790 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 20

a feared a ayfigat
earargreataa: =U

sa Gdi-rajo racitanyalir harim
vilokitum nasakad asru-locanah

na kificanovaca sa baspa-viklavo
hrdopaguhyamum adhad avasthitah

sah—he; ddi-rajah—the original King; racita-anjalih—with folded hands;
harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vilokitum—to look upon;
na—not; aSakat—was able; asru-locanah—his eyes full of tears; na—nor;
kitcana—anything; uvaca—spoke; sah—he; baspa-viklavah—his voice being
choked up; hrda—with his heart; upaguhya—embracing; amum—the Lord;
adhat—he remained; avasthitah—standing.

TRANSLATION

The original King, Maharaja Prthu, his eyes full of tears and his voice
faltering and choked up, could neither see the Lord very distinctly nor
speak to address the Lord in any way. He simply embraced the Lord with-
in his heart and remained standing in that way with folded hands.

PURPORT

Just as Krsna is addressed in the Brahma-samhita as ddi-purusa, the
original personality, so King Prthu, being an empowered incarnation of
the Lord, is referred to in this verse as adi-rajah, the original or ideal King.
He was a great devotee and at the same time a great hero who conquered
over all undesirable elements in his kingdom. He was so powerful that he
was equal to fighting with Indra, the King of heaven. He gave protection to
his citizens, keeping them engaged in pious activities and devotion to
the Lord. He did not collect a single cent of taxes from the citizens with-
out being able to give them protection from all calamities. The greatest
calamity in life is to become godless and therefore sinful. If the state head
or king allows the citizens to become sinful by indulging in illicit sex life,
intoxication, meat-eating and gambling, then the king is responsible, and
he has to suffer the resultant sequence of reactions for the sinful lives of
the citizens because he levies taxes on them unnecessarily. These are the
principles for a ruling power, and because Maharaja Prthu observed all the
principles for a ruling chief, he is referred to here as adi-rajah.

Even a responsible king like Maharaja Prthu can become a pure devotee
