मृगान्निघ्नन्ति तानपि सम्परेतान्लक्ष्यभूतान् य मपुरुषा इषुभिर्विध्यन्ति ॥२४॥
ye tv iha vai Å›va-gardabha-patayo brÄhmaṇÄdayo má¹›gayÄ vihÄrÄ atÄ«rthe ca má¹›gÄn nighnanti tÄn api samparetÄn laká¹£ya-bhÅ«tÄn yama-puruá¹£Ä iá¹£ubhir vidhyanti
ye - those who; tu - but; iha - in this life; vai - or; Å›va - of dogs; gardabha - and asses; patayaḥ - maintainers; brÄhmaṇa-Ädayaḥ - brÄhmaṇas, ká¹£atriyas and vaiÅ›yas; má¹›gayÄ vihÄrÄḥ - taking pleasure in hunting animals in the forest; atÄ«rthe - other than prescribed; ca - also; má¹›gÄn - animals; nighnanti - kill; tÄn - them; api - indeed; samparetÄn - having died; laká¹£ya-bhÅ«tÄn - becoming the targets; yama-puruá¹£Äḥ - the assistants of YamarÄja; iá¹£ubhiḥ - by arrows; vidhyanti - pierce.
If in this life a man of the higher classes [brÄhmaṇa, ká¹£atriya and vaiÅ›ya] is very fond of taking his pet dogs, mules or asses into the forest to hunt and kill animals unnecessarily, he is placed after death into the hell known as PrÄṇarodha. There the assistants of YamarÄja make him their targets and pierce him with arrows.
In the Western countries especially, aristocrats keep dogs and horses to hunt animals in the forest. Whether in the West or the East, aristocratic men in the Kali-yuga adopt the fashion of going to the forest and unnecessarily killing animals. Men of the higher classes (the brÄhmaṇas, ká¹£atriyas and vaiÅ›yas) should cultivate knowledge of Brahman, and they should also give the śūdras a chance to come to that platform. If instead they indulge in hunting, they are punished as described in this verse. Not only are they pierced with arrows by the agents of YamarÄja, but they are also put into the ocean of pus, urine and stool described in the previous verse.
