Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King Parīkshit, who are so charitably disposed, when Vritrāsura was killed, all the presiding deities and everyone else in the three planetary systems was immediately pleased and free from trouble — everyone, that is, except Indra.
Thereafter, the demigods, the great saintly persons, the inhabitants of Pitriloka and Bhūtaloka, the demons, the followers of the demigods, and also Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the demigods subordinate to Indra all returned to their respective homes. While departing, however, no one spoke to Indra.
In this connection Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura comments:
brahmeśendrādaya iti; indrasya sva-dhishnya-gamanam nopapadyate vritra-vadha-kshana eva brahma-hatyopadrava-prāpteh; tasmāt tata ity anena mānasa-sarovarād āgatya pravartitād aśvamedhāt parata iti vyākhyeyam.
Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the other demigods returned to their respective abodes, but Indra did not, for he was disturbed at having killed Vritrāsura, who was actually a brāhmana. After killing Vritrāsura, Indra went to the Mānasa-sarovara Lake to become free from sinful reactions. When he left the lake, he performed an aśvamedha-yajña and then returned to his own abode.
Mahārāja Parīkshit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: O great sage, what was the reason for Indra’s unhappiness? I wish to hear about this. When he killed Vritrāsura, all the demigods were extremely happy. Why, then, was Indra himself unhappy?
This, of course, is a very intelligent question. When a demon is killed, certainly all the demigods are happy. In this case, however, when all the demigods were happy because of Vritrāsura’s having been killed, Indra was unhappy. Why? It may be suggested that Indra was unhappy because he knew that he had killed a great devotee and brāhmana. Vritrāsura outwardly appeared to be a demon, but inwardly he was a great devotee and therefore a great brāhmana.
Herein it is clearly indicated that a person who is not at all demoniac, such as Prahlāda Mahārāja and Bali Mahārāja, may outwardly be a demon or be born in a family of demons. Therefore in terms of real culture one should not be considered a demigod or demon simply according to birth. In his dealings while fighting with Indra, Vritrāsura proved himself a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Furthermore, as soon as he finished fighting with Indra and was apparently killed, Vritrāsura was transferred to Vaikunthaloka to become an associate of Sankarshana. Indra knew this, and therefore he was morose at having killed such a demon, who was actually a Vaishnava or brāhmana.
A Vaishnava is already a brāhmana, although a brāhmana may not be a Vaishnava. The Padma Purāna says:
One may be a brāhmana in terms of his culture and family and may be expert in Vedic knowledge (mantra-tantra-viśāradah), but if he is not a Vaishnava, he cannot be a guru. This means that an expert brāhmana may not be a Vaishnava, but a Vaishnava is already a brāhmana. A millionaire may very easily possess hundreds and thousands of dollars, but a person with hundreds and thousands of dollars is not necessarily a millionaire. Vritrāsura was a perfect Vaishnava, and therefore he was also a brāhmana.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: When all the great sages and demigods were disturbed by the extraordinary power of Vritrāsura, they had assembled to ask Indra to kill him. Indra, however, being afraid of killing a brāhmana, declined their request.
King Indra replied: When I killed Viśvarūpa, I received extensive sinful reactions, but I was favored by the women, land, trees and water, and therefore I was able to divide the sin among them. But now if I kill Vritrāsura, another brāhmana, how shall I free myself from the sinful reactions?
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Hearing this, the great sages replied to King Indra, “O King of heaven, all good fortune unto you. Do not fear. We shall perform an aśvamedha sacrifice to release you from any sin you may accrue by killing the brāhmana.”
The rishis continued: O King Indra, by performing an aśvamedha sacrifice and thereby pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, Lord Nārāyana, the supreme controller, one can be relieved even of the sinful reactions for killing the entire world, not to speak of killing a demon like Vritrāsura.
One who has killed a brāhmana, one who has killed a cow or one who has killed his father, mother or spiritual master can be immediately freed from all sinful reactions simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Nārāyana. Other sinful persons, such as dog-eaters and candālas, who are less than śūdras, can also be freed in this way. But you are a devotee, and we shall help you by performing the great horse sacrifice. If you please Lord Nārāyana in that way, why should you be afraid? You will be freed even if you kill the entire universe, including the brāhmanas, not to speak of killing a disturbing demon like Vritrāsura.
It is said in the Brihad-vishnu Purāna:
Also, in the Prema-vivarta by Jagadānanda Pandita it is said:
This means that by once chanting the holy name of the Lord, one can be freed from the reactions of more sins that he can even imagine performing. The holy name is so spiritually potent that simply by chanting the holy name one can be freed from the reactions to all sinful activities. What, then, is to be said of those who chant the holy name regularly or worship the Deity regularly? For such purified devotees, freedom from sinful reaction is certainly assured. This does not mean, however, that one should intentionally commit sinful acts and think himself free from the reactions because he is chanting the holy name. Such a mentality is a most abominable offense at the lotus feet of the holy name. Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhih: the Lord’s holy name certainly has the potency to neutralize all sinful activities, but if one repeatedly and intentionally commits sins while chanting the holy name, he is most condemned.
These verses name the performers of various sinful deeds. In the Manu-samhitā the following names are given. A son begotten by a brāhmana and born from the womb of a śūdra mother is called a pāraśava or nishāda, a hunter accustomed to stealing. A son begotten by a nishāda in the womb of a śūdra woman is called a pukkasa. A child begotten by a kshatriya in the womb of the daughter of a śūdra is called an ugra. A child begotten by a śūdra in the womb of the daughter of a kshatriya is called a kshattā. A child begotten by a kshatriya in the womb of a lower-class woman is called a śvāda, or dog-eater. All such offspring are considered extremely sinful, but the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so strong that all of them can be purified simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
The Hare Krishna movement offers everyone a chance to be purified, regardless of birth or family. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.18):
“Kirātas, Hūnas, Āndhras, Pulindas, Pulkaśas, Ābhīras, Śumbhas, Yavanas, members of the Khasa races, and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of devotees of the Lord, for He is the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.” Even such sinful persons can certainly all be purified if they chant the holy name of the Lord under the direction of a pure devotee.
Herein the sages encourage King Indra to kill Vritrāsura even at the risk of brahma-hatyā, the killing of a brāhmana, and they guarantee to release him from sinful reactions by performing an aśvamedha-yajña. Such purposefully devised atonement, however, cannot relieve the performer of sinful acts. This will be seen from the following verse.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Encouraged by the words of the sages, Indra killed Vritrāsura, and when he was killed the sinful reaction for killing a brāhmana [brahma-hatyā] certainly took shelter of Indra.
After killing Vritrāsura, Indra could not surpass the brahma-hatyā, the sinful reactions for killing a brāhmana. Formerly he had killed one brāhmana, Viśvarūpa, out of circumstantial anger, but this time, following the advice of the sages, he killed another brāhmana purposely. Therefore the sinful reaction was greater than before. Indra could not be relieved from the reaction simply by performing sacrifices for atonement. He had to undergo a severe series of sinful reactions, and when he was freed by such suffering, the brāhmanas allowed him to perform the horse sacrifice. The planned execution of sinful deeds on the strength of chanting the holy name of the Lord or undergoing prāyaścitta, atonement, cannot give relief to anyone, even to Indra or Nahusha. Nahusha was officiating for Indra while Indra, absent from heaven, was going here and there to gain release from his sinful reactions.
Following the advice of the demigods, Indra killed Vritrāsura, and he suffered because of this sinful killing. Although the other demigods were happy, he could not derive happiness from the killing of Vritrāsura. Indra’s other good qualities, such as tolerance and opulence, could not help him in his grief.
One cannot be happy by committing sinful acts, even if one is endowed with material opulence. Indra found this to be true. People began to blaspheme him, saying, “This person has killed a brāhmana for the sake of enjoying heavenly material happiness.” Therefore in spite of being King of heaven and enjoying material opulence, Indra was always unhappy because of the accusations of the populace.
Indra saw personified sinful reaction chasing him, appearing like a candāla woman, a woman of the lowest class. She seemed very old, and all the limbs of her body trembled. Because she was afflicted with tuberculosis, her body and garments were covered with blood. Breathing an unbearable fishy odor that polluted the entire street, she called to Indra, “Wait! Wait!”
When a person is afflicted with tuberculosis, he often vomits blood, which makes his garments bloody.
O King, Indra first fled to the sky, but there also he saw the woman of personified sin chasing him. This witch followed him wherever he went. At last he very quickly went to the northeast and entered the Mānasa-sarovara Lake.
Always thinking of how he could be relieved from the sinful reaction for killing a brāhmana, King Indra, invisible to everyone, lived in the lake for one thousand years in the subtle fibers of the stem of a lotus. The fire-god used to bring him his share of all yajñas, but because the fire-god was afraid to enter the water, Indra was practically starving.
As long as King Indra lived in the water, wrapped in the stem of the lotus, Nahusha was equipped with the ability to rule the heavenly kingdom, due to his knowledge, austerity and mystic power. Nahusha, however, blinded and maddened by power and opulence, made undesirable proposals to Indra’s wife with a desire to enjoy her. Thus Nahusha was cursed by a brāhmana and later became a snake.
Indra’s sins were diminished by the influence of Rudra, the demigod of all directions. Because Indra was protected by the goddess of fortune, Lord Vishnu’s wife, who resides in the lotus clusters of Mānasa-sarovara Lake, Indra’s sins could not affect him. Indra was ultimately relieved of all the reactions of his sinful deeds by strictly worshiping Lord Vishnu. Then he was called back to the heavenly planets by the brāhmanas and reinstated in his position.
O King, when Lord Indra reached the heavenly planets, the saintly brāhmanas approached him and properly initiated him into a horse sacrifice [aśvamedha-yajña] meant to please the Supreme Lord.
The horse sacrifice performed by the saintly brāhmanas relieved Indra of the reactions to all his sins because he worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead in that sacrifice. O King, although he had committed a gravely sinful act, it was nullified at once by that sacrifice, just as fog is vanquished by the brilliant sunrise.
King Indra was favored by Marīci and the other great sages. They performed the sacrifice just according to the rules and regulations, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, the original person. Thus Indra regained his exalted position and was again honored by everyone.
In this very great narrative there is glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyana, there are statements about the exaltedness of devotional service, there are descriptions of devotees like Indra and Vritrāsura, and there are statements about King Indra’s release from sinful life and about his victory in fighting the demons. By understanding this incident, one is relieved of all sinful reactions. Therefore the learned are always advised to read this narration. If one does so, one will become expert in the activities of the senses, his opulence will increase, and his reputation will become widespread. One will also be relieved of all sinful reactions, he will conquer all his enemies, and the duration of his life will increase. Because this narration is auspicious in all respects, learned scholars regularly hear and repeat it on every festival day.