Shloka 31
तस्य साधोरपापस्य भ्रूणस्य ब्रह्मवादिन: । कथं वधं यथा बभ्रोर्मन्यते सन्मतो भवान् ॥ ३१ ॥
tasya sādhor apāpasya bhrūṇasya brahma-vādinaḥ kathaṁ vadhaṁ yathā babhror manyate san-mato bhavān
You are well known and worshiped in learned circles. How dare you kill this brāhmaṇa, who is a saintly, sinless person, well versed in Vedic knowledge? Killing him would be like destroying the embryo within the womb or killing a cow.
As stated in the Amara-kośa dictionary, bhrūṇo ’rbhake bāla-garbhe: the word bhrūṇa refers either to the cow or to the living entity in embryo. According to Vedic culture, destroying the undeveloped embryo of the soul in the womb is as sinful as killing a cow or a brāhmaṇa. In the embryo, the living entity is present in an undeveloped stage. The modern scientific theory that life is a combination of chemicals is nonsense; scientists cannot manufacture living beings, even like those born from eggs. The idea that scientists can develop a chemical situation resembling that of an egg and bring life from it is nonsensical. Their theory that a chemical combination can have life may be accepted, but these rascals cannot create such a combination. This verse refers to bhrūṇasya vadham — the killing of a bhrūṇa or destruction of the embryo. Here is a challenge from the Vedic literature. The crude, atheistic understanding that the living entity is a combination of matter belongs to the grossest ignorance.
FAQs
This verse condemns the idea of killing a sinless embryo, especially one described as saintly and spiritually inclined, presenting it as adharma comparable to killing a helpless animal.
They argue from dharma: the embryo is described as apāpa (sinless) and brahma-vādī, so violence toward him is unjustifiable and unbecoming of one respected by saintly people.
It encourages compassion and restraint—especially toward the vulnerable—and urges decisions to be guided by dharma, reverence for spiritual potential, and nonviolence.