Canto 9: Liberation

The Dynasties of the Sons of Manu

9.2.9

tam sasapa kulacaryah

krtagasam akamatah

na ksatra-bandhuh sudras tvam

karmana bhavitamuna

SYNONYMS

tam—him (Prsadhra); sasapa—cursed; kula-acaryah—the family priest, Vasistha; krta-agasam—because of committing the great sin of killing a cow; akamatah—although he did not want to do it; na—not; ksatra-bandhuh—the family member of a ksatriya; sudrah tvam—you have behaved like a sudra; karmana—therefore by your fruitive reaction; bhavita—you shall become a sudra; amuna—because of killing the cow.

TRANSLATION

Although Prsadhra had committed the sin unknowingly, his family priest, Vasistha, cursed him, saying, "In your next life you shall not be able to become a ksatriya.

Instead, you shall take birth as a sudra because of killing the cow."

PURPORT

It appears that Vasistha was not free from tamo-guna, the mode of ignorance.

As the family priest or spiritual master of Prsadhra, Vasistha should have taken Prsadhra’s offense very lightly, but instead Vasistha cursed him to become a sudra.

It is the duty of a family priest not to curse a disciple but to give him relief through the performance of some sort of atonement.

Vasistha, however, did just the opposite.

Therefore Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that he was durmati; in other words, his intelligence was not very good.