Text 50]
Instructions by Mahārāja Pṛthu
881
all living entities, the king or the executive head of the government must be a representative of the Supreme Person. Then he can claim honor exactly like the Lord's. How a king or leader of society can become the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also indicated in this verse by the statement that because Pṛthu Mahārāja was preaching the supremacy and the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, he was therefore a proper representative of the Lord. To remain under the jurisdiction or administration of such a king or leader is the perfect status for human society. The primary responsibility of such a king or leader is to protect the brahminical culture and the cows in his state.
TEXT 50
नात्यमुतमिदं नाय तवाजीव्यानुशासनम् । प्रजानुरागो महतां प्रकृतिः करुणात्मनाम् ॥५०॥
nātyadbhutam idam nātha tavājīvyānuśāsanam prajānurāgo mahatām prakṛtiḥ karuṇātmanām
na—not; ati—very great; adbhutam—wonderful; idam—this; nātha—lord; tava—your; ājīvya—source of income; anuśāsanam—ruling over the citizens; prajā—citizens; anurāgaḥ—affection; mahatām—of the great; prakṛtiḥ—nature; karuṇa—merciful; ātmanām—of the living entities.
TRANSLATION
Our dear lord, it is your occupational duty to rule over your citizens. That is not a very wonderful task for a personality like you, who are so affectionate in seeing to the interests of the citizens, because you are full of mercy. That is the greatness of your character.
PURPORT
A king's duty is to give protection to his citizens and levy taxes from them for his livelihood. Since the Vedic society is divided into four classes of men—the  brāhmaṇas ,  kṣatriyas ,  vaiśyas  and  śūdras —their means of livelihood are also mentioned in the scriptures. The  brāhmaṇas  should live by spreading knowledge and therefore should take contributions from their disciples, whereas a king should give protection to the citizens for their development to the highest standard of life, and he can therefore