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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 20]
न किञ्चनोवाच स बाष्पविक्त्रो
हृदोपगुह्यामुमधादवस्थितः ॥२१॥
sa ādi-rājo racitāñjalir harim vilokitum nāśakad aśru-locanaḥ na kiñcanovāca sa bāṣpa-viklavo hṛdopaguhyāmum adhād avasthitaḥ
saḥ—he; ādi-rājaḥ—the original King; racita-añjaliḥ—with folded hands; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vilokitum—to look upon; na—not; aśakat—was able; aśru-locanaḥ—his eyes full of tears; na—nor; kiñcana—anything; uvāca—spoke; saḥ—he; bāṣpa-viklavaḥ—his voice being choked up; hṛdā—with his heart; upaguhya—embracing; amum—the Lord; adhāt—he remained; avasthitaḥ—standing.
TRANSLATION
The original King, Mahārāja Pṛthu, his eyes full of tears and his voice faltering and choked up, could neither see the Lord very distinctly nor speak to address the Lord in any way. He simply embraced the Lord within his heart and remained standing in that way with folded hands.
PURPORT
Just as Kṛṣṇa is addressed in the  Brahma-saṁhitā  as  ādi-puruṣa , the original personality, so King Pṛthu, being an empowered incarnation of the Lord, is referred to in this verse as  ādi-rājaḥ , the original or ideal King. He was a great devotee and at the same time a great hero who conquered over all undesirable elements in his kingdom. He was so powerful that he was equal to fighting with Indra, the King of heaven. He gave protection to his citizens, keeping them engaged in pious activities and devotion to the Lord. He did not collect a single cent of taxes from the citizens without being able to give them protection from all calamities. The greatest calamity in life is to become godless and therefore sinful. If the state head or king allows the citizens to become sinful by indulging in illicit sex life, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling, then the king is responsible, and he has to suffer the resultant sequence of reactions for the sinful lives of the citizens because he levies taxes on them unnecessarily. These are the principles for a ruling power, and because Mahārāja Pṛthu observed all the principles for a ruling chief, he is referred to here as  ādi-rājaḥ .
Even a responsible king like Mahārāja Pṛthu can become a pure devotee