Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 24
Nārāyaṇa’s Impartiality, Absorption in Kṛṣṇa, and the Jaya–Vijaya Descent
Prelude to Prahlāda’s History
हिंसा तदभिमानेन दण्डपारुष्ययोर्यथा । वैषम्यमिह भूतानां ममाहमिति पार्थिव ॥ २४ ॥
hiṁsā tad-abhimānena daṇḍa-pāruṣyayor yathā vaiṣamyam iha bhūtānāṁ mamāham iti pārthiva
My dear King, the conditioned soul, being in the bodily conception of life, considers his body to be his self and considers everything in relationship with the body to be his. Because he has this wrong conception of life, he is subjected to dualities like praise and chastisement.
Only when a conditioned soul accepts the body as himself does he feel the effects of chastisement or praise. Then he determines one person to be his enemy and another his friend and wants to chastise the enemy and welcome the friend. This creation of friends and enemies is a result of one’s bodily conception of life.
FAQs
This verse says violence arises from false identification with the body and ego, which expresses as harshness and punitive behavior.
In Canto 7 Chapter 1, Śukadeva explains the Lord’s impartiality and shows that perceived inequality and hostility among beings come from the egoistic sense of “I” and “mine,” not from God.
Reduce possessiveness and ego-driven identity (status, tribe, body), and practice equal vision toward others; this directly weakens anger, cruelty, and divisiveness.