Shloka 40
Prāyaścitta, the ‘Elephant Bath’ Problem, and the Opening of Ajāmila-Upākhyāna
यमदूता ऊचु: वेदप्रणिहितो धर्मो ह्यधर्मस्तद्विपर्यय: । वेदो नारायण: साक्षात्स्वयम्भूरिति शुश्रुम ॥ ४० ॥
yamadūtā ūcuḥ veda-praṇihito dharmo hy adharmas tad-viparyayaḥ vedo nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣāt svayambhūr iti śuśruma
యమదూతలు పలికిరి—వేదములు నిర్దేశించినదే ధర్మము; దానికి విరుద్ధమైనదే అధర్మము. వేదము సాక్షాత్తు నారాయణుడే, స్వయంభువని మేము యమరాజుని నుండి వినియున్నాము.
The servants of Yamarāja replied quite properly. They did not manufacture principles of religion or irreligion. Instead, they explained what they had heard from the authority Yamarāja. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ: one should follow the mahājana, the authorized person. Yamarāja is one of twelve authorities. Therefore the servants of Yamarāja, the Yamadūtas, replied with perfect clarity when they said śuśruma (“we have heard”). The members of modern civilization manufacture defective religious principles through speculative concoction. This is not dharma. They do not know what is dharma and what is adharma. Therefore, as stated in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra: dharma not supported by the Vedas is rejected from śrīmad-bhāgavata-dharma. Bhāgavata-dharma comprises only that which is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhāgavata-dharma is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: one must accept the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender to Him and whatever He says. That is dharma. Arjuna, for example, thinking that violence was adharma, was declining to fight, but Kṛṣṇa urged him to fight. Arjuna abided by the orders of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore he is actually a dharmī because the order of Kṛṣṇa is dharma. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) , vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: “The real purpose of veda, knowledge, is to know Me.” One who knows Kṛṣṇa perfectly is liberated. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9) :
FAQs
In this verse, the Yamadūtas state that true dharma is what the Vedas prescribe, and adharma is what contradicts Vedic injunctions—affirming the Veda as the standard of religious law.
They emphasize the supreme authority of Vedic law by declaring it non-different from Nārāyaṇa, and noting that it is heard as coming through Svayambhū (Brahmā), the primary empowered receiver of Vedic knowledge.
Use revealed guidance as your moral compass: align choices with scriptural principles (truthfulness, compassion, purity, responsibility) and avoid actions that directly oppose them.