Devanagari
पुरञ्जन उवाच
नूनं त्वकृतपुण्यास्ते भृत्या येष्वीश्वरा: शुभे ।
कृताग:स्वात्मसात्कृत्वा शिक्षादण्डं न युञ्जते ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
puraṣjana uvāca
nūnaṁ tv akṛta-puṇyās te
bhṛtyā yeṣv īśvarāḥ śubhe
kṛtāgaḥsv ātmasāt kṛtvā
śikṣā-daṇḍaṁ na yuṣjate
Synonyms
puraṣjanaḥ uvāca
—
Puraṣjana said
;
nūnam
—
certainly
;
tu
—
then
;
akṛta
—
puṇyāḥ — those who are not pious
;
te
—
such
;
bhṛtyāḥ
—
servants
;
yeṣu
—
unto whom
;
īśvarāḥ
—
the masters
;
śubhe
—
O most auspicious one
;
kṛta
—
āgaḥsu — having committed an offense
;
ātmasāt
—
accepting as their own
;
kṛtvā
—
doing so
;
śikṣā
—
instructive
;
daṇḍam
—
punishment
;
na yuṣjate
—
do not give .
Translation
King Puraṣjana said: My dear beautiful wife, when a master accepts a servant as his own man, but does not punish him for his offenses, the servant must be considered unfortunate.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Puraṣjana said: Auspicious woman! If a master does not punish his servant to instruct him when the servant commits sin, because he considers the servant as a dependent, the servant should be considered unfortunate.
Dear wife! You have punished me by your anger. That is your mercy to teach this foolish servant who has committed offense. I will never give up in this life. He says this in two verses by introducing general principles. Considering the servant to be dependent on him (ātmasāt kṛtvā), the master does not punish the servant in order to teach him. That servant is unfortunate. Those who get punished are fortunate. I have been punished, and consider myself fortunate. On the spiritual level, the devotee thinks “Though I am reformed now, it is difficult to bear the public criticism and dissatisfaction in my heart caused by those temporary sinful acts. The Supreme Lord himself has punished me to teach me. I will not give up proper intelligence again in this life.” He addresses the intelligence by his mind in two verses.
Purport
According to Vedic civilization, domestic animals and servants are treated exactly like one’s own children. Animals and children are sometimes punished not out of vengeance but out of love. Similarly, a master sometimes punishes his servant, not out of vengeance but out of love, to correct him and bring him to the right point. Thus King Puraṣjana took his punishment dealt by his wife, the Queen, as mercy upon him. He considered himself the most obedient servant of the Queen. She was angry at him for his sinful activities, namely hunting in the forest and leaving her at home. King Puraṣjana accepted the punishment as actual love and affection from his wife. In the same way, when a person is punished by the laws of nature, by the will of God, he should not be disturbed. A real devotee thinks in this way. When a devotee is put into an awkward position, he takes it as the mercy of the Supreme Lord:
tat te ’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo
bhuṣjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
(
Bhāg.
10.14.8
)
This verse states that the devotee accepts a reversal of his position in life as a benediction by the Lord and consequently offers the Lord more obeisances and prayers, thinking that the punishment is due to his past misdeeds and that the Lord is punishing him very mildly. The punishment awarded by the state or by God for one’s own faults is actually for one’s benefit. In the
Manu-saṁhitā
it is said that the King should be considered merciful when he condemns a murderer to death because a murderer punished in this life becomes freed from his sinful activity and in the next life takes birth cleared of all sins. If one accepts punishment as a reward dealt by the master, he becomes intelligent enough not to commit the same mistake again.