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 Kāliya said: The punishment this offender has received is surely just, for You descend into this world to restrain the envious and the cruel. You look with equal vision upon enemies and upon Your own sons, and when You chastise a living being You know it to be a result meant for his ultimate good.
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.