Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.19.27
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyLet Scripture Restrain Anger
“When the priests and all the others saw Mahārāja Pṛthu very angry and prepared to kill Indra, they requested him: O great soul, do not kill him, for only sacrificial animals can be killed in a sacrifice. Such are the directions given by śāstra.”
What the purport teaches
- Seeing Pṛthu ready to kill Indra, the priests asked him to stop. They appealed to the directions of śāstra rather than his anger.
- The purport explains that sacrificial animal killing tested the proper pronunciation of Vedic mantras. The animal was meant to emerge from the fire with a new life.
- A sacrifice meant to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu was not a place to kill Indra. Indra was himself worshiped in the yajña and accepted as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Try this today
If anger arises today, pause before acting and reread the priests’ request for restraint.
Ask yourself
When I am angry, am I willing to accept correction grounded in scripture?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.