Text 22] Instructions by Maharaja Prthu 835

therefore has four defects. But although Prthu Maharaja was above all
these, still, like an ordinary conditioned soul, he presented his statements
to the great souls, sages and saintly persons present there.

TEXT 22

ME VST Tat Taraee arse: |
cra afaa: Fy FAT SfTaT TAH NR

aham danda-dharo raja
prajanam tha yojitah

raksita urtti-dah svesu
setusu sthapita prthak

aham—1,; danda-dharah—carrier of the scepter; raja—king; prajanam—of
the citizens; iha—in this world; yojitah—engaged; raksita—protector;
urtti-dah—employer; svesu—in their own; setusu—respective social orders;
sthapita—established; prthak— differently.

TRANSLATION

King Prthu continued: By the grace of the Supreme Lord I have been
appointed the King of this planet, and I carry the scepter to rule the citi-
zens, protect them from all danger and give them employment according
to their respective positions in the social order established by Vedic in-
junction.

PURPORT

A king is supposed to be appointed by the Supreme Personality of God-
head to look after the interests of his particular planet. On every planet
there is a predominating person, just as we now see that in every country
there is a president. If one is president or king, it should be understood
that this opportunity has been given to him by the Supreme Lord. Accord-
ing to the Vedic system, the king is considered a representative of Godhead
and is offered respects by the citizens as God in the human form of life.
Actually, according to Vedic information, the Supreme Lord maintains all
living entities, and especially human beings, to elevate them to the highest
perfection. After many, many births in lower species, when a living entity
evolves to the human form of life and in particular to the civilized human
form of life, his society must be divided into four gradations, as ordered
by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Bhagavad-gita (catur-varnyam
maya srstam, etc.). The four social orders—the brahmanas, ksatriyas,
vaisyas and sidras—are natural divisions of human society, and, as declared
