924 Snimad-Bhigavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 17

TEXT 42

Tra agialy waa: at Tafa |
sfedey arava mat A HATTA MVR

ursasya nastams trin padan
tapah saucam dayam iti

pratisandadha asvasya
mahim ca samavardhayat

vrsasya—of the bull (the personality of religiosity); nastan—lost; trin—
three; padan—legs; tapah—austerity; saucam—cleanliness; dayam—mercy ;
iti—etc.; pratisandadhe—reestablished; asvasya—by encouraging activities;
mahim—the earth; ca—and; samavardhayat—perfectly improved.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter the King reestablished the lost legs of the personality of
religion [the bull], and by encouraging activities he sufficiently improved
the condition of the earth.

PURPORT

By designating particular places for the personality of Kali, Maharaja
Panksit practically cheated Kali. In the presence of Kali, Dharma (in the
shape of a bull), and the earth (in the shape of a cow), he could actually
estimate the general condition of his kingdom, and therefore he at once
took proper steps to reestablish the legs of the bull, namely austerity,
cleanliness and mercy. And for the general benefit of the people of the
world, he saw that the gold stock might be employed for stabilization.
Gold is certainly a generator of falsity, intoxication, prostitution, enmity
and violence, but under the guidance of a proper king or public leader or a
brahmana or sannyasi, the same gold can be properly utilized to reestab-
lish the lost legs of the bull, the personality of religion.

Maharaja Pariksit, therefore, like his grandfather Arjuna, collected all
illicit gold kept for the propensities of Kali and employed it in the
sankirtana-yajita, as per instruction of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. As we have
suggested before, one’s accumulated wealth may be divided in three parts
for distribution, namely fifty percent for the service of the Lord, twenty-
five percent for the family members and twenty-five percent for personal
