Canto 6: Prescribed Duties for Mankind | Chapter 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.9.7
bhūmis turīyaḿ jagrāha
khāta-pūra-vareṇa vai
īriṇaḿ brahma-hatyāyā
rūpaḿ bhūmau pradṛśyate
SYNONYMS
bhūmiḥ — the earth; turīyam — one fourth; jagrāha — accepted; khāta-pūra — of the filling of holes; vareṇa — because of the benediction; vai — indeed; īriṇam — the deserts; brahma-hatyāyāḥ — of the reaction for killing a brāhmaṇa; rūpam — form; bhūmau — on the earth; pradṛśyate — is visible.
TRANSLATION
In return for King Indra's benediction that ditches in the earth would be filled automatically, the land accepted one fourth of the sinful reactions for killing a brāhmaṇa. Because of those sinful reactions, we find many deserts on the surface of the earth.
PURPORT
Because deserts are manifestations of the earth's diseased condition, no auspicious ritualistic ceremony can be performed in a desert. Persons destined to live in deserts are understood to be sharing the reactions for the sin of brahma-hatyā, the killing of a brāhmaṇa.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness