Cc. Madhya 24.250

Text

vyādha tumi, jīva māra—‘alpa’ aparādha tomāra
kadarthanā diyā māra’—e pāpa ‘apāra’

Synonyms

vyādha tumi—you are a hunter; jīva mara—your occupation is to kill animals; alpa—slight; aparadha—offense; tomara—your; kadarthanā diyā—unnecessarily giving them pain; mara—when you kill; e pāpa apara—this sinful activity is unlimited. ¶

Translation

“Nārada Muni continued, ‘My dear hunter, your business is killing animals. That is a slight offense on your part, but when you consciously give them unnecessary pain by leaving them half-dead, you incur very great sins.' ¶

Purport

This is another good instruction to animal killers. There are always animal killers and animal eaters in human society because less civilized people are accustomed to eating meat. In Vedic civilization, meat-eaters are advised to kill an animal for the goddess Kālī or a similar demigod. This is in order not to give the animal unnecessary pain, as slaughterhouses do. In the balidāna sacrifice to a demigod, it is recommended to cut the throat of an animal with one slice. This should be done on a dark-moon night, and the painful noises expressed by the animal at the time of being slaughtered are not to be heard by anyone. There are also many other restrictions. Slaughter is only allowed once a month, and the killer of the animal has to suffer similar pains in his next life. At the present moment, so-called civilized men do not sacrifice animals to a deity in a religious or ritualistic way. They openly kill animals daily by the thousands for no purpose other than the satisfaction of the tongue. Because of this the entire world is suffering in so many ways. Politicians are unnecessarily declaring war, and, according to the stringent laws of material nature, massacres are taking place between nations. ¶

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Bg. 3.27) The laws of prakṛti (nature) are very stringent. No one should think that he has the freedom to kill animals and not suffer the consequences. One cannot be safe by doing this. Nārada Muni herein says that animal killing is offensive, especially when animals are given unnecessary pain. Meat-eaters and animal killers are advised not to purchase meat from the slaughterhouse. They can worship Kālī once a month, kill some unimportant animal and eat it. Even by following this method, one is still an offender. ¶