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vira—of Vena; mataram—mother; ahuya—calling; sunitham—of the name Sunitha; brahma-vadinah—the great sages learned in the Vedas; prakrti—by the ministers; asammatam—not approved of; venam—Vena; abhyasincan—enthroned; patim—the master; bhuvah—of the world.

The great sages then called for the Queen Mother, Sunitha, and with her permission they installed Vena on the throne as master of the world. All the ministers, however, disagreed with this.

SB4.14.3

TEXT 3

srutva nrpasana-gatam

venam atyugra-sasanam

nililyur dasyavah sadyah

sarpa-trasta ivakhavah

SYNONYMS

srutva—after hearing; nrpa—of the King; asana-gatam—ascended to the throne; venam—Vena; ati—very; ugra—severe; sasanam—punisher; nililyuh—hid themselves; dasyavah—all the thieves; sadyah—immediately; sarpa—from snakes; trastah—being afraid; iva—like; akhavah—rats.

TRANSLATION

It was already known that Vena was very severe and cruel; therefore, as soon as all the thieves and rogues in the state heard of his ascendance to the royal throne, they became very much afraid of him. Indeed, they hid themselves here and there as rats hide themselves from snakes.

PURPORT

When the government is very weak, rogues and thieves flourish. Similarly, when the government is very strong, all the thieves and rogues disappear or hide themselves. Of course Vena was not a very good king, but he was known to be cruel and severe. Thus the state at least became freed from thieves and rogues.

SB4.14.4

TEXT 4

sa arudha-nrpa-sthana

unnaddho ’sta-vibhutibhih

avamene maha-bhagan

stabdhah sambhavitah svatah

sah—King Vena; arudha—ascended to; nrpa-sthanah—the seat of the king; unnaddhah—very proud; asta—eight; vibhutibhih—by opulences; avamene—began to insult; maha-bhagan—great personalities; stabdhah—inconsiderate; sambhavitah—considered great; svatah—by himself.

When the King ascended to the throne, he became all-powerful with eight kinds of opulences. Consequently he became too proud. By virtue of his false prestige, he considered himself to be greater than anyone. Thus he began to insult great personalities.

In this verse the word asta-vibhutibhih, meaning “by eight opulences,” is very important. The king is supposed to possess eight kinds of opulences. By dint of mystic yoga practice, kings generally acquired these eight opulences. These kings were called rajarsis, kings who were also great sages. By practicing mystic yoga, a rajarsi could become smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest, and could get whatever he desired. A rajarsi could also create a kingdom, bring everyone under his control and rule everyone. These were some of the opulences of a king. King Vena, however, was not practiced in yoga, but he became very proud of his royal position nonetheless. Because he was not very considerate, he began to misuse his power and insult great personalities.

SB4.14.5

TEXT 5

evam madandha utsikto

nirankusa iva dvipah

paryatan ratham asthaya

kampayann iva rodasi

evam—thus; mada-andhah—being blind with power; utsiktah—proud; nirankusah—uncontrolled; iva—like; dvipah—an elephant; paryatan—traveling; ratham—a chariot; asthaya—having mounted; kampayan—causing to tremble; iva—indeed; rodasi—the sky and earth.

When he became overly blind due to his opulences, King Vena mounted a chariot and, like an uncontrolled elephant, began to travel through the kingdom, causing the sky and earth to tremble wherever he went.

SB4.14.6

TEXT 6

na yastavyam na datavyam

na hotavyam dvijah kvacit

iti nyavarayad dharmam

bheri-ghosena sarvasah

SYNONYMS

na—not; yastavyam—any sacrifices can be performed; na—not; datavyam—any charity can be given; na—not; hotavyam—any clarified butter can be offered; dvijah—O twice-born; kvacit—at any time; iti—thus; nyavarayat—he stopped; dharmam—the procedures of religious principles; bheri—of kettledrums; ghosena—with the sound; sarvasah—everywhere.

TRANSLATION

All the twice-born [brahmanas] were forbidden henceforward to perform any sacrifice, and they were also forbidden to give charity or offer clarified butter. Thus King Vena sounded kettledrums throughout the countryside. In other words, he stopped all kinds of religious rituals.

PURPORT

What was committed by King Vena many years ago is at present being carried out by atheistic governments all over the world. The world situation is so tense that at any moment governments may issue declarations to stop religious rituals. Eventually the world situation will become so degraded that it will be impossible for pious men to live on the planet. Therefore sane people should execute Krsna consciousness very seriously, so that they can go back home, back to Godhead, without having to further suffer the miserable conditions predominant in this universe.

SB4.14.7

TEXT 7

venasyaveksya munayo

durvrttasya vicestitam

vimrsya loka-vyasanam

krpayocuh sma satrinah

venasya—of King Vena; aveksya—after observing; munayah—all the great sages; durvrttasya—of the great rogue; vicestitam—activities; vimrsya—considering; loka-vyasanam—danger to the people in general; krpaya—out of compassion; ucuh—talked; sma—in the past; satrinah—the performers of sacrifices.

Therefore all the great sages assembled together and, after observing cruel Vena’s atrocities, concluded that a great danger and catastrophe was approaching the people of the world. Thus out of compassion they began to talk amongst themselves, for they themselves were the performers of the sacrifices.

Before King Vena was enthroned, all the great sages were very much anxious to see to the welfare of society. When they saw that King Vena was most irresponsible, cruel and atrocious, they again began to think of the welfare of the people. It should be understood that sages, saintly persons and devotees are not unconcerned with the people’s welfare. Ordinary karmis are busy acquiring money for sense gratification, and ordinary jnanis are socially aloof when they speculate on liberation, but actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the people can be made happy both materially and spiritually. Therefore the great sages began to consult one another on how to get out of the dangerous atmosphere created by King Vena.

SB4.14.8

TEXT 8

aho ubhayatah praptam

lokasya vyasanam mahat

daruny ubhayato dipte

iva taskara-palayoh

aho—alas; ubhayatah—from both directions; praptam—received; lokasya—of the people in general; vyasanam—danger; mahat—great; daruni—a log; ubhayatah—from both sides; dipte—burning; iva—like; taskara—from thieves and rogues; palayoh—and from the king.

When the great sages consulted one another, they saw that the people were in a dangerous position from both directions. When a fire blazes on both ends of a log, the ants in the middle are in a very dangerous situation. Similarly, at that time the people in general were in a dangerous position due to an irresponsible king on one side and thieves and rogues on the other.

SB4.14.9

TEXT 9

arajaka-bhayad esa

krto rajatad-arhanah

tato ’py asid bhayam tv adya

katham syat svasti dehinam

SYNONYMS

arajaka—being without a king; bhayat—out of fear; esah—this Vena; krtah—was made; raja—the king; a-tat-arhanah—though not qualified for it; tatah—from him; api—also; asit—there was; bhayam—danger; tu—then; adya—now; katham—how; syat—can there be; svasti—happiness; dehinam—of the people in general.

TRANSLATION

Thinking to save the state from irregularity, the sages began to consider that it was due to a political crisis that they made Vena king although he was not qualified. But alas, now the people were being disturbed by the king himself. Under such circumstances, how could the people be happy?

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita (18.5) it is stated that even in the renounced order one should not give up sacrifice, charity and penance. The brahmacaris must perform sacrifices, the grhasthas must give in charity, and those in the renounced order of life (the vanaprasthas and sannyasis) must practice penance and austerities. These are the procedures by which everyone can be elevated to the spiritual platform. When the sages and saintly persons saw that King Vena had stopped all these functions, they became concerned about the people’s progress. Saintly people preach God consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, because they are anxious to save the general populace from the dangers of animalistic life. There must be a good government to see that the citizens are actually executing their religious rituals, and thieves and rogues must be curbed. When this is done, the people can advance peacefully in spiritual consciousness and make their lives successful.

SB4.14.10

TEXT 10

aher iva payah-posah

posakasyapy anartha-bhrt

venah prakrtyaiva khalah

sunitha-garbha-sambhavah

aheh—of a snake; iva—like; payah—with milk; posah—the maintaining; posakasya—of the maintainer; api—even; anartha—against the interest; bhrt—becomes; venah—King Vena; prakrtya—by nature; eva—certainly; khalah—mischievous; sunitha—of Sunitha, Vena’s mother; garbha—the womb; sambhavah—born of.

The sages began to think within themselves: Because he was born from the womb of Sunitha, King Vena is by nature very mischievous. Supporting this mischievous king is exactly like maintaining a snake with milk. Now he has become a source of all difficulties.

Saintly persons are generally aloof from social activities and the materialistic way of life. King Vena was supported by the saintly persons just to protect the citizens from the hands of rogues and thieves, but after his ascendance to the throne, he became a source of trouble to the sages. Saintly people are especially interested in performing sacrifices and austerities for the advancement of spiritual life, but Vena, instead of being obliged because of the saints’ mercy, turned out to be their enemy because he prohibited them from executing their ordinary duties. A serpent who is maintained with milk and bananas simply stores poison in his teeth and awaits the day to bite his master.

SB4.14.11

TEXT 11

nirupitah praja-palah

sa jighamsati vai prajah

tathapi santvayemamum

nasmams tat-patakam sprset

nirupitah—appointed; praja-palah—the king; sah—he; jighamsati—desires to harm; vai—certainly; prajah—the citizens; tatha api—nevertheless; santvayema—we should pacify; amum—him; na—not; asman—us; tat—his; patakam—sinful result; sprset—may touch.

We appointed this Vena king of the state in order to give protection to the citizens, but now he has become the enemy of the citizens. Despite all these discrepancies, we should at once try to pacify him. By doing so, we may not be touched by the sinful results caused by him.

The saintly sages elected King Vena to become king, but he proved to be mischievous; therefore the sages were very much afraid of incurring sinful reaction. The law of karma prohibits a person even to associate with a mischievous individual. By electing Vena to the throne, the saintly sages certainly associated with him. Ultimately King Vena became so mischievous that the saintly sages actually became afraid of becoming contaminated by his activities. Thus before taking any action against him, the sages tried to pacify and correct him so that he might turn from his mischief.

SB4.14.12

TEXT 12

tad-vidvadbhir asad-vrtto

veno ’smabhih krto nrpah

santvito yadi no vacam

na grahisyaty adharma-krt

loka-dhikkara-sandagdham

dahisyamah sva-tejasa

tat—his mischievous nature; vidvadbhih—aware of; asat-vrttah—impious; venah—Vena; asmabhih—by us; krtah—was made; nrpah—king; santvitah—(in spite of) being pacified; yadi—if; nah—our; vacam—words; na—not; grahisyati—he will accept; adharma-krt—the most mischievous; loka-dhik-kara—by public condemnation; sandagdham—burned; dahisyamah—we shall burn; sva-tejasa—by our prowess.

The saintly sages continued thinking: Of course we are completely aware of his mischievous nature. Yet nevertheless we enthroned Vena. If we cannot persuade King Vena to accept our advice, he will be condemned by the public, and we will join them. Thus by our prowess we shall burn him to ashes.

Saintly persons are not interested in political matters, yet they are always thinking of the welfare of the people in general. Consequently they sometimes have to come down to the political field and take steps to correct the misguided government or royalty. However, in Kali-yuga, saintly persons are not as powerful as they previously were. They used to be able to burn any sinful man to ashes by virtue of their spiritual prowess. Now saintly persons have no such power due to the influence of the age of Kali. Indeed, the brahmanas do not even have the power to perform sacrifices in which animals are put into a fire to attain a new life. Under these circumstances, instead of actively taking part in politics, saintly persons should engage in chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krsna. By the grace of Lord Caitanya, by simply chanting this Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the general populace can derive all benefits without political implications.

SB4.14.13

TEXT 13

evam adhyavasayainam

munayo gudha-manyavah

upavrajyabruvan venam

santvayitva ca samabhih

evam—thus; adhyavasaya—having decided; enam—him; munayah—the great sages; gudha-manyavah—concealing their anger; upavrajya—having approached; abruvan—spoke; venam—to King Vena; santvayitva—after pacifying; ca—also; samabhih—with sweet words.

The great sages, having thus decided, approached King Vena. Concealing their real anger, they pacified him with sweet words and then spoke as follows.

SB4.14.14

TEXT 14

munaya ucuh

nrpa-varya nibodhaitad

yat te vijnapayama bhoh

ayuh-sri-bala-kirtinam

tava tata vivardhanam

SYNONYMS

munayah ucuh—the great sages said; nrpa-varya—O best of the kings; nibodha—kindly try to understand; etat—this; yat—which; te—to you; vijnapayama—we shall instruct; bhoh—O King; ayuh—duration of life; sri—opulences; bala—strength; kirtinam—good reputation; tava—your; tata—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 Parasara, Vyasadeva, Narada, 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.

SB4.14.15

TEXT 15

dharma acaritah pumsam

van-manah-kaya-buddhibhih

lokan visokan vitaraty

athanantyam asanginam

dharmah—religious principles; acaritah—executed; pumsam—to persons; vak—by words; manah—mind; kaya—body; buddhibhih—and by intelligence; lokan—the planets; visokan—without misery; vitarati—bestow; atha—certainly; anantyam—unlimited happiness, liberation; asanginam—to those free from material influence.

Those who live according to religious principles and who follow them by words, mind, body and intelligence are elevated to the heavenly kingdom, which is devoid of all miseries. Being thus rid of the material influence, they achieve unlimited happiness in life.

The saintly sages herein instruct that the king or head of government should set an example by living a religious life. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, religion means worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should not simply make a show of religious life, but should perform devotional service perfectly with words, mind, body and good intelligence. By doing so, not only will the king or government head rid himself of the contamination of the material modes of nature, but the general public will also, and they will all become gradually elevated to the kingdom of God and go back home, back to Godhead. The instructions given herein serve as a summary of how the head of government should execute his ruling power and thus attain happiness not only in this life but also in the life after death.

SB4.14.16

TEXT 16

sa te ma vinased vira

prajanam ksema-laksanah

yasmin vinaste nrpatir

aisvaryad avarohati

sah—that spiritual life; te—by you; ma—do not; vinaset—let it be spoiled; vira—O hero; prajanam—of the people; ksema-laksanah—the cause of prosperity; yasmin—which; vinaste—being spoiled; nrpatih—the king; aisvaryat—from opulence; avarohati—falls down.

The sages continued: O great hero, for this reason you should not be the cause of spoiling the spiritual life of the general populace. If their spiritual life is spoiled because of your activities, you will certainly fall down from your opulent and royal position.

Formerly, in practically all parts of the world, there were monarchies, but gradually as monarchy declined from the ideal life of religion to the godless life of sense gratification, monarchies all over the world were abolished. However, simply abolishing monarchy and replacing it with democracy is not sufficient unless the government men are religious and follow in the footsteps of great religious personalities.

SB4.14.17

TEXT 17

rajann asadhv-amatyebhyas

coradibhyah praja nrpah

raksan yatha balim grhnann

iha pretya ca modate

rajan—O King; asadhu—mischievous; amatyebhyah—from ministers; cora-adibhyah—from thieves and rogues; prajah—the citizens; nrpah—the king; raksan—protecting; yatha—accordingly as; balim—taxes; grhnan—accepting; iha—in this world; pretya—after death; ca—also; modate—enjoys.

The saintly persons continued: When the king protects the citizens from the disturbances of mischievous ministers as well as from thieves and rogues, he can, by virtue of such pious activities, accept taxes given by his subjects. Thus a pious king can certainly enjoy himself in this world as well as in the life after death.

The duty of a pious king is described very nicely in this verse. His first and foremost duty is to give protection to the citizens from thieves and rogues as well as from ministers who are no better than thieves and rogues. Formerly, ministers were appointed by the king and were not elected. Consequently, if the king was not very pious or strict, the ministers would become thieves and rogues and exploit the innocent citizens. It is the king’s duty to see that there is no increase of thieves and rogues either in the government secretariat or in the departments of public affairs. If a king cannot give protection to citizens from thieves and rogues both in the government service and in public affairs, he has no right to exact taxes from them. In other words, the king or the government that taxes can levy taxes from the citizens only if the king or government is able to give protection to the citizens from thieves and rogues.

In the Twelfth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.1.40) there is a description of these thieves and rogues in government service. As stated, prajas te bhaksayisyanti mleccha rajanya-rupinah: “These proud mlecchas [persons who are less than sudras]. representing themselves as kings, will tyrannize their subjects, and their subjects, on the other hand, will cultivate the most vicious practices. Thus practicing evil habits and behaving foolishly, the subjects will be like their rulers.” The idea is that in the democratic days of Kali-yuga, the general population will fall down to the standard of sudras. As stated (kalau sudra-sambhavah), practically the whole population of the world will be sudra. A sudra is a fourth-class man who is only fit to work for the three higher social castes. Being fourth-class men, sudras are not very intelligent. Since the population is fallen in these democratic days, they can only elect a person in their category, but a government cannot run very well when it is run by sudras. The second class of men, known as ksatriyas, are especially meant for governing a country under the direction of saintly persons (brahmanas) who are supposed to be very intelligent. In other ages—in Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-yuga—the general populace was not so degraded, and the head of government was never elected. The king was the supreme executive personality, and if he caught any ministers stealing like thieves and rogues, he would at once have them killed or dismissed from service. As it was the duty of the king to kill thieves and rogues, it was similarly his duty to immediately kill dishonest ministers in government service. By such strict vigilance, the king could run the government very well, and the citizens would be happy to have such a king. The conclusion is that unless the king is perfectly able to give protection to the citizens from rogues and thieves, he has no right to levy taxes from the citizens for his own sense gratification. However, if he gives all protection to the citizens and levies taxes on them, he can live very happily and peacefully in this life, and at the end of this life be elevated to the heavenly kingdom or even to the Vaikunthas, where he will be happy in all respects.

SB4.14.18

TEXT 18

yasya rastre pure caiva

bhagavan yajna-purusah

ijyate svena dharmena

janair varnasramanvitaih

yasya—whose; rastre—in the state or kingdom; pure—in the cities; ca—also; eva—certainly; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yajna-purusah—who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices; ijyate—is worshiped; svena—their own; dharmena—by occupation; janaih—by the people; varna-asrama—the system of eight social orders; anvitaih—who follow.

The king is supposed to be pious in whose state and cities the general populace strictly observes the system of eight social orders of varna and asrama, and where all citizens engage in worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead by their particular occupations.

The state’s duty and the citizen’s duty are very nicely explained in this verse. The activities of the government head, or king, as well as the activities of the citizens, should be so directed that ultimately everyone engages in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The king, or government head, is supposed to be the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is therefore supposed to see that things go on nicely and that the citizens are situated in the scientific social order comprised of four varnas and four asramas. In the Visnu Purana it is stated that unless people are educated or situated in the scientific social order comprised of four varnas (brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra) and four asramas (brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa), society can never be considered real human society, nor can it make any advancement towards the ultimate goal of human life. It is the duty of the government to see that things go on in terms of varna and asrama. As stated herein, bhagavan yajna-purusah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the yajna-purusa. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (5.29): bhoktaram yajna-tapasam. Krsna is the ultimate purpose of all sacrifice. He is also the enjoyer of all sacrifices; therefore He is known as yajna-purusa. The word yajna-purusa indicates Lord Visnu or Lord Krsna, or any Personality of Godhead in the category of visnu-tattva. In perfect human society, people are situated in the orders of varna and asrama and are engaged in worshiping Lord Visnu by their respective activities. Every citizen engaged in an occupation renders service by the resultant actions of his activities. That is the perfection of life. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.46):

yatah pravrttir bhutanam
yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya
siddhim vindati manavah

“By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.”

Thus the brahmanas, ksatriyas, sudras and vaisyas must execute their prescribed duties as these duties are stated in the sastras. In this way everyone can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. The king, or government head, has to see that the citizens are thus engaged. In other words, the state or the government must not deviate from its duty by declaring that the state is a secular one, which has no interest in whether or not the people advance in varnasrama-dharma. Today people engaged in government service and people who rule over the citizens have no respect for the varnasrama-dharma. They complacently feel that the state is secular. In such a government, no one can be happy. The people must follow the varnasrama-dharma, and the king must see that they are following it nicely.

SB4.14.19

TEXT 19

tasya rajno maha-bhaga

bhagavan bhuta-bhavanah

paritusyati visvatma

tisthato nija-sasane

tasya—with him; rajnah—the king; maha-bhaga—O noble one; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhuta-bhavanah—who is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation; paritusyati—becomes satisfied; visva-atma—the Supersoul of the entire universe; tisthatah—being situated; nija-sasane—in his own governing situation.

O noble one, if the king sees that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original cause of the cosmic manifestation and the Supersoul within everyone, is worshiped, the Lord will be satisfied.