Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 5
Indra’s Prayers and the Coronation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as Govinda
Govindābhiṣeka
कुतो नु तद्धेतव ईश तत्कृतालोभादयो येऽबुधलिङ्गभावा: । तथापि दण्डं भगवान् बिभर्तिधर्मस्य गुप्त्यै लनिग्रहाय ॥ ५ ॥
kuto nu tad-dhetava īśa tat-kṛtā lobhādayo ye ’budha-linga-bhāvāḥ tathāpi daṇḍaṁ bhagavān bibharti dharmasya guptyai khala-nigrahāya
How, then, could there exist in You the symptoms of an ignorant person — such as greed, lust, anger and envy — which are produced by one’s previous involvement in material existence and which cause one to become further entangled in material existence? And yet as the Supreme Lord You impose punishment to protect religious principles and curb down the wicked.
This complex philosophical statement by Indra may be analyzed as follows: In the first line of this verse, Indra refers to the main idea expressed at the end of the previous verse — namely, that the great currents of material existence, which are based on ignorance, cannot possibly exist within the Supreme Lord. The words tad-dhetavaḥ and tat-kṛtāḥ indicate that something causes the modes of nature to manifest, and that they in turn become the cause of that which caused them. In the second line of this verse, we find that it is material feelings such as greed, lust, envy and anger that cause the modes of nature to manifest and that are themselves caused by the modes of nature.
FAQs
This verse explains that even though vices like greed are symptoms of ignorance, the Lord still administers chastisement to protect dharma and to restrain and reform society.
Śukadeva highlights that divine punishment is not due to personal need or anger; it functions as protection of dharma and as moral regulation for living beings within the world’s order.
See discipline and consequences as corrective and dharma-protecting—meant to curb harmful impulses and guide behavior toward responsibility, humility, and devotion.