588 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 14

PURPORT

Before King Vena was enthroned, all the great sages were very much
anxious to see to the welfare of society. When they saw that King Vena
was most irresponsible, cruel and atrocious, they again began to think of
the welfare of the people. It should be understood that sages, saintly
persons and devotees are not unconcerned with the people’s welfare.
Ordinary karmis are busy acquiring money for sense gratification, and
ordinary jfianis are socially aloof when they speculate on liberation, but
actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the
people can be made happy both materially and spiritually. Therefore the
great sages began to consult one another on how to get out of the danger-
ous atmosphere created by King Vena.

TEXT 8

me TATA: Wd Stee ead AEq |
arg gt TNT I Il

aho ubhayatah praptam
lokasya vyasanam mahat
daruny ubhayato dipte
iva taskara-palayoh

aho—alas;ubhayatah—from both directions; praptam—received ; lokasya—
of the people in general; vyasanam—danger; mahat—great; daruni—a log;
ubhayatah—from both sides; dipte—burning; iva—like; taskara—from thieves
and rogues; palayoh—and from the king.

TRANSLATION

When the great sages consulted one another, they saw that the people
were in a dangerous position from both directions. When a fire blazes on
both ends of a log, the ants in the middle are in a very dangerous situation.
Similarly, at that time the people in general were in a dangerous position
due to an irresponsible king on one side and thieves and rogues on the
other.

TEXT 9

ATAEATAT | Hat TATA: |
TA SIT ae TET Bel ATCA AT ATS
