SB 1.3.14
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 14
- ṛṣibhir yācito bheje
- navamaṁ pārthivaṁ vapuḥ
- dugdhemām oṣadhīr viprās
- tenāyaṁ sa uśattamaḥ
SYNONYMS
ṛṣibhiḥ — by the sages; yācitaḥ — being prayed for; bheje — accepted; navamam — the ninth one; pārthivam — the ruler of the earth; vapuḥ — body; dugdha — milking; imām — all these; oṣadhīḥ — products of the earth; viprāḥ — O brāhmaṇas; tena — by; ayam — this; saḥ — he; uśattamaḥ — beautifully attractive.
TRANSLATION
O brāhmaṇas, in the ninth incarnation, the Lord, prayed for by sages, accepted the body of a king [Pṛthu] who cultivated the land to yield various produces, and for that reason the earth was beautiful and attractive.
PURPORT
Before the advent of King Pṛthu, there was great havoc of maladministration due to the vicious life of the previous king, the father of Mahārāja Pṛthu. The intelligent class of men (namely the sages and the brāhmaṇas) not only prayed for the Lord to come down, but also dethroned the previous king. It is the duty of the king to be pious and thus look after the all-around welfare of the citizens. Whenever there is some negligence on the part of the king in discharging his duty, the intelligent class of men must dethrone him. The intelligent class of men, however, do not occupy the royal throne, because they have much more important duties for the welfare of the public. Instead of occupying the royal throne, they prayed for the incarnation of the Lord, and the Lord came as Mahārāja Pṛthu. Real intelligent men, or qualified brāhmaṇas, never aspire for political posts. Mahārāja Pṛthu excavated many produces from the earth, and thus not only did the citizens become happy to have such a good king, but the complete sight of the earth also became beautiful and attractive.