Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 22: Prithu Mahārāja's Meeting with the Four Kumāras |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.22.43
nishpāditaś ca kārtsnyena
bhagavadbhir ghrinālubhih
SYNONYMS
nishpāditah ca — also the order is properly carried out; kārtsnyena — in full; bhagavadbhih — by the representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ghrinālubhih — by the most compassionate; sādhu-ucchishtam — remnants of the foodstuffs of saintly persons; hi — certainly; me — mine; sarvam — everything; ātmanā — heart and soul; saha — with; kim — what; dade — shall give.
TRANSLATION
My dear brāhmana, you have carried out the order thoroughly because you are also as compassionate as the Lord. It is my duty, therefore, to offer you something, but all I possess are but remnants of food taken by great saintly persons. What shall I give?
PURPORT
The word sādhūcchishtam is significant in this verse. Prithu Mahārāja got his kingdom from great saintly persons like Bhrigu and others just as one gets remnants of food. After the death of King Vena, the whole world was bereft of a popular ruler. There were so many catastrophes occurring that the great saintly persons, headed by Bhrigu, created the body of King Prithu out of the body of his dead father, King Vena. Since King Prithu was thus offered the kingdom by the virtue of the mercy of great saintly persons, he did not want to divide his kingdom among saints like the Kumāras. When a father is eating food, he may, out of compassion, offer the remnants of his food to his son. Although such food may be already chewed by the father, it cannot be offered to the father again. Prithu Mahārāja's position was something like this; whatever he possessed had already been chewed, and therefore he could not offer it to the Kumāras. Indirectly, however, he offered everything he possessed to the Kumāras, and consequently they utilized his possessions in whatever way they liked. The next verse clarifies this matter.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness