Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.14.14

munaya ūcuḥ

nṛpa-varya nibodhaitad

yat te vijñāpayāma bhoḥ

āyuḥ-śrī-bala-kīrtīnāḿ

tava tāta vivardhanam

SYNONYMS

munayaḥ ūcuḥ — the great sages said; nṛpa-varya — O best of the kings; nibodha — kindly try to understand; etat — this; yat — which; te — to you; vijñāpayāma — we shall instruct; bhoḥ — O King; āyuḥ — duration of life; śrī — opulences; bala — strength; kīrtīnām — good reputation; tava — your; tāta — dear son; vivardhanam — which will increase.

TRANSLATION

The great sages said: Dear King, we have come to give you good advice. Kindly hear us with great attention. By doing so, your duration of life and your opulence, strength and reputation will increase.

PURPORT

According to Vedic civilization, in a monarchy the king is advised by saintly persons and sages. By taking their advice, he can become the greatest executive power, and everyone in his kingdom will be happy, peaceful and prosperous. The great kings were very responsible in taking the instructions given by great saintly personalities. The kings used to accept the instructions given by great sages like Parāśara, Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Devala and Asita. In other words, they would first accept the authority of saintly persons and then execute their monarchical power. Unfortunately, in the present age of Kali, the head of government does not follow the instructions given by the saintly persons; therefore neither the citizens nor the men of government are very happy. Their duration of life is shortened, and almost everyone is wretched and bereft of bodily strength and spiritual power. If citizens want to be happy and prosperous in this democratic age, they should not elect rascals and fools who have no respect for saintly persons.

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