Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.4.43

śrī-śuka uvāca

evaḿ durmantribhiḥ kaḿsaḥ

saha sammantrya durmatiḥ

brahma-hiḿsāḿ hitaḿ mene

kāla-pāśāvṛto 'suraḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam — in this way; durmantribhiḥ — his bad ministers; kaḿsaḥ — King Kaḿsa; saha — along with; sammantrya — after considering very elaborately; durmatiḥ — without good intelligence; brahma-hiḿsām — persecution of the brāhmaṇas; hitam — as the best way; mene — accepted; kāla-pāśa-āvṛtaḥ — being bound by the rules and regulations of Yamarāja; asuraḥ — because he was a demon.

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thus, having considered the instructions of his bad ministers, Kaḿsa, who was bound by the laws of Yamarāja and devoid of good intelligence because he was a demon, decided to persecute the saintly persons, the brāhmaṇas, as the only way to achieve his own good fortune.

PURPORT

Śrīla Locana dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, āpana karama, bhuñjāye śamana, kahaye locana dāsa. Instead of taking good instructions from the sages and the śāstras, godless nondevotees act whimsically, according to their own plans. Actually, however, no one has his own plans because everyone is bound by the laws of nature and must act according to his tendency in material, conditional life. Therefore one must change one's own decision and follow the decision of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's devotees. Then one is rescued from punishment by Yamarāja. Kaḿsa was not uneducated. It appears from his talks with Vasudeva and Devakī that he knew all about the laws of nature. But because of his association with bad ministers, he could not make a clear decision about his welfare. Therefore the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.54) says:

'sādhu-sańga,' 'sādhu-sańga' — sarva-śāstre kaya

lava-mātra sādhu-saśge sarva-siddhi haya

If one desires his real welfare, he must associate with devotees and saintly persons and in this way rectify the material condition of his life.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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