SB 12.3.36
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please note: The synonyms, translation and purport of this verse were composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TEXT 36
- patiṁ tyakṣyanti nirdravyaṁ
- bhṛtyā apy akhilottamam
- bhṛtyaṁ vipannaṁ patayaḥ
- kaulaṁ gāś cāpayasvinīḥ
SYNONYMS
patim — a master; tyakṣyanti — they will abandon; nirdravyam — lacking property; bhṛtyāḥ — servants; api — even; akhila-uttamam — most excellent in personal qualities; bhṛtyam — a servant; vipannam — incapacitated; patayaḥ — masters; kaulam — belonging to the family for generations; gāḥ — cows; ca — and; apayasvinīḥ — which have stopped giving milk.
Translation and purport composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TRANSLATION
Servants will abandon a master who has lost his wealth, even if that master is a saintly person of exemplary character. Masters will abandon an incapacitated servant, even if that servant has been in the family for generations. Cows will be abandoned or killed when they stop giving milk.
PURPORT
In India, the cow is considered sacred not because Indian people are primitive worshipers of mythological totems but because Hindus intelligently understand that the cow is a mother. As children, nearly all of us were nourished with cow's milk, and therefore the cow is one of our mothers. Certainly one's mother is sacred, and therefore we should not kill the sacred cow.