Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.17.9

maitreya uvāca

yadābhishiktah prithur ańga viprair

āmantrito janatāyāś ca pālah

prajā niranne kshiti-prishtha etya

kshut-kshāma-dehāh patim abhyavocan

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvāca — the great sage Maitreya said; yadā — when; abhishiktah — was enthroned; prithuh — King Prithu; ańga — my dear Vidura; vipraih — by the brāhmanas; āmantritah — was declared; janatāyāh — of the people; ca — also; pālah — the protector; prajāh — the citizens; niranne — being without food grains; kshiti-prishthe — the surface of the globe; etya — coming near; kshut — by hunger; kshāma — skinny; dehāh — their bodies; patim — to the protector; abhyavocan — they said.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, at the time King Prithu was enthroned by the great sages and brāhmanas and declared to be the protector of the citizens, there was a scarcity of food grains. The citizens actually became skinny due to starvation. Therefore they came before the King and informed him of their real situation.

PURPORT

Information is given herein concerning the selection of the king by the brāhmanas. According to the varnāśrama system, the brāhmanas are considered to be the heads of the society and therefore to be situated in the topmost social position. The varnāśrama-dharma, the institution of four varnas and four āśramas, is very scientifically designed. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, varnāśrama-dharma is not a man-made institution, but is God-made. In this narration it is clearly indicated that the brāhmanas used to control the royal power. When an evil king like Vena ruled, the brāhmanas would kill him through their brahminical powers and would select a proper ruler by testing his qualifications. In other words, the brāhmanas, the intelligent men or great sages, would control the monarchical powers. Here we have an indication of how the brāhmanas elected King Prithu to the throne as the protector of the citizens. The citizens, being skinny due to hunger, approached the King and informed him that necessary action should be taken. The structure of the varnāśrama-dharma; was so nice that the brāhmanas would guide the head of state. The head of state would then give protection to the citizens. The kshatriyas would take charge of protecting the people in general, and under the protection of the kshatriyas, the vaiśyas would protect the cows, produce food grains and distribute them. Śūdras, the working class, would help the higher three classes by manual labor. This is the perfect social system.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness