Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.17.14

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.17.14

jane 'nāgasy aghaḿ yuñjan

sarvato 'sya ca mad-bhayam

sādhūnāḿ bhadram eva syād

asādhu-damane kṛte

SYNONYMS

jane — to the living beings; anāgasi — those who are offenseless; agham — sufferings; yuñjan — by applying; sarvataḥ — anywhere and everywhere; asya — of such offenders; ca — and; mat-bhayam — fear me; sādhūnām — of the honest persons; bhadram — good fortune; eva — certainly; syāt — will take place; asādhu — dishonest miscreants; damane — curbed; kṛte — being so done.

TRANSLATION

Whoever causes offenseless living beings to suffer must fear me anywhere and everywhere in the world. By curbing dishonest miscreants, one automatically benefits the offenseless.

PURPORT

Dishonest miscreants flourish because of cowardly and impotent executive heads of state. But when the executive heads are strong enough to curb all sorts of dishonest miscreants, in any part of the state, certainly they cannot flourish. When the miscreants are punished in an exemplary manner, automatically all good fortune follows. As said before, it is the prime duty of the king or the executive head to give protection in all respects to the peaceful, offenseless citizens of the state. The devotees of the Lord are by nature peaceful and offenseless, and therefore it is the prime duty of the state to arrange to convert everyone to become a devotee of the Lord. Thus automatically there will be peaceful, offenseless citizens. Then the only duty of the king will be to curb the dishonest miscreants. That will bring about peace and harmony all over human society.