Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.22.56

rājety adhān nāmadheyaḿ

soma-rāja ivāparaḥ

sūryavad visṛjan gṛhṇan

pratapaḿś ca bhuvo vasu

SYNONYMS

rājā — the King; iti — thus; adhāt — took up; nāmadheyam — of the name; soma-rājaḥ — the king of the moon planet; iva — like; aparaḥ — on the other hand; sūrya-vat — like the sun-god; visṛjan — distributing; gṛhṇan — exacting; pratapan — by strong ruling; ca — also; bhuvaḥ — of the world; vasu — revenue.

TRANSLATION

Mahārāja Pṛthu became as celebrated a king as Soma-rāja, the king of the moon. He was also powerful and exacting, just like the sun-god, who distributes heat and light and at the same time exacts all the planetary waters.

PURPORT

In this verse Mahārāja Pṛthu is compared to the kings of the moon and sun. The king of the moon and the king of the sun serve as examples of how the Lord desires the universe to be ruled. The sun distributes heat and light and at the same time exacts water from all planets. The moon is very pleasing at night, and when one becomes fatigued after a day's labor in the sun, he can enjoy the moonshine. Like the sun-god, Pṛthu Mahārāja distributed his heat and light to give protection to his kingdom, for without heat and light no one can exist. Similarly, Pṛthu Mahārāja exacted taxes and gave such strong orders to the citizens and government that no one had the power to disobey him. On the other hand, he pleased everyone just like the moonshine. Both the sun and the moon have particular influences by which they maintain order in the universe, and modern scientists and philosophers should become familiar with the Supreme Lord's perfect plan for universal maintenance.

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