966
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 18]
aho adharmaḥ pālānām pīvnām bali-bhujām iva svāminy aghaṁ yad dāsānām dvāra-pānām śunām iva
aho —just look at;  adharmaḥ —irreligion;  pālānām —of the rulers;  pīvnām —of one who is brought up;  bali-bhujām —like the crows;  iva —like;  svāmini —unto the master;  aghaṁ —sin;  yat —what is;  dāsānām —of the servants;  dvāra-pānām —keeping watch at the door;  śunām —of the dogs;  iva —like.
TRANSLATION
[The  brāhmaṇa 's son, Śrīngi, said:] O just look at the sins of the rulers who, like crows and watchdogs at the door, perpetrate sins against their masters, contrary to the principles governing servants.
PURPORT
The  brāhmaṇas  are considered to be the head and brains of the social body, and the  kṣatriyas  are considered to be the arms of the social body. The arms are required to protect the body from all harms, but the arms must act according to the directions of the head and brain. That is a natural arrangement made by the supreme order, for it is confirmed in the  Bhagavad-gītā  that four social orders or castes, namely the  brāhmaṇas , the  kṣatriyas , the  vaiśyas  and the  śūdras  are set up according to quality and work done by them. Naturally the son of a  brāhmaṇa  has a good chance to become a  brāhmaṇa  by the direction of his qualified father, as a son of a medical practitioner has very good chance to become a qualified medical practitioner. So the caste system is quite scientific. The son must take advantage of the father's qualification and thus become a  brāhmaṇa  or medical practitioner, and not otherwise. Without being qualified, one cannot become a  brāhmaṇa  or medical practitioner, and that is the verdict of all scriptures and social orders. Herein Śrīngi, a qualified son of a great  brāhmaṇa , attained the required brahminical power both by birth and training, but he was lacking in culture because he was an inexperienced boy. By the influence of Kali, the son of a  brāhmaṇa  became puffed up with brahminical power and thus wrongly compared Mahārāja Parīkṣit to crows and watchdogs. The King is certainly the watchdog of the state in the sense that he keeps vigilant eyes over the border of the state for its protection and defense, but to address him as a watchdog is the sign of a less cultured boy. Thus the downfall of the brahminical powers began as