śrī-śuka uvāca
dharma-vyatikramo dṛṣṭa
īśvarāṇāḿ ca sāhasam
tejīyasāḿ na doṣāya
vahneḥ sarva-bhujo yathā
sri-sukah uvaca -- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; dharma-vyatikramah -- the transgression of religious or moral principles; drishtah -- seen; isvaranam -- of powerful controllers; ca -- even; sahasam -- due to audacity; tejiyasam -- who are spiritually potent; na -- does not; doshaya -- (lead) to any fault; vahneh -- of fire; sarva -- everything; bhujah -- devouring; yatha -- as.
Sukadeva Gosvami said: The status of powerful controllers is not harmed by any apparently audacious transgression of morality we may see in them, for they are just like fire, which devours everything fed into it and remains unpolluted.
Great, potent personalities are not ruined by an apparent transgression of moral principles. Sridhara Svami mentions the examples of Brahma Indra, Soma, Visvamitra and others. A fire devours all that is fed into it but the fire does not change its nature. Similarly, a great personality does not fall from his position by an irregularity in behavior. In the following verse, however, Sukadeva Gosvami makes it clear that if we try to imitate the great personalities ruling the universe, the result will be catastrophic.
