Shloka 40
Pauṇḍraka’s False Vāsudeva Claim, His Death, and the Burning of Vārāṇasī by Sudarśana
कृत्यानल: प्रतिहत: स रथाङ्गपाणे- रस्त्रौजसा स नृप भग्नमुखो निवृत्त: । वाराणसीं परिसमेत्य सुदक्षिणं तं सर्त्विग्जनं समदहत् स्वकृतोऽभिचार: ॥ ४० ॥
kṛtyānalaḥ pratihataḥ sa rathānga-pāṇer astraujasā sa nṛpa bhagna-mukho nivṛttaḥ vārāṇasīṁ parisametya sudakṣiṇaṁ taṁ sartvig-janaṁ samadahat sva-kṛto ’bhicāraḥ
ఓ రాజా, రథాంగపాణి శ్రీకృష్ణుని అస్త్రబలానికి ప్రతిహతమై ఆ కృత్యానలము ముఖం తిప్పి వెనుదిరిగింది. హింసకై సృష్టించబడిన ఆ అభిచారాగ్ని వారాణసికి వెళ్లి సుదక్షిణుని మరియు అతని ఋత్వికులను చుట్టుముట్టి, తన సృష్టికర్తనే దహించి చంపింది.
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows: “Having failed to set fire to Dvārakā, the fiery demon went back to Vārāṇasī, the kingdom of Kāśirāja. As a result of his return, all the priests who had helped instruct the black art of mantras, along with their employer, Sudakṣiṇa, were burned into ashes by the glaring effulgence of the fiery demon. According to the methods of black-art mantras instructed in the tantra, if the mantra fails to kill the enemy, then, because it must kill someone, it kills the original creator. Sudakṣiṇa was the originator, and the priests assisted him; therefore all of them were burned to ashes. This is the way of the demons: the demons create something to kill God, but by the same weapon the demons themselves are killed.”
FAQs
This verse shows that hostile sorcery can be countered by the Lord’s divine power, and that such violence rebounds—burning those who performed and sponsored it, like Sudakṣiṇa and his priests.
Because Kṛṣṇa’s weapon-power repelled it, the kṛtyā could not harm its intended target and instead consumed its own creators—the ones who invoked it through abhicāra.
Malice and harmful schemes tend to return to the doer; instead of seeking to injure others, one should take shelter of dharma and cultivate devotion, trusting in divine protection.