Text 12]
The Story of King Vena
591
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.
PURPORT
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  even prohibits a person 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.
TEXT 12
तद्विद्वद्गिरसवृत्तो वेनोऽसामिः कृतो नृपः । सान्त्वितो यदि नो वाचं न ग्रहीष्यत्यधर्मकृत् । लोकधिकारसन्दग्धं दहिष्यामः स्वतेजसा ॥१२॥
tad-vidvadbhir asad-vṛtto veno 'smābhiḥ kṛto nṛpaḥ sāntvito yadi no vācam na grahīṣyaty adharma-kṛt loka-dhik-kāra-sandagdham dahiṣyāmaḥ sva-tejasā
tat—his mischievous nature; vidvadbhiḥ—aware of; asat-vṛttaḥ—impious; venaḥ—Vena; asmābhiḥ—by us; kṛtaḥ—was made; nṛpaḥ—king; sāntvitaḥ—(in spite of) being pacified; yadi—if; naḥ—our; vācam—words; na—not; grahīṣyati—he will accept; adharma-kṛt—the most mischievous; loka-dhik-kāra—by public condemnation; sandagdham—burned; dahiṣyāmaḥ—we shall burn; sva-tejasā—by our prowess.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Saintly persons are not interested in political matters, yet they are always thinking of the welfare of the people in general. Consequently they