144 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 4

and expertise: tapasd—by austerities and penances: samadhi-yogena—
by full samadhi; nara-ndrayana-akhyam—named Nara-Narayana:
bhagavantam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vasudevam—
Krsna: updsinah—worshiping; kadlena—in due course of time; tat-
mahiménam—His glorious abode, the spiritual world, Vaikuntha:
avapa —achieved.

TRANSLATION

King Nabhi understood that his son, Rsabhadeva, was very
popular among the citizens and among government officers and
ministers. Understanding the popularity of his son, Maharaja
Nabhi enthroned Him as the emperor of the world to give protec-
tion to the general populace in terms of the Vedic religious system.
To do this, he entrusted Him into the hands of learned brahmanas,
who would guide Him in administrating the government. Then
Maharaja Nabhi and his wife, Merudevi, went to Badarikasrama in
the Himalaya Mountains, where the King engaged Himself very ex-
pertly in austerities and penances with great jubilation. In full
samadhi he worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nara-
Narayana, who is Krsna in His plenary expansion. By doing so, in
course of time Maharaja Nabhi was elevated to the spiritual world
known as Vaikuntha.

PURPORT
When Maharaja Nabhi saw that his son Rsabhadeva was popular with

the general populace and the governmental servants, he chose to install
Him on the imperial throne. In addition, he wanted to entrust his son
into the hands of the learned bréhmanas. This means that a monarch was
supposed to govern strictly according to Vedic principles under the guid-
ance of learned brahmanas, who could advise Him according to the stan-
dard Vedic scriptures like Manu-smrti and similar sdastras. It is the duty
of the king to rule the citizens according to Vedic principles. According to
Vedic principles. society is divided into four categories—brahmana,
ksatriya, vaisya and Sidra. Catur-varnyam ..aya srstam guna-karma-
vibhagasah. After dividing society in this way, it is the king’s duty to see
that everyone executes Vedic principles according to his caste. A
