Question: There were many instances where Lord Sri Krishna showered mercy even upon those who tried to hurt Him. For example, He gave Putana the result of becoming a mother to the Lord Himself. However in the case of Aswatthama, Lord Krishna gave him the most severe punishment. I think this is the only case where Lord showed such severity. In rest of the cases either they were shown mercy or merged in the Lord after the Lord killed them. Is there any deep significance in the case of Aswatthama that we need to understand? Because, I sometimes feel I have committed many sins. Is there a chance that Lord can be severe towards me too?
Answer by Romapada Swami: God is Absolute which means He is absolutely merciful. Whatever He does is merciful, even if it appears contradictory or difficult to understand from the conditioned soul’s point of view. A truly loving mother’s severe treatment of a child’s misbehavior is also equally love as much as her leniency. Krishna knows exactly what is best for each living entity.
Krishna takes offenses to His devotees more severely than personal offense. On that account, Ashwatthama was not to be excused lightly.
By virtue of his relation to Acarya Drona, however, he received greater consideration from the Pandavas — a leniency induced by the Lord within the heart of Arjuna. Krishna wanted to show the world the elevated status of Arjuna and his grasp of religious principles.
By taking shelter of devotees of the Lord, one can receive more mercy than by approaching the Lord directly.
A devotee considers punishment by the Lord to be a greater form of mercy than to be merged in His existence.
