Text 43
śrī-śuka uvāca
evaṁ durmantribhiḥ kaṁsaḥ
saha sammantrya durmatiḥ
brahma-hiṁsāṁ hitaṁ mene
kāla-pāśāvṛto ’suraḥ
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam — in this way; durmantribhiḥ — his bad ministers; kaṁsaḥ — King Kaṁsa; saha — along with; sammantrya — after considering very elaborately; durmatiḥ — without good intelligence; brahma-hiṁsām — 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.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thus, having considered the instructions of his bad ministers, Kaṁsa, 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.
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. Kaṁsa 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-saṅga,’ ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge 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.