SB 4.14.46

SB 4.14.46

Devanagari

तस्य वंश्यास्तु नैषादा गिरिकाननगोचरा: । येनाहरज्जायमानो वेनकल्मषमुल्बणम् ॥ ४६ ॥

Verse text

tasya vaṁśyās tu naiṣādā giri-kānana-gocarāḥ yenāharaj jāyamāno vena-kalmaṣam ulbaṇam

Synonyms

tasya his (Niṣāda’s) ; vaṁśyāḥ descendants ; tu then ; naiṣādāḥ called Naiṣādas ; giri kānana — the hills and forests ; gocarāḥ inhabiting ; yena because ; aharat he took upon himself ; jāyamānaḥ being born ; vena of King Vena ; kalmaṣam all kinds of sin ; ulbaṇam very fearful .

Translation

After his [Niṣāda’s] birth, he immediately took charge of all the resultant actions of King Vena’s sinful activities. As such, this Naiṣāda class are always engaged in sinful activities like stealing, plundering and hunting. Consequently they are only allowed to live in the hills and forests.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Because accepting the terrible sins of Vena on being born, his descendents, the Naiṣādas, inhabit the mountains and forests. By being born and taking the sins of Vena, he took low birth as a Niṣāda, and his descendents the Naiṣādas were very low in birth. Thus ends the commentary on the Fourteenth Chapter of the Fourth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas. Chapter Fifteen The Appearance of Pṛthu

Purport

The Naiṣādas are not allowed to live in cities and towns because they are sinful by nature. As such, their bodies are very ugly, and their occupations are also sinful. We should, however, know that even these sinful men (who are sometimes called Kirātas) can be delivered from their sinful condition to the topmost Vaiṣṇava platform by the mercy of a pure devotee. Engagement in the transcendental loving devotional service of the Lord can make anyone, however sinful he may be, fit to return home, back to Godhead. One has only to become free from all contamination by the process of devotional service. In this way everyone can become fit to return home, back to Godhead. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.32) : māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim “O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter of Me, though they be of lower birth — women, vaiśyas [merchants] as well as śūdras [workers] — can approach the supreme destination.” Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Story of King Vena.”