Text 18]
The Story of King Vena
597
yasya rāṣṭre pure caiva bhagavān yajña-pūruṣaḥ ijyate svena dharmeṇa janair varṇāśramānvitaiḥ
yasya—whose; rāṣṭre—in the state or kingdom; pure—in the cities; ca—also; eva—certainly; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yajña-pūruṣaḥ—who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices; ijyate—is worshiped; svena—their own; dharmeṇa—by occupation; janaiḥ—by the people; varṇa-āśrama—the system of eight social orders; anvitaiḥ—who follow.
TRANSLATION
The king is supposed to be pious in whose state and cities the general populace strictly observes the system of eight social orders of varṇa and āśrama, and where all citizens engage in worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead by their particular occupations.
PURPORT
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  varṇas  and four  āśramas . In the  Viṣṇu Purāṇa  it is stated that unless people are educated or situated in the scientific social order comprised of four  varṇas  ( brāhmaṇa ,  kṣatriya ,  vaiśya  and  śūdra ) and four  āśramas  ( brahmacarya ,  gṛhastha ,  vānaprastha  and  sannyāsa ) society can never be considered real human society, nor can it make any advancement toward the ultimate goal of human life. It is the duty of the government to see that things go on in terms of  varṇa  and  āśrama . As stated herein,  bhagavān yajña-pūruṣaḥ —the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the  yajña-pūruṣa . As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā :  bhoktāram yajña-tapasām  (Bg. 5.29). Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate purpose of all sacrifice. He is also the enjoyer of all sacrifices; therefore He is known as  yajña-pūruṣa . The word  yajña-pūruṣa  indicates Lord Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa, or any Personality of Godhead in the category of  viṣṇu-tattva . In perfect human society, people are situated in the orders of  varṇa  and  āśrama  and are engaged in worshiping Lord Viṣṇu by their respective activities. Every citizen engaged in an