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Merciful Justice

 Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

The "letter of the law" versus the "spirit of the law" is an idiomatic antithesis. When one obeys the letter of the law, but not the spirit, one is obeying the literal interpretation of the words (the "letter") of the law, but not the intent of those who wrote the law. Conversely, when one obeys the spirit of the law, but not the letter, one is doing what the authors of the law intended, though not necessarily adhering to the literal wording. There are various instances in the puranas which show the importance of upholding the spirit of the law, as that happens to be the intent.

In the seventh chapter, first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam we go through the episode where Ashvathama mercilessly massacred the five sleeping sons of the Pandavas. Arjuna chased Ashvathama and finally arrested him. Lord Krishna told Arjuna at that point, that he should not show mercy by releasing this relative of a brahmana [brahma-bandhu], for he has killed innocent boys in their sleep. He also said that, "This man is an assassin and murderer of your own family members. Not only that, but he has also dissatisfied his master. He is but the burnt remnants of his family. Kill him immediately." But then we see that although Krishna, who was examining Arjuna in religion, encouraged Arjuna to kill the son of Dronacarya, Arjuna, a great soul, did not like the idea of killing him, although Ashvatthama was a heinous murderer of Arjuna's family members. Once taken before Draupadi, she could not tolerate to see Ashvatthama being bound by ropes and asked Arjuna to release him for he is a brahmana. Draupadi addresses Arjuna as Dharmajna � one who knows the principles of religion and tells him that it is not good for Arjuna to cause grief to glorious family members who are always respectable and worshipful and that it is by Dronacarya's mercy that Arjuna has learnt the military art of throwing arrows and the confidential art of controlling weapons and that the wife of Drona need not cry constantly like Draupadi and undergo the same suffering of losing her son. In Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.49 we see

suta uvaaca
dharmyam nyaayyam sakarunam / nirvyalikam samam mahat
raajaa dharma-suto raajnyaah / pratyanandad vaco dvijaah

Suta Gosvami said: "O brahmanas, King Yudhisthira fully supported the statements of the Queen, which were in accordance with the principles of religion and were justified, glorious, full of mercy and equity, and without duplicity."

Here the words, "nyaayyam sakarunam" are worth noting . "nyaayyam" means justice and "sakarunam" means full of mercy. So it is merciful justice. This is very much appreciated by the king. Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport that "Maharaja Yudhisthira, who was the son of Dharmaraja, or Yamaraja, fully supported the words of Queen Draupadi in asking Arjuna to release Asvatthama. One should not tolerate the humiliation of a member of a great family. Arjuna and his family were indebted to the family of Dronacarya because of Arjuna's learning the military science from him. If ingratitude were shown to such a benevolent family, it would not be at all justified from the moral standpoint. The wife of Dronacarya, who was the half body of the great soul, must be treated with compassion, and she should not be put into grief because of her son's death. That is compassion."

So when Lord Krishna told Arjuna that he should act to the satisfaction of Draupadi, Bhima, Krishna Himself and also abide by the scriptural rulings, Arjuna could understand the motive of the Lord by His equivocal orders, and thus with his sword he severed both hair and jewel from the head of Ashvatthama and let him go without killing him. Thus we see here that the justice is tempered with mercy and thus is very pleasing to the Lord.

Thus we see that according to the circumstances, the Lord's justice is always merciful and it is our pious duty as servants of such a merciful master, when dealing with the living entities to remind ourselves of this spirit and intent of the Lord and not be carried away by the letter of the law.

Thank you very much
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev
Vaijayanti mala devi dasi
Chennai