TEXT 24
ye tv iha vai sva-gardabha-patayo brahmanadayo mrgaya vihara atirthe ca mrgan nighnanti tan api samparetal laksya-bhutan yama-purusa isubhir vidhyanti.
SYNONYMS
yethose who; tubut; ihain this life; vaior; svaof dogs; gardabhaand asses; patayahmaintainers; brahmana-adayahbrahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas; mrgaya viharahtaking pleasure in hunting animals in the forest; atirtheother than prescribed; caalso; mrgananimals; nighnantikill; tanthem; apiindeed; samparetanhaving died; laksya-bhutanbecoming the targets; yama-purusahthe assistants of Yamaraja; isubhihby arrows; vidhyantipierce.
TRANSLATION
If in this life a man of the higher classes [brahmana, ksatriya and vaisya] is very fond of taking his pet dogs, mules or asses into the forest to hunt and kill animals unnecessarily, he is placed after death into the hell known as Pranarodha. There the assistants of Yamaraja make him their targets and pierce him with arrows.
PURPORT
In the Western countries especially, aristocrats keep dogs and horses to hunt animals in the forest. Whether in the West or the East, aristocratic men in the Kali-yuga adopt the fashion of going to the forest and unnecessarily killing animals. Men of the higher classes (the brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas) should cultivate knowledge of Brahman, and they should also give the sudras a chance to come to that platform. If instead they indulge in hunting, they are punished as described in this verse. Not only are they pierced with arrows by the agents of Yamaraja, but they are also put into the ocean of pus, urine and stool described in the previous verse.
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