True devotion demands both obedience to Krishna and compassionate wisdom to consider consequences affecting the innocent.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
SaUTa ovac Wv& Parq+aTaa DaMa| PaaQaR" k*-Z<aeNa caeidTa" ) NaEC^ṬNTau& GauṛSauTa& YaÛPYaaTMahNa& MahaNa( )) 40 )) Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [chants verse] sūta uvāca evaṁ parīkṣatā dharmaṁ pārthaḥ kṛṣṇena coditaḥ naicchad dhantuṁ guru-sutaṁ yadyapy ātma-hanaṁ mahān [SB 1.7.40] [02:21] Translation: "Sūta Gosvāmī said: Despite being instructed in his duty and encouraged to kill the son of Droṇācārya, Arjuna, a great soul, did not like the idea of killing him, although he was a heinous murderer of his family members." [break]
Prabhupāda: sūta uvāca evaṁ parīkṣatā dharmaṁ pārthaḥ kṛṣṇena coditaḥ naicchad dhantuṁ guru-sutaṁ yadyapy ātma-hanaṁ mahān [SB 1.7.40] So Kṛṣṇa, as impartial observer, He advised Arjuna to kill Aśvatthāmā on the ground of so many offenses. He was also trying to see how Arjuna decides. But Arjuna's decision was very right. Arjuna's decision was right because, naicchad dhantuṁ guru-sutam.
He thought that "Although Aśvatthāmā is criminal, he should be killed, but I am going to kill him on account of my sons' or our sons' being killed by him. We are so much aggrieved. So if I kill Aśvatthāmā, then his mother is there. She would be very much unhappy." For the sake of spiritual master, teacher...
Droṇācārya was dead in the fight, but his wife was living. So Arjuna and Draupadī, considering the grief of the wife of Droṇācārya... There were many instances like that. Not that "The person is criminal," but "What will be the effect of killing him?" That is to be considered.
I think I have told you one story about Shah Jahan, the emperor of India. A, one great drama writer, Mr. P. L.
Raya, he wrote one book by the name, title, Shah Jahan. But the activities of the whole book was the nefarious actions of Aurangzeb. He was killing his brothers, arresting father and so many. So one friend of Mr.
Roy asked him that "Your book, the Shah Jahan, is the activities..., the actual hero is Aurangzeb. Why you have named Shah Jahan?" So he replied that although Shah Jahan is silent, but the effect is going to him. When Aurangzeb killed his elder brother, Dārā, then the effect was suffered by Shah Jahan. So all the activities, nefarious activities, of Aurangzeb was suffered by Shah Jahan.