Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 33
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
नागपत्न्य ऊचु: न्याय्यो हि दण्ड: कृतकिल्बिषेऽस्मिं- स्तवावतार: खलनिग्रहाय । रिपो: सुतानामपि तुल्यदृष्टि- र्धत्से दमं फलमेवानुशंसन् ॥ ३३ ॥
nāga-patnya ūcuḥ nyāyyo hi daṇḍaḥ kṛta-kilbiṣe ’smiṁs tavāvatāraḥ khala-nigrahāya ripoḥ sutānām api tulya-dṛṣṭir dhatse damaṁ phalam evānuśaṁsan
The wives of the Kāliya serpent said: The punishment this offender has been subjected to is certainly just. After all, You have incarnated within this world to curb down envious and cruel persons. You are so impartial that You look equally upon Your enemies and Your own sons, for when You impose a punishment on a living being You know it to be for his ultimate benefit.
FAQs
This verse explains that Krishna’s chastisement is not mere retribution: by disciplining the sinful, He both restrains evil and grants the appropriate karmic result, thereby instructing and ultimately benefiting the soul.
In the Kaliya-damana episode, they plead for their husband after Krishna subdues him, acknowledging that punishment is deserved yet appealing to Krishna’s equal vision and compassionate nature toward even an enemy’s family.
Accept consequences and corrective discipline as opportunities for learning and purification—responding with humility and reform rather than resentment, seeing correction as a pathway to growth.