Text 12] Instructions by Maharaja Prthu 827

TEXT 12

TATRA: «THT TS |
HA AMAIGSAAPAAMAT: 1122

sarvatraskhalitadesah
sapta-dvipaika-dandadhrk

anyatra brahmana-kulad
anyatracyuta-gotratah

sarvatra—every where; askhalita— irrevocable; adesah— order; sapta-duipa—
seven islands; eka—one; danda-dhrk—the ruler who holds the scepter;
anyatra—except; brahmana-kulat—brahmanas and saintly persons; anyatra—
except; acyuta-gotratah—descendants of the Supreme Personality of God-
head (Vaisnavas).

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Prthu was an unrivalled king and possessed the scepter for
ruling all the seven islands on the surface of the globe. No one could dis-
obey his irrevocable orders but the saintly persons, the brahmanas and the
descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead [the Vaisnavas ].

PURPORT

Sapta-dvipa refers to the seven great islands or continents on the surface
of the globe: (1) Asia, (2) Europe, (3) Africa, (4) North America,(5) South
America, (6) Australia, and (7) Oceania. In the modern age people are
under the impression that during the Vedic period or the prehistoric ages
America and many other parts of the world had not been discovered, but
that is not a fact. Prthu Maharaja ruled over the world many thousands of
years before the so-called prehistoric age, and it is clearly mentioned here
that in those days not only were all the different parts of the world known,
but they were ruled by one king, Maharaja Prthu. The country where Prthu
Maharaja resided must have been India because it is stated in the eleventh
verse of this chapter that he lived in the tract of land called Brahmavarta,
which consists of what is known in the modern age as portions of Punjab
and northern India. It is clear that the kings of India once ruled all the
world and that their culture was Vedic.
