SB 1.7.16 (1964)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 16
- Tada suchas te prvmrijami bhadre
- Jad brahmabandhuh sira atatayinah
- Gandiv amuktair vishikhair rupahare
- Twa, akramya yat snasyasi dagdhaputra
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Yada—at that time only, Suchas—tears in grief, Te—your, Pramrijami—shall wipe out, Bhadre—oh the gentle lady, Jad—when, Brahmabandho—of the one who is degraded amongst the Brahmins, Sira—head, Atatayinash—of the aggressor, Gandivamuktair—shooted by the bow named Gandiva, Vish khair—by the arrows, Upahare—shall present to you, Twa—yourself, Akramya—riding on it, Yat—which, Snasyasi—take your bath, Dagdhaputra—after burning the sons.
TRANSLATION
Oh gentle lady when I shall bring about the head of the Brahmin after beheading him with arrows of my Gandiva bow and shall present it before you, at that time only I shall wipe out your tears in the eyes in order to pacify you and you can tako bath standing on it after burning your sons' body.
PURPORT
An enemy, who sets fire in the house, administers poison for eating, attacks all of a sudden with sharpened weapons, and plunders away wealth or usurps agricultural fields and entices one's wife is called an aggressor. Such aggressor though he may be a brahmin or the so called son of a Brahmin, has to be punished in all circumstances. When Arjuna promised to behead such aggressor namely Aswatthama he knew it well that Aswatthama was a son of Brahmin but because the so-called Brahmin acted like a butcher, he was taken as such and there was no question of sin for killing such a Brahmin's son who proved to be a villain.