Text 15] Birth of Emperor Pariksit 625
they possessed gold, land, villages, horses, elephants and sufficient grains,
they had nothing to earn for themselves. They would simply devote them-
selves to the well-being of the entire society.

The word tirthavit is significant because the King knew well where and
when charity has to be given. Charity is never unproductive nor blind. In
the sdstras charity was offered to persons who deserve to accept charity by
dint of spiritual enlightenment. The so-called Daridra-Narayana, a miscon-
ception of the Supreme Lord by unauthorized persons, is never to be
found in the sastras as the object of charity. Nor can a wretched poor man
receive much munificent charity in the way of horses, elephants, land and
villages. The conclusion is that the intelligent men, or the brahmanas
specifically engaged in the service of the Lord, were properly maintained
without anxiety for the needs of the body, and the King and other house-
holders gladly looked after all their comforts.

It is enjoined in the sdstras that as long as a child is joined with the
mother by the navel pipe, the child is considered to be of one body with
the mother, but as soon as the pipe is cut and the child is separated from
the mother, the purificatory process of jatakarman is performed. The admin-
istrative demigods and past forefathers of the family come to see a newly
born child, and such an occasion is specifically accepted as the proper time
for distributing wealth to the right persons productively for the spiritual
advancement of society.

TEXT 15
TTTAUTTRT Ua TAT TTH |
wy afer waae FET TART 4H
tam icur brahmanas tusta
rajanam prasrayanvitam
esa hy asmin praja-tantau
puriinam pauravarsabha

tam—unto him; icuh—addressed; brahmanah—the learned brahmanas;
tusfah—very much satisfied; rajanam—unto the king; prasrayanvitam—very
much obliging; esah— this; hi— certainly ; asmin—in the chain of; praja-tantau
—descending line; purinam—of the Purus; paurava-rsabha—the chief among
the Purus.
