Text 8]
Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth Planet
709
nūnam tā vīrudhaḥ kṣīṇā mayi kālena bhūyasā tatra yogena dṛṣṭena bhavān ādātum arhati
nūnam—therefore; tāḥ—those; vīrudhaḥ—herbs and grains; kṣīṇāḥ—deteriorated; mayi—within me; kālena—in course of time; bhūyasā—very much; tatra—therefore; yogena—by proper means; dṛṣṭena—acknowledged; bhavān—Your Majesty; ādātum—to take; arhati—ought.
TRANSLATION
Due to being stocked for a very long time, all the grain seeds within me have certainly deteriorated. Therefore you should immediately arrange to take these seeds out by the standard process, which is recommended by the ācāryas or śāstras.
PURPORT
When there is a scarcity of grain, the government should follow the methods prescribed in the  śāstra  and approved by the  ācāryas ; thus there will be a sufficient production of grains, and food scarcity and famine can be checked.  Bhagavad-gītā  recommends that we perform  yajña , sacrifices. By the performance of  yajña , sufficient clouds gather in the sky, and when there are sufficient clouds, there is also sufficient rainfall. In this way agricultural matters are taken care of. When there is sufficient grain production, the general populace eats the grains, and animals like cows, goats and other domestic animals eat the grasses and grains also. According to this arrangement, human beings should perform the sacrifices recommended in the  śāstras , and if they do so there will no longer be food scarcity. In Kali-yuga, the only sacrifice recommended is  sanikīrtana-yajña .
In this verse there are two significant words:  yogena , “by the approved method,” and  dṛṣṭena , “as exemplified by the former  ācāryas .” One is mistaken if he thinks that by applying modern machines such as tractors, grains can be produced. If one goes to a desert and uses a tractor, there is still no possibility of producing grains. We may adopt various means, but it is essential to know that the planet earth will stop producing grains if sacrifices are not performed. The earth has already explained that because nondevotees are enjoying the production of food, she has reserved food seeds for the performance of sacrifice. Now, of course, atheists will not