brahma — of a brāhmaṇa ; hatyāyāḥ — killing ; pāvanam — purifying atonement ; loka — of the world ; pāvana — O purifier ; cariṣyati — executes ; bhavān — Your good self ; loka — saṅgrahaḥ — benefit for the people in general ; ananya — by no one else ; coditaḥ — impelled .

Translation

“You have unknowingly killed a brāhmaṇa. Of course, even the injunctions of revealed scripture cannot dictate to You, the Lord of all mystic power. But if by Your own free will You nonetheless carry out the prescribed purification for this slaying of a brāhmaṇa, O purifier of the whole world, people in general will greatly benefit by Your example.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"You have unknowingly killed a brāhmaṇa. Of course, even the injunctions of revealed scripture cannot dictate to You, the Lord of all mystic power. But if by Your own free will You nonetheless carry out the prescribed purification for this slaying of a brāhmaṇa, O purifier of the whole world, people in general will greatly benefit by Your example." KB 10.78.31-32 “Under the circumstances, since Your Lordship has killed him without knowing all these facts, we think that Your action is equal to killing a brāhmaṇa. Dear Lord, deliverer of all fallen souls, we know for certain that You are the knower of all Vedic principles. You are the master of all mystic powers; therefore the Vedic injunctions cannot ordinarily be applied to You. But we respectfully advise You to show Your causeless mercy upon others by kindly atoning for this killing of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta. We do not, however, suggest what kind of act You should perform to atone for killing him; we simply suggest that You adopt some method of atonement so that others may follow Your action. What is done by a great personality is followed by the ordinary man.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Just as an ignorant man may act, you have acted, but for you there is not possibility of sinful intention because you are the master of yoga. If you do some purification for killing the brahmana, it is just to teach the common people and nothing more, because you are self appointed ( ananya coditah).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Though it done without considering all aspects (ajanatā), it is like killing a brāhmaṇa. But it is not killing a brāhmaṇa. But you are not under the control of scriptures since you are the Lord of yoga. But if your feel inspired, not by others, but by yourself as the Lord, or if you are completely inspired, then you should purify yourself to teach the world, for by maintaining dharma you purify the world (loka-pāvana).

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

You have done something similar (yathā) to killing a brāhmaṇa. Or he has been rightly killed, since we gave him the seat of brāhmaṇa. As the supreme Lord (yogeśvarasya) you are beyond the rules of scripture. O purifier of the worlds! Even the most sinful are purified just by chanting your name. What is the need of atonement for you? You are not forced by others, since you do not have to do atonement or as supreme Lord you are not directed by others.