TEXT 42
suryo gnih kham marud devah
somah sandhyahani disah
kam kuh svayam dharma iti
hy ete daihyasya saksinah
SYNONYMS
suryahthe sun-god; agnihthe fire; khamthe sky; marutthe air; devahthe demigods; somahthe moon; sandhyaevening; ahanithe day and night; disahthe directions; kamthe water; kuhthe land; svayampersonally; dharmahYamaraja or the Supersoul; itithus; hiindeed; eteall of these; daihyasyaof a living entity embodied in the material elements; saksinahwitnesses.
TRANSLATION
The sun, fire, sky, air, demigods, moon, evening, day, night, directions, water, land and Supersoul Himself all witness the activities of the living entity.
PURPORT
The members of some religious sects, especially Christians, do not believe in the reactions of karma. We once had a discussion with a learned Christian professor who argued that although people are generally punished after the witnesses of their misdeeds are examined, where are the witnesses responsible for ones suffering the reactions of past karma? To such a person the answer by the Yamadutas is given here. A conditioned soul thinks that he is working stealthily and that no one can see his sinful activities, but we can understand from the sastras that there are many witnesses, including the sun, fire, sky, air, moon, demigods, evening, day, night, directions, water, land and the Supersoul Himself, who sits with the individual soul within his heart. Where is the dearth of witnesses? The witnesses and the Supreme Lord both exist, and therefore so many living entities are elevated to higher planetary systems or degraded to lower planetary systems, including the hellish planets. There are no discrepancies, for everything is arranged perfectly by the management of the Supreme God (svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca). The witnesses mentioned in this verse are also mentioned in other Vedic literatures:
aditya-candrav anilo nalas ca
dyaur bhumir apo hrdayam yamas ca
ahas ca ratris ca ubhe ca sandhye
dharmo pi janati narasya vrttam

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