Shloka 5
Parīkṣit Confronts Kali; Dharma and Bhūmi Lament Kṛṣṇa’s Departure
शौनक उवाच कस्य हेतोर्निजग्राह कलिं दिग्विजये नृप: । नृदेवचिह्नधृक्शूद्रकोऽसौ गां य: पदाहनत् । तत्कथ्यतां महाभाग यदि कृष्णकथाश्रयम् ॥ ५ ॥
śaunaka uvāca kasya hetor nijagrāha kaliṁ digvijaye nṛpaḥ nṛdeva-cihna-dhṛk śūdra- ko ’sau gāṁ yaḥ padāhanat tat kathyatāṁ mahā-bhāga yadi kṛṣṇa-kathāśrayam
శౌనక ఋషి అడిగాడు—దిగ్విజయ సమయంలో రాజు కలిని ఏ కారణంతో పట్టుకున్నాడు? రాజచిహ్నాలు ధరించిన శూద్రాధముడైన వాడు ఆవు కాళ్లపై ప్రహారం చేశాడు. మహాభాగ! ఇది శ్రీకృష్ణకథకు సంబంధించినదైతే, దయచేసి అన్నిటినీ వివరించండి.
Śaunaka and the ṛṣis were astonished to hear that the pious Mahārāja Parīkṣit simply punished the culprit and did not kill him. This suggests that a pious king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit should have at once killed an offender who wanted to cheat the public by dressing like a king and at the same time daring to insult the purest of the animals, a cow. The ṛṣis in those days, however, could not even imagine that in the advanced days of the Age of Kali the lowest of the śūdras will be elected as administrators and will open organized slaughterhouses for killing cows. Anyway, although hearing about a śūdraka who was a cheat and insulter of a cow was not very interesting to the great ṛṣis, they nevertheless wanted to hear about it to see if the event had any connection with Lord Kṛṣṇa. They were simply interested in the topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa, for anything that is dovetailed with the narration of Kṛṣṇa is worth hearing. There are many topics in the Bhāgavatam about sociology, politics, economics, cultural affairs, etc., but all of them are in relation with Kṛṣṇa, and therefore all of them are worth hearing. Kṛṣṇa is the purifying ingredient in all matters, regardless of what they are. In the mundane world, everything is impure due to its being a product of the three mundane qualities. The purifying agent, however, is Kṛṣṇa.
FAQs
This verse frames Śaunaka’s inquiry: Parīkṣit arrested Kali because Kali was behaving irreligiously—disguised with royal insignia and harming the cow (a symbol of dharma).
Śaunaka requests the narration because it is “kṛṣṇa-kathā-āśraya”—connected to Kṛṣṇa’s message and the Bhagavatam’s devotional purpose, so it is spiritually beneficial to hear.
Do not tolerate hypocrisy and harm done in the name of authority; protect dharma (truth, compassion, purity) and seek guidance through Kṛṣṇa-centered hearing (kṛṣṇa-kathā).