144
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 5, Ch. 4]
and expertise;  tapasā —by austerities and penances;  samādhi-yogena —by full  samādhi ;  nara-nārāyaṇa-ākhyam —named Nara-Nārāyaṇa;  bhagavantam —the Supreme Personality of Godhead;  vāsudevam —Krṣṇa;  upāsīnaḥ —worshiping;  kālena —in due course of time;  tatmahimānam —His glorious abode, the spiritual world, Vaikuṇṭha;  avāpa —achieved.
TRANSLATION
King Nābhi understood that his son, Rṣabhadeva, was very popular among the citizens and among government officers and ministers. Understanding the popularity of his son, Mahārāja Nābhi enthroned Him as the emperor of the world to give protection to the general populace in terms of the Vedic religious system. To do this, he entrusted Him into the hands of learned brāhmaṇas, who would guide Him in administrating the government. Then Mahārāja Nābhi and his wife, Merudevī, went to Badarikāśrama in the Himalaya Mountains, where the King engaged Himself very expertly in austerities and penances with great jubilation. In full samādhi he worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, who is Krṣṇa in His plenary expansion. By doing so, in course of time Mahārāja Nābhi was elevated to the spiritual world known as Vaikuṇṭha.
PURPORT
When Mahārāja Nābhi saw that his son Rṣabhadeva was popular with the general populace and the governmental servants, he chose to install Him on the imperial throne. In addition, he wanted to entrust his son into the hands of the learned  brāhmaṇas . This means that a monarch was supposed to govern strictly according to Vedic principles under the guidance of learned  brāhmaṇas , who could advise Him according to the standard Vedic scriptures like  Manu-smṛti  and similar  śāstras . It is the duty of the king to rule the citizens according to Vedic principles. According to Vedic principles, society is divided into four categories— brāhmaṇa ,  kṣatriya ,  vaiśya  and  śūdra .  Cātur-varṇyam ..nayā sṛṣṭam guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ . After dividing society in this way, it is the king's duty to see that everyone executes Vedic principles according to his caste. A