SB 10.64.34
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please note: The synonyms, translation and purport of this verse were composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TEXT 34
- hinasti viṣam attāraṁ
- vahnir adbhiḥ praśāmyati
- kulaṁ sa-mūlaṁ dahati
- brahma-svāraṇi-pāvakaḥ
SYNONYMS
hinasti — destroys; viṣam — poison; attāram — the one who ingests; vahniḥ — fire; adbhiḥ — with water; praśāmyati — is extinguished; kulam — one's family; sa-mūlam — to the root; dahati — burns; brahma-sva — a brāhmaṇa's property; araṇi — whose kindling wood; pāvakaḥ — the fire.
Translation and purport composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TRANSLATION
Poison kills only the person who ingests it, and an ordinary fire may be extinguished with water. But the fire generated from the kindling wood of a brāhmaṇa's property burns the thief's entire family down to the root.
PURPORT
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī compares the fire ignited by stealing a brāhmaṇa's property to the fire that blazes within the cavity of an old tree. Such a fire cannot be put out even with the water of numerous rainfalls. Rather, it burns the whole tree from within, all the way down to the roots in the ground. Similarly, the fire ignited by stealing a brāhmaṇa's property is the most deadly and should be avoided at all costs.