926 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 17

TRANSLATION

The most fortunate Emperor Maharaja Parksit, who was entrusted
with the kingdom of Hastinapura by Maharaja Yudhisthira when he desired
to retire to the forest, is now ruling the world with great success due to his
being glorified by the deeds of the kings of the Kuru dynasty.

PURPORT

The prolonged sacrificial ceremonies undertaken by the sages of
Naimisaranya were begun a very little after the demise of Maharaja
Paniksit. The sacrifice was to continue for one thousand years, and it is
understood that in the beginning some of the contemporaries of Baladeva,
the elder brother of Lord Krsna, also visited the sacrificial place. According
to some authorities, the present tense is also used to indicate the nearest
margin of time from the past. In that sense, the present tense is applied to
the reign of Maharaja Pariksit here. For a continuous fact, also, present
tense can be used. The principles of Maharaja Panksit can be still continued,
and human society can still be improved if there is determination by the
authorities. We can still purge out from the state all the activities of
immorality introduced by the personality of Kali if we are determined to
take action like Maharaja Parksit. He alloted some place for Kali, but in
fact Kali could not find such places in the world at all because Maharaja
Paniksit was strictly vigilant to see that there were no places for gambling,
drinking, prostitution and animal slaughter. Modern administrators want
to banish corruption from the state, but fools as they are, they do not
know how to do it. They want to issue licenses for gambling houses, wine
and other intoxicating drug houses, brothels and hotel prostitution and
cinema houses, and falsity in every dealing, even in their own, and they
want at the same time to drive out corruption from the state. They want
the kingdom of God without God consciousness. How can it be possible to
adjust two contradictory matters? If we want to drive out corruption from
the state, we must first of all organize society to accept the principles of
religion, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness, and to
make the condition favorable we must close all places of gambling,
drinking, prostitution and falsity. These are some of the practical lessons
from the pages of Srimad-Bhdagavatam.

TEXT 45

ROQIAISTAAAaaN = FT |

TA UHI: Siott t aarT etfs: Wes
