# SB 1.7.16 > तदा शुचस्ते प्रमृजामि भद्रे यद्ब्रह्मबन्धोः शिर आततायिनः । > गाण्डीवमुक्तैर्विशिखैरुपाहरे त्वाक्रम्य यत्स्नास्यसि दग्धपुत्रा ॥१६॥ ## Text > tadā śucas te pramṛjāmi bhadre > yad brahma-bandhoḥ śira ātatāyinaḥ > gāṇḍīva-muktair viśikhair upāhare > tvākramya yat snāsyasi dagdha-putrā ## Synonyms *tadā*—at that time only; *śucaḥ*—tears in grief; *te*—your; *pramṛjāmi*—shall wipe away; *bhadre*—O gentle lady; *yat*—when; *brahma-bandhoḥ*—of a degraded *brāhmaṇa*; *śiraḥ*—head; *ātatāyinaḥ*—of the aggressor; *gāṇḍīva-muktaiḥ*—shot by the bow named Gāṇḍīva; *viśikhaiḥ*—by the arrows; *upāhare*—shall present to you; *tvā*—yourself; *ākramya*—riding on it; *yat*—which; *snāsyasi*—take your bath; *dagdha-putrā*—after burning the sons. ## Translation **O gentle lady, when I present you with the head of that brāhmaṇa, after beheading him with arrows from my Gāṇḍīva bow, I shall then wipe the tears from your eyes and pacify you. Then, after burning your sons' bodies, you can take your bath standing on his head.** ## Purport An enemy who sets fire to the house, administers poison, attacks all of a sudden with deadly weapons, plunders wealth or usurps agricultural fields, or entices one's wife is called an aggressor. Such an aggressor, though he be a *brāhmaṇa* or a so-called son of a *brāhmaṇa,* has to be punished in all circumstances. When Arjuna promised to behead the aggressor named Aśvatthāmā, he knew well that Aśvatthāmā was the son of a *brāhmaṇa,* but because the so-called *brāhmaṇa* acted like a butcher, he was taken as such, and there was no question of sin in killing such a *brāhmaṇa's* son who proved to be a villain.