Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.4.12

tokānāḿ pitarau bandhū

dṛśaḥ pakṣma striyāḥ patiḥ

patiḥ prajānāḿ bhikṣūṇāḿ

gṛhy ajñānāḿ budhaḥ suhṛt

SYNONYMS

tokānām — of children; pitarau — the two parents; bandhū — the friends; dṛśaḥ — of the eye; pakṣma — the eyelid; striyāḥ — of the woman; patiḥ — the husband; patiḥ — the protector; prajānām — of the subjects; bhikṣūṇām — of the beggars; gṛhī — the householder; ajñānām — of the ignorant; budhaḥ — the learned; su-hṛt — the friend.

TRANSLATION

As the father and mother are the friends and maintainers of their children, as the eyelid is the protector of the eye, as the husband is the maintainer and protector of a woman, as the householder is the maintainer and protector of beggars, and as the learned is the friend of the ignorant, so the king is the protector and giver of life to all his subjects. The trees are also subjects of the king. Therefore they should be given protection.

PURPORT

By the supreme will of the Personality of Godhead, there are various protectors and maintainers for helpless living entities. The trees are also considered prajās, subjects of the king, and therefore the duty of the monarch is to protect even the trees, not to speak of others. The king is duty-bound to protect the living entities in his kingdom. Thus although the parents are directly responsible for the protection and maintenance of their children, the duty of the king is to see that all parents do their duty properly. Similarly, the king is also responsible for overseeing the other protectors mentioned in this verse. It may also be noted that the beggars who should be maintained by the householders are not professional beggars, but sannyāsīs and brāhmaṇas, to whom the householders should supply food and clothing.

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