SB 4.17.22 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

पृथुरुवाच वसुधे त्वां वधिष्यामि मच्छासनपराङ्‍मुखीम् । भागं बर्हिषि या वृङ्क्ते न तनोति च नो वसु ॥ २२ ॥

Verse text

pṛthur uvāca vasudhe tvāṁ vadhiṣyāmi mac-chāsana-parāṅ-mukhīm bhāgaṁ barhiṣi yā vṛṅkte na tanoti ca no vasu

Synonyms

pṛthuḥ uvāca — King Pṛthu replied ; vasu — dhe — my dear earthly planet ; tvām — you ; vadhiṣyāmi — I shall kill ; mat — my ; śāsana — rulings ; parāk — mukhīm — disobedient to ; bhāgam — your share ; barhiṣi — in the yajṣa ; yā — who ; vṛṅkte — accepts ; na — not ; tanoti — does deliver ; ca — and ; naḥ — to us ; vasu — produce .

Translation

King Pṛthu replied to the earthly planet: My dear earth, you have disobeyed my orders and rulings. In the form of a demigod you accepted your share of the yajṣas we performed, but in return you have not produced sufficient food grains. For this reason I must kill you.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Pṛthu said: O earth, holder of wealth! I will kill you, who are disobeying my orders. You accepted your share in the sacrifice, but did not bestow wealth to us! In the sacrifice (barhiṣi) you, as a devatā, accepted your share. You did not give wealth etc. (vasu).

Purport

The cow-shaped earthly planet submitted that she not only was a woman, but was innocent and sinless as well. Thus she argued that she should not be killed. Besides, she pointed out that being perfectly religious-minded, the King could not violate the religious principles that forbade killing a woman. In reply, Mahārāja Pṛthu informed her that first of all she had disobeyed his orders. This was her first sinful activity. Secondly he accused her of taking her share of the yajṣas (sacrifices) but not producing sufficient food grains in return.