Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Thirteen

Description of the Descendants of Dhruva Maharaja

SB4.13.1

TEXT 1

suta uvaca

nisamya kausaravinopavarnitam

dhruvasya vaikuntha-padadhirohanam

prarudha-bhavo bhagavaty adhoksaje

prastum punas tam vidurah pracakrame

SYNONYMS

sutah uvaca—Suta Gosvami said; nisamya—after hearing; kausaravina—by the sage Maitreya; upavarnitam—described; dhruvasya—of Maharaja Dhruva; vaikuntha-pada—to the abode of Visnu; adhirohanam—ascent; prarudha—increased; bhavah—devotional emotion; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhoksaje—who is beyond the reach of direct perception; prastum—to inquire; punah—again; tam—unto Maitreya; vidurah—Vidura; pracakrame—attempted.

TRANSLATION

Suta Gosvami, continuing to speak to all the rsis, headed by Saunaka, said: After hearing Maitreya Rsi describe Dhruva Maharaja’s ascent to Lord Visnu’s abode, Vidura became very much enlightened in devotional emotion, and he inquired from Maitreya as follows.

PURPORT

As evidenced in the topics between Vidura and Maitreya, the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotees are so fascinating that neither the devotee who is describing them nor the devotee who is hearing is at all fatigued by the inquiries and answers. Transcendental subject matter is so nice that no one becomes tired of hearing or speaking. Others, who are not devotees, may think, “How can people devote so much time simply to talks of God?” But devotees are never satisfied or satiated in hearing and speaking about the Supreme Personality of Godhead or about His devotees. The more they hear and talk, the more they become enthusiastic to hear. The chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is simply the repetition of three words, Hare, Krsna and Rama, but still devotees can go on chanting this Hare Krsna mantra twenty-four hours a day without feeling fatigued.

SB4.13.2

TEXT 2

vidura uvaca

ke te pracetaso nama

kasyapatyani suvrata

kasyanvavaye prakhyatah

kutra va satram asata

SYNONYMS

vidurah uvaca—Vidura inquired; ke—who were; te—they; pracetasah—the Pracetas; nama—of the name; kasya—whose; apatyani—sons; su-vrata—O Maitreya, who have taken an auspicious vow; kasya—whose; anvavaye—in the family; prakhyatah—famous; kutra—where; va—also; satram—the sacrifice; asata—was performed.

TRANSLATION

Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O greatly advanced devotee, who were the Pracetas? To which family did they belong? Whose sons were they, and where did they perform the great sacrifices?

PURPORT

The great Narada’s singing, in the previous chapter, of three verses in the sacrificial arena of the Pracetas gave another impetus to Vidura to ask further questions.

SB4.13.3

TEXT 3

manye maha-bhagavatam

naradam deva-darsanam

yena proktah kriya-yogah

paricarya-vidhir hareh

SYNONYMS

manye—I think; maha-bhagavatam—the greatest of all devotees; naradam—the sage Narada; deva—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; darsanam—who met; yena—by whom; proktah—spoken; kriya-yogah—devotional service; paricarya—for rendering service; vidhih—the procedure; hareh—to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

TRANSLATION

Vidura continued: I know that the great sage Narada is the greatest of all devotees. He has compiled the pancaratrika procedure of devotional service and has directly met the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

There are two different ways of approaching the Supreme Lord. One is called bhagavata-marga, or the way of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the other is called pancaratrika-vidhi. Pancaratrika-vidhi is the method of temple worship, and bhagavata-vidhi is the system of nine processes which begin with hearing and chanting. The Krsna conscious movement accepts both processes simultaneously and thus enables one to make steady progress on the path of realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This pancaratrika procedure was first introduced by the great sage Narada, as referred to here by Vidura.

SB4.13.4

TEXT 4

sva-dharma-silaih purusair

bhagavan yajna-purusah

ijyamano bhaktimata

naradeneritah kila

SYNONYMS

sva-dharma-silaih—executing sacrificial duties; purusaih—by the men; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yajna-purusah—the enjoyer of all sacrifices; ijyamanah—being worshiped; bhaktimata—by the devotee; naradena—by Narada; iritah—described; kila—indeed.

TRANSLATION

While all the Pracetas were executing religious rituals and sacrificial ceremonies and thus worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His satisfaction, the great sage Narada described the transcendental qualities of Dhruva Maharaja.

PURPORT

Narada Muni is always glorifying the pastimes of the Lord. In this verse we see that not only does he glorify the Lord, but he also likes to glorify the devotees of the Lord. The great sage Narada’s mission is to broadcast the devotional service of the Lord. For this purpose he has compiled the Narada-pancaratra, a directory of devotional service, so that devotees can always take information about how to execute devotional service and thus engage twenty-four hours a day in performing sacrifices for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord has created four orders of social life, namely brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra. In the Narada-pancaratra it is very clearly described how each of the social orders can please the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita (18.45) it is stated, sve sve karmany abhiratah samsiddhim labhate narah: by executing one’s prescribed duties one can please the Supreme Lord. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.13) also it is stated, svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam: the perfection of duty is to see that by discharging one’s specific duties one satisfies the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the Pracetas were performing sacrifices according to this direction, Narada Muni was satisfied to see these activities, and he also wanted to glorify Dhruva Maharaja in that sacrificial arena.

SB4.13.5

TEXT 5

yas ta devarsina tatra

varnita bhagavat-kathah

mahyam susrusave brahman

kartsnyenacastum arhasi

SYNONYMS

yah—which; tah—all those; devarsina—by the great sage Narada; tatra—there; varnitah—narrated; bhagavat-kathah—preachings pertaining to the activities of the Lord; mahyam—unto me; susrusave—very eager to hear; brahman—my dear brahmana; kartsnyena—fully; acastum arhasi—kindly explain.

TRANSLATION

My dear brahmana, how did Narada Muni glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what pastimes were described in that meeting? I am very eager to hear of them. Kindly explain fully about that glorification of the Lord.

PURPORT

Srimad-Bhagavatam is the record of bhagavat-katha, topics about the pastimes of the Lord. What Vidura was anxious to hear from Maitreya we can also hear five thousand years later, provided we are very eager.

SB4.13.6

TEXT 6

maitreya uvaca

dhruvasya cotkalah putrah

pitari prasthite vanam

sarvabhauma-sriyam naicchad

adhirajasanam pituh

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—the great sage Maitreya said; dhruvasya—of Dhruva Maharaja; ca—also; utkalah—Utkala; putrah—son; pitari—after the father; prasthite—departed; vanam—for the forest; sarva-bhauma—including all lands; sriyam—opulence; na aicchat—did not desire; adhiraja—royal; asanam—throne; pituh—of the father.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Maitreya replied: My dear Vidura, when Maharaja Dhruva departed for the forest, his son, Utkala, did not desire to accept the opulent throne of his father, which was meant for the ruler of all the lands of this planet.

SB4.13.7

TEXT 7

sa janmanopasantatma

nihsangah sama-darsanah

dadarsa loke vitatam

atmanam lokam atmani

SYNONYMS

sah—his son Utkala; janmana—from the very beginning of his birth; upasanta—very well satisfied; atma—soul; nihsangah—without attachment; sama-darsanah—equipoised; dadarsa—saw; loke—in the world; vitatam—spread; atmanam—the Supersoul; lokam—all the world; atmani—in the Supersoul.

TRANSLATION

From his very birth, Utkala was fully satisfied and unattached to the world. He was equipoised, for he could see everything resting in the Supersoul and the Supersoul present in everyone’s heart.

PURPORT

The symptoms and characteristics of Utkala, the son of Maharaja Dhruva, are those of a maha-bhagavata. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (6.30), yo mam pasyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi pasyati: a highly advanced devotee sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere, and he also sees everything resting in the Supreme. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (9.4), maya tatam idam sarvam jagad avyakta-murtina: Lord Krsna is spread all over the universe in His impersonal feature. Everything is resting on Him, but that does not mean that everything is He Himself. A highly advanced maha-bhagavata devotee sees in this spirit: he sees the same Supersoul, Paramatma, existing within everyone’s heart, regardless of discrimination based on the different material forms of the living entities. He sees everyone as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The maha-bhagavata, who experiences the Supreme Godhead’s presence everywhere, is never missing from the sight of the Supreme Lord, nor is the Supreme Lord ever lost from his sight. This is possible only when one is advanced in love of Godhead.

SB4.13.8-9

TEXTS 8–9

atmanam brahma nirvanam

pratyastamita-vigraham

avabodha-rasaikatmyam

anandam anusantatam

avyavacchinna-yogagni-

dagdha-karma-malasayah

svarupam avarundhano

natmano ’nyam tadaiksata

SYNONYMS

atmanam—self; brahma—spirit; nirvanam—extinction of material existence; pratyastamita—ceased; vigraham—separation; avabodha-rasa—by the mellow of knowledge; eka-atmyam—oneness; anandam—bliss; anusantatam—expanded; avyavacchinna—continuous; yoga—by practice of yoga; agni—by the fire; dagdha—burned; karma—fruitive desires; mala—dirty; asayah—in his mind; svarupam—constitutional position; avarundhanah—realizing; na—not; atmanah—than the Supreme Soul; anyam—anything else; tada—then; aiksata—saw.

TRANSLATION

By expansion of his knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, he had already attained liberation from the bondage of the body. This liberation is known as nirvana. He was situated in transcendental bliss, and he continued always in that blissful existence, which expanded more and more. This was possible for him by continual practice of bhakti-yoga, which is compared to fire because it burns away all dirty, material things. He was always situated in his constitutional position of self-realization, and he could not see anything else but the Supreme Lord and himself engaged in discharging devotional service.

PURPORT

These two verses explain the verse in the Bhagavad-gita (18.54):

brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param

“One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything. He is equally disposed towards every living entity. In that state he achieves pure devotional service unto Me.” This is also explained by Lord Caitanya in His Siksastaka in the beginning of the first verse:

ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam
sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam

[Cc. Antya 20.12]

The bhakti-yoga system is the topmost yoga system, and in this system the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is the foremost performance of devotional service. By chanting the holy name one can attain the perfection of nirvana, or liberation from material existence, and so increase one’s blissful life of spiritual existence as described by Lord Caitanya (anandambudhi-vardhanam). When one is situated in that position, he no longer has any interest in material opulence or even a royal throne and sovereignty over the whole planet. This situation is called viraktir anyatra syat. It is the result of devotional service.

The more one makes advancement in devotional service, the more one becomes detached from material opulence and material activity. This is the spiritual nature, full of bliss. This is also described in Bhagavad-gita (2.59). Param drstva nivartate: one ceases to take part in material enjoyment upon tasting superior, blissful life in spiritual existence. By advancement in spiritual knowledge, which is considered to be like blazing fire, all material desires are burned to ashes. The perfection of mystic yoga is possible when one is continuously in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by discharging devotional service. A devotee is always thinking of the Supreme Person at every step of his life. Every conditioned soul is full of the reactions of his past life, but all dirty things are immediately burned to ashes if one simply executes devotional service. This is described in the Narada-pancaratra: sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170].

SB4.13.10

TEXT 10

jadandha-badhironmatta-

mukakrtir atan-matih

laksitah pathi balanam

prasantarcir ivanalah

SYNONYMS

jada—foolish; andha—blind; badhira—deaf; unmatta—mad; muka—dumb; akrtih—appearance; a-tat—not like that; matih—his intelligence; laksitah—he was seen; pathi—on the road; balanam—by the less intelligent; prasanta—calmed; arcih—with flames; iva—like; analah—fire.

TRANSLATION

Utkala appeared to the less intelligent persons on the road to be foolish, blind, dumb, deaf and mad, although actually he was not so. He remained like fire covered with ashes, without blazing flames.

PURPORT

In order to avoid contradiction, botheration and unfavorable situations created by materialistic persons, a great saintly person like Jada Bharata or Utkala remains silent. The less intelligent consider such saintly persons to be mad, deaf or dumb. Factually, an advanced devotee avoids speaking with persons who are not in devotional life, but to those who are in devotional life he speaks in friendship, and he speaks to the innocent for their enlightenment. For all practical purposes, the whole world is full of nondevotees, and so one kind of very advanced devotee is called bhajananandi. Those who are gosthy-anandi, however, preach to increase the number of devotees. But even such preachers also avoid opposing elements who are unfavorably disposed towards spiritual life.

SB4.13.11

TEXT 11

matva tam jadam unmattam

kula-vrddhah samantrinah

vatsaram bhupatim cakrur

yaviyamsam bhrameh sutam

SYNONYMS

matva—thinking; tam—Utkala; jadam—without intelligence; unmattam—mad; kula-vrddhah—the elderly members of the family; samantrinah—with the ministers; vatsaram—Vatsara; bhu-patim—ruler of the world; cakruh—they made; yaviyamsam—younger; bhrameh—of Bhrami; sutam—son.

TRANSLATION

For this reason the ministers and all the elderly members of the family thought Utkala to be without intelligence and, in fact, mad. Thus his younger brother, named Vatsara, the son of Bhrami, was elevated to the royal throne, and he became king of the world.

PURPORT

It appears that although there was monarchy, it was not at all an autocracy. There were senior family members and ministers who could make changes and elect the proper person to the throne, although the throne could be occupied only by the royal family. In modern days also, wherever there is monarchy, sometimes the ministers and elderly members of the family select one member from the royal family to occupy the throne in preference to another.

SB4.13.12

TEXT 12

svarvithir vatsarasyesta

bharyasuta sad-atmajan

pusparnam tigmaketum ca

isam urjam vasum jayam

SYNONYMS

svarvithih—Svarvithi; vatsarasya—of King Vatsara; ista—very dear; bharya—wife; asuta—gave birth to; sat—six; atmajan—sons; pusparnam—Pusparna; tigmaketum—Tigmaketu; ca—also; isam—Isa; urjam—Urja; vasum—Vasu; jayam—Jaya.

TRANSLATION

King Vatsara had a very dear wife whose name was Svarvithi, and she gave birth to six sons, named Pusparna, Tigmaketu, Isa, Urja, Vasu and Jaya.

PURPORT

Vatsara’s wife is mentioned here as ista, which means “worshipable.” In other words, it appears that Vatsara’s wife had all good qualities; for example, she was always very faithful and obedient and affectionate to her husband. She had all good qualities for managing household affairs. If both the husband and wife are endowed with good qualities and live peacefully, then nice children take birth, and thus the whole family is happy and prosperous.

SB4.13.13

TEXT 13

pusparnasya prabha bharya

dosa ca dve babhuvatuh

pratar madhyandinam sayam

iti hy asan prabha-sutah

SYNONYMS

pusparnasya—of Pusparna; prabha—Prabha; bharya—wife; dosa—Dosa; ca—also; dve—two; babhuvatuh—were; pratah—Pratar; madhyandinam—Madhyandinam; sayam—Sayam; iti—thus; hi—certainly; asan—were; prabha-sutah—sons of Prabha.

TRANSLATION

Pusparna had two wives, named Prabha and Dosa. Prabha had three sons, named Pratar, Madhyandinam and Sayam.

SB4.13.14

TEXT 14

pradoso nisitho vyusta

iti dosa-sutas trayah

vyustah sutam puskarinyam

sarvatejasam adadhe

SYNONYMS

pradosah—Pradosa; nisithah—Nisitha; vyustah—Vyusta; iti—thus; dosa—of Dosa; sutah—sons; trayah—three; vyustah—Vyusta; sutam—son; puskarinyam—in Puskarini; sarva-tejasam—named Sarvateja (all-powerful); adadhe—begot.

TRANSLATION

Dosa had three sons—Pradosa, Nisitha and Vyusta. Vyusta’s wife was named Puskarini, and she gave birth to a very powerful son named Sarvateja.

SB4.13.15-16

TEXTS 15–16

sa caksuh sutam akutyam

patnyam manum avapa ha

manor asuta mahisi

virajan nadvala sutan

purum kutsam tritam dyumnam

satyavantam rtam vratam

agnistomam atiratram

pradyumnam sibim ulmukam

SYNONYMS

sah—he (Sarvateja); caksuh—named Caksuh; sutam—son; akutyam—in Akuti; patnyam—wife; manum—Caksusa Manu; avapa—obtained; ha—indeed; manoh—of Manu; asuta—gave birth to; mahisi—queen; virajan—without passion; nadvala—Nadvala; sutan—sons; purum—Puru; kutsam—Kutsa; tritam—Trita; dyumnam—Dyumna; satyavantam—Satyavan; rtam—Rta; vratam—Vrata; agnistomam—Agnistoma; atiratram—Atiratra; pradyumnam—Pradyumna; sibim—Sibi; ulmukam—Ulmuka.

TRANSLATION

Sarvateja’s wife, Akuti, gave birth to a son named Caksusa, who became the sixth Manu at the end of the Manu millennium. Nadvala, the wife of Caksusa Manu, gave birth to the following faultless sons: Puru, Kutsa, Trita, Dyumna, Satyavan, Rta, Vrata, Agnistoma, Atiratra, Pradyumna, Sibi and Ulmuka.

SB4.13.17

TEXT 17

ulmuko ’janayat putran

puskarinyam sad uttaman

angam sumanasam khyatim

kratum angirasam gayam

SYNONYMS

ulmukah—Ulmuka; ajanayat—begot; putran—sons; puskarinyam—in Puskarini, his wife; sat—six; uttaman—very good; angam—Anga; sumanasam—Sumana; khyatim—Khyati; kratum—Kratu; angirasam—Angira; gayam—Gaya.

TRANSLATION

Of the twelve sons, Ulmuka begot six sons in his wife Puskarini. They were all very good sons, and their names were Anga, Sumana, Khyati, Kratu, Angira and Gaya.

SB4.13.18

TEXT 18

sunithangasya ya patni

susuve venam ulbanam

yad-dauhsilyat sa rajarsir

nirvinno niragat purat

SYNONYMS

sunitha—Sunitha; angasya—of Anga; ya—she who; patni—the wife; susuve—gave birth to; venam—Vena; ulbanam—very crooked; yat—whose; dauhsilyat—on account of bad character; sah—he; raja-rsih—the saintly King Anga; nirvinnah—very disappointed; niragat—went out; purat—from home.

TRANSLATION

The wife of Anga, Sunitha, gave birth to a son named Vena, who was very crooked. The saintly King Anga was very disappointed with Vena’s bad character, and he left home and kingdom and went out to the forest.

SB4.13.19-20

TEXTS 19–20

yam anga sepuh kupita

vag-vajra munayah kila

gatasos tasya bhuyas te

mamanthur daksinam karam

arajake tada loke

dasyubhih piditah prajah

jato narayanamsena

prthur adyah ksitisvarah

SYNONYMS

yam—him (Vena) whom; anga—my dear Vidura; sepuh—they cursed; kupitah—being angry; vak-vajrah—whose words are as strong as a thunderbolt; munayah—great sages; kila—indeed; gata-asoh tasya—after he died; bhuyah—moreover; te—they; mamanthuh—churned; daksinam—right; karam—hand; arajake—being without a king; tada—then; loke—the world; dasyubhih—by rogues and thieves; piditah—suffering; prajah—all the citizens; jatah—advented; narayana—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; amsena—by a partial representation; prthuh—Prthu; adyah—original; ksiti-isvarah—ruler of the world.

TRANSLATION

My dear Vidura, when great sages curse, their words are as invincible as a thunderbolt. Thus when they cursed King Vena out of anger, he died. After his death, since there was no king, all the rogues and thieves flourished, the kingdom became unregulated, and all the citizens suffered greatly. On seeing this, the great sages took the right hand of Vena as a churning rod, and as a result of their churning, Lord Visnu in His partial representation made His advent as King Prthu, the original emperor of the world.

PURPORT

Monarchy is better than democracy because if the monarchy is very strong the regulative principles within the kingdom are upheld very nicely. Even one hundred years ago in the state of Kashmir in India, the king was so strong that if a thief were arrested in his kingdom and brought before him, the king would immediately chop off the hands of the thief. As a result of this severe punishment there were practically no theft cases within the kingdom. Even if someone left something on the street, no one would touch it. The rule was that the things could be taken away only by the proprietor and that no one else would touch them. In the so-called democracy, wherever there is a theft case the police come and take note of the case, but generally the thief is never caught, nor is any punishment offered to him. As a result of incapable government, at the present moment thieves, rogues and cheaters are very prominent all over the world.

SB4.13.21

TEXT 21

vidura uvaca

tasya sila-nidheh sadhor

brahmanyasya mahatmanah

rajnah katham abhud dusta

praja yad vimana yayau

SYNONYMS

vidurah uvaca—Vidura said; tasya—of him (Anga); sila-nidheh—reservoir of good characteristics; sadhoh—saintly person; brahmanyasya—lover of brahminical culture; mahatmanah—great soul; rajnah—of the king; katham—how; abhut—it was; dusta—bad; praja—son; yat—by which; vimanah—being indifferent; yayau—he left.

TRANSLATION

Vidura inquired from the sage Maitreya: My dear brahmana, King Anga was very gentle. He had high character and was a saintly personality and lover of brahminical culture. How is it that such a great soul got a bad son like Vena, because of whom he became indifferent to his kingdom and left it?

PURPORT

In family life a man is supposed to live happily with father, mother, wife and children, but sometimes, under certain conditions, a father, mother, child or wife becomes an enemy. It is said by Canakya Pandita that a father is an enemy when he is too much in debt, a mother is an enemy if she marries for a second time, a wife is an enemy when she is very beautiful, and a son is an enemy when he is a foolish rascal. In this way, when a family member becomes an enemy it is very difficult to live in family life or remain a householder. Generally such situations occur in the material world. Therefore according to Vedic culture one has to take leave of his family members just after his fiftieth year so that the balance of his life may be completely devoted in search of Krsna consciousness.

SB4.13.22

TEXT 22

kim vamho vena uddisya

brahma-dandam ayuyujan

danda-vrata-dhare rajni

munayo dharma-kovidah

SYNONYMS

kim—why; va—also; amhah—sinful activities; vene—unto Vena; uddisya—seeing; brahma-dandam—the curse of a brahmana; ayuyujan—they desired to award; danda-vrata-dhare—who carries the rod of punishment; rajni—unto the king; munayah—the great sages; dharma-kovidah—completely conversant with religious principles.

TRANSLATION

Vidura also inquired: How is it that the great sages, who were completely conversant with religious principles, desired to curse King Vena, who himself carried the rod of punishment, and thus awarded him the greatest punishment [brahma-sapa]?

PURPORT

It is understood that the king is able to give punishment to everyone, but in this case it appears that the great sages punished him. The king must have done something very serious, otherwise how could the great sages, who were supposed to be the greatest and most tolerant, still punish him in spite of their elevated religious consciousness? It appears also that the king was not independent of the brahminical culture. Above the king was the control of the brahmanas, and if needed the brahmanas would dethrone the king or kill him, not with any weapon, but with the mantra of a brahma-sapa. The brahmanas were so powerful that simply by their cursing one would immediately die.

SB4.13.23

TEXT 23

navadhyeyah praja-palah

prajabhir aghavan api

yad asau loka-palanam

bibharty ojah sva-tejasa

SYNONYMS

na—never; avadhyeyah—to be insulted; praja-palah—the king; prajabhih—by the citizens; aghavan—ever sinful; api—even though; yat—because; asau—he; loka-palanam—of many kings; bibharti—maintains; ojah—prowess; sva-tejasa—by personal influence.

TRANSLATION

It is the duty of all citizens in a state never to insult the king, even though he sometimes appears to have done something very sinful. Because of his prowess, the king is always more influential than all other ruling chiefs.

PURPORT

According to Vedic civilization the king is supposed to be the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is called nara-narayana, indicating that Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in human society as the king. It is etiquette that neither a brahmana nor a ksatriya king is ever insulted by the citizens; even though a king appears to be sinful, the citizens should not insult him. But in the case of Vena it appears that he was cursed by the nara-devatas; therefore, it was concluded that his sinful activities were very grievous.

Next verse (SB4.13.24)