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 9: Liberation | Chapter 4: Ambarīsha Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.4.21
evam sadā karma-kalāpam ātmanah
pare 'dhiyajñe bhagavaty adhokshaje
sarvātma-bhāvam vidadhan mahīm imām
tan-nishtha-viprābhihitah śaśāsa ha
SYNONYMS
evam — thus (living a devotional life); sadā — always; karma-kalāpam — the prescribed occupational duties as a kshatriya king; ātmanah — of himself, personally (the head of the state); pare — unto the supreme transcendence; adhiyajñe — unto the supreme proprietor, the supreme enjoyer; bhagavati — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhokshaje — unto He who is beyond material sense perception; sarva-ātma-bhāvam — all different varieties of devotional service; vidadhat — executing, offering; mahīm — the planet earth; imām — this; tat-nishtha — who are faithful devotees of the Lord; vipra — by such brāhmanas; abhihitah — directed; śaśāsa — ruled; ha — in the past.
TRANSLATION
In performing his prescribed duties as king, Mahārāja Ambarīsha always offered the results of his royal activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is the enjoyer of everything and is beyond the perception of material senses. He certainly took advice from brāhmanas who were faithful devotees of the Lord, and thus he ruled the planet earth without difficulty.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29):
People are very much anxious to live in peace and prosperity in this material world, and here in Bhagavad-gītā the peace formula is given personally by the Supreme Personality of Godhead: everyone should understand that Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate proprietor of all the planets and is therefore the enjoyer of all activities, political, social, cultural, religious, economic and so on. The Lord has given perfect advice in Bhagavad-gītā, and Ambarīsha Mahārāja, as the ideal executive head, ruled the entire world as a Vaishnava, taking advice from Vaishnava brāhmanas. The śāstras enjoin that even though a brāhmana may be well versed in the occupational brahminical duties and may be very learned in Vedic knowledge, he cannot give advice as a guru until he is a Vaishnava.
shat-karma-nipuno vipro
avaishnavo gurur na syād
vaishnavah śva-paco guruh
Therefore, as indicated here by the words tan-nishtha-viprābhihitah, Mahārāja Ambarīsha took advice from brāhmanas who were pure devotees of the Lord, for ordinary brāhmanas who are merely learned scholars or experts in performing ritualistic ceremonies are not competent to give advice.
In modern times, there are legislative assemblies whose members are authorized to make laws for the welfare of the state, but according to this description of the kingdom of Mahārāja Ambarīsha, the country or the world should be ruled by a chief executive whose advisors are all devotee brāhmanas. Such advisors or members of the legislative assembly should not be professional politicians, nor should they be selected by the ignorant public. Rather, they should be appointed by the king. When the king, the executive head of the state, is a devotee and he follows the instructions of devotee brāhmanas in ruling the country, everyone will be peaceful and prosperous. When the king and his advisors are perfect devotees, nothing can be wrong in the state. All the citizens should become devotees of the Lord, and then their good character will automatically follow.
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair gunais tatra samāsate surāh
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-gunā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahih
"One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy." (Bhāg. 5.18.12) Citizens under the guidance of a Krishna conscious king will become devotees, and then there will be no need to enact new laws every day to reform the way of life in the state. If the citizens are trained to become devotees, they will automatically become peaceful and honest, and if they are guided by a devoted king advised by devotees, the state will not be in the material world but in the spiritual world. All the states of the world should therefore follow the ideal of the rule or administration of Mahārāja Ambarīsha, as described here.
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