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This answer has shown that Lord Shiva destroys evil countries. By "evil country" it is meant a country where majority of the people and leaders do evil actions.

Now my question is, is it fair to destroy an entire country when some people are evil? When an entire country is destroyed for the actions of evil people, the good people in that country are also destroyed, but why should the good people be destroyed as well when they didn't do evil actions? Doesn't this violate the law of karma that says only individuals get punished and rewarded for their own actions?

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    Karna in Mahabharata is example. He was killed for siding with kauravas
    – Agamas Tantras
    Jul 25, 2019 at 15:12
  • 1
    Bishma drona same
    – Agamas Tantras
    Jul 25, 2019 at 15:12
  • you're asking for opinions. see forum rules.
    – Swami Vishwananda
    Jul 26, 2019 at 6:40
  • @SwamiVishwananda I changed the title of question now to make it objective.
    – Ikshvaku
    Jul 26, 2019 at 14:50

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This objection is actually brought up in the discourse between King Aila and Rishi Kashyap.

Aila says,

'If chastisement touches all viz., the honest and the wicked alike, in consequence of the sins perpetrated by the sinful, why should men, in that case, do acts that are good? Indeed, why should they not perform wicked acts?'

And Kashyapa responds,

Kasyapa said, 'By avoiding all connection with the sinful, one becomes pure and stainless. In consequence, however, of their being mixed with the sinful, the sinless are overtaken by chastisement. Wood that is wet, if mixed with wood that is dry, is consumed by fire in consequence of such co-existence. The sinless, therefore, should never mingle with the sinful.'

So because the good people in the country are in contact with the evil people (since when you live in a country, you are forced to interact with everyone), they have also sinned, and so they will also be punished for their sins.

So in reality, each individual sinner is being punished for their deeds and their association with sinners, and coincidentally the whole country gets punished.

So there is no violation of the law of karma that says only individuals get punished and rewarded for their own actions, and so everything is fair.

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    the pancha-maha-patakas (5 great sins), actually mention only 4 sins, and the 5th is 'association with above 4 sinners'. Chand. Upan.
    – mar
    Jul 29, 2019 at 21:33
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By supposing what an invading king would do in the same situation, we may get an answer on what the gods should do.

The Kātyāyana Smṛti on Vyavahāra (Law and Procedure), says:

  1. Even when the king is at fault, (the conqueror) should not ruin the country (for the vanquished king's faults) since he (the vanquished king) does not start on (his career of) wrong-doing with the consent of his subjects.

This means, the subjects of an evil ruler and the citizens of this "evil country" should not be held responsible or punished for the ruler's wicked nature and actions.

If curses really work, a single virtuous inhabitant of this evil country when unfairly treated could curse the invader with disastrous consequences.

On how a king should deal out punishments to his own people, Manusmṛti says:

Unjust punishment is destructive of reputation among men and subversive of fame; in the other world also it leads to loss of heaven; he shall therefore avoid it. (8.127)

The king, punishing those who do not deserve to be punished, and not punishing those who deserve to be punished, attains great ill-fame and goes to hell. (8.128)

I assume the same rules apply to gods.

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