862 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 21

help the conditioned soul both ways. Therefore He has been mentioned
herein as gurum. It appears, however, that in the time of Maharaja Prthu
all the people on the surface of the globe were his subjects. Most of them—
in fact, almost all of them—were engaged in devotional service. Therefore
he thanked them in a humble way for engaging in devotional service and
thus bestowing their mercy upon him. In other words, in a state where the
citizens and the head of state are engaged in devotional service unto
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they help one another and are
mutually benefited.

TEXT 37

a ata wa: waITefahy-
fatran ava fre @ |
adreqnrasfraazat
SO GT TASS fAsATT 112.91

ma jatu tejah prabhaven maharddhibhis
titiksaya tapasa vidyaya ca
dedipyamane ’jita-devatanam
kule svayam raja-kulad dvijanam

ma—never do it; jatu—at any time; tejah—supreme power; prabhavet—
exhibit; maha—great; rddhibhih—by opulence; titiksaya—by tolerance;
tapasa—penance; vidyaya—by education; ca—also; dedipyamane—upon
those who are already glorified; ajita-devatanam—V aisnavas, or the devotees
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kule—in the society; svayam—
personally; raja-kulat—greater than the royal family; dvijanam—of the
brahmanas.

TRANSLATION

The brahmanas and Vaisnavas are personally glorified by their charac-
teristic powers of tolerance, penance, knowledge and education. By dint
of all these spiritual assets, Vaisnavas are more powerful than royalty.
It is therefore advised that the princely order not exhibit its material
prowess before these two communities and should avoid offending them.

PURPORT

Prthu Maharaja has explained in the previous verse the importance of
devotional service for both the rulers and the citizens of the state. Now
he explains how one can be steadily fixed in devotional service. Sri
