Pṛthu Mahārāja's Qualities and Instructions

This article presents a thematic survey of Pṛthu Mahārāja's instructions, prayers, and administrative actions. It organizes the profound teachings found in the Vaniquotes category Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Verses Spoken by Pṛthu Mahārāja.

Pṛthu Mahārāja is an incarnation of the ruling potency (śaktyāveśa-avatāra) of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He appeared from the churned body of the wicked King Vena to restore order, religion, and prosperity to the earth. His reign sets the standard for ideal governance, emphasizing the protection of citizens, the worship of brāhmaṇas, and the ultimate goal of satisfying the Supreme Lord. He is known as the king who cultivated the land and established civilized society. His instructions to his subjects and his prayers to the Lord reveal the heart of a pure devotee concealed within the role of a powerful monarch.

Pṛthu Mahārāja is the 23rd top speaker of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with 57 verses at Vanisource. He speaks only in the 4th canto (57 verses).

Duty of the King (Instructions to Citizens)

In a great assembly, Pṛthu Mahārāja instructs his citizens on the duties of a responsible government and the reciprocal duties of the subjects. He explains that a king is liable for the sins of his people if he taxes them without teaching them spiritual values.

Responsibility of the Ruler

Pṛthu Mahārāja declares that his primary duty is to protect, employ, and educate the citizens. He accepts the scepter not for enjoyment, but to execute the order of the Supreme Lord.

"King Pṛthu 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 citizens, protect them from all danger and give them employment according to their respective positions."
"Any king who does not teach his citizens about their respective duties in terms of varṇa and āśrama but who simply exacts tolls and taxes from them is liable to suffer for the impious activities which have been performed by the citizens."
"I (Pṛthu) think that upon the execution of my duties as king, I shall be able to achieve the desirable objectives described by experts in Vedic knowledge. This destination is certainly achieved by the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the seer of all destiny."
"Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: Therefore, my dear citizens, for the welfare of your king after his death, you should execute your duties properly in terms of your positions of varṇa and āśrama and should always think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within your hearts."

Cooperation of the Citizens

King Pṛthu requests his citizens to follow their occupational duties as a mercy to him. He explains that the king, the citizens, and the spiritual teachers all share the results of the activities performed in the kingdom.

"All of you citizens on the surface of the globe who have a relationship with me and are worshiping Him by dint of your occupational duties are bestowing your mercy upon me. Therefore, O my citizens, I thank you."
"I request all the pure-hearted demigods, forefathers and saintly persons to support my proposal, for after death the result of an action is equally shared by its doer, its director and its supporter."
"According to your abilities and the occupations in which you are situated, you should engage your service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full confidence and without reservation."
"Pṛthu Mahārāja advised his citizens: Engaging your minds, your words, your bodies and the results of your occupational duties, and being always open-minded, you should all render devotional service to the Lord."

Chastising the Earth (Action for Survival)

When the citizens were starving because the earth (Bhūmi) was withholding grains, Pṛthu Mahārāja prepared to kill her. His dialogue with the earth-goddess demonstrates that a king must prioritize the survival of his subjects over sentiment, even if it means punishing a demigod.

The Threat to Kill

Pṛthu Mahārāja accuses the earth of disobedience and theft. He argues that since she is accepting her share of sacrifices but not producing food, she is liable for punishment.

"King Pṛthu replied: My dear earth, you have disobeyed my orders and rulings. In the form of a demigod you accepted your share of the yajñas we performed, but in return you have not produced sufficient food grains. For this reason I must kill you."
"Although you are eating green grass every day, you are not filling your milk bag so we can utilize your milk. Since you are willfully committing offenses, it cannot be said that you are not punishable due to your assuming the form of a cow."
"You have so lost your intelligence that, despite my orders, you do not deliver the seeds of herbs and grains formerly created by Brahmā and now hidden within yourself."
"You are very much puffed up with pride and have become almost insane. Presently you have assumed the form of a cow by your mystic powers. Nonetheless I shall cut you into small pieces like grain."

Protection of the Weak

King Pṛthu justifies his aggression by stating that anyone who has no compassion for the suffering living entities deserves to be killed by the king.

"Any cruel person - be he a man, woman or impotent eunuch - who is only interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king. Such killing can never be considered actual killing."
"Now, with the help of my arrows, I shall cut you to pieces and with your flesh satisfy the hunger-stricken citizens, who are now crying for want of grains. Thus I shall satisfy the crying citizens of my kingdom."

Worship of Brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas

Despite his power, Pṛthu Mahārāja exhibits extreme humility before the brāhmaṇas. He teaches that the prosperity of a kingdom depends on the respect shown to the priestly class and the Vaiṣṇavas.

The Power of the Brāhmaṇas

Pṛthu Mahārāja declares that the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are more powerful than royalty because of their austerity and knowledge. He considers them the mouth of God.

"The brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are personally glorified by their characteristic powers of tolerance, penance, knowledge and education. By dint of all these spiritual assets, Vaiṣṇavas are more powerful than royalty."
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ananta, eats through the fire sacrifices offered in the names of the different demigods, He does not take as much pleasure in eating through fire as He does in accepting offerings through the mouths of learned sages."
"In this world there is no fruitive activity superior to serving the brāhmaṇa class, for this can bring pleasure to the demigods, for whom the many sacrifices are recommended."
"In brahminical culture a brāhmaṇa's transcendental position is eternally maintained because the injunctions of the Vedas are accepted with faith, austerity, scriptural conclusions, full sense and mind control, and meditation."

Carrying the Dust

He prays to always carry the dust of the brāhmaṇas' feet on his crown, explaining that such humility destroys sinful reactions and attracts all opulence.

"O respectable personalities present here, I beg the blessings of all of you that I may perpetually carry on my crown the dust of the lotus feet of such brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas until the end of my life."
"He who can carry such dust on his head is very soon relieved of all the reactions which arise from sinful life, and eventually he develops all good and desirable qualities."
"Whoever acquires the brahminical qualifications - whose only wealth is good behavior, who is grateful and who takes shelter of experienced persons - gets all the opulence of the world."
"Any person upon whom the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are pleased can achieve anything which is very rare to obtain in this world as well as after death. Not only that, but one also receives the favor of the auspicious Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu."

Humility and Rejection of Praise

When professional reciters (sūtas and māgadhas) begin to praise Pṛthu Mahārāja, he stops them. He argues that he has not yet displayed the qualities they are praising and that such glorification belongs only to the Supreme Lord.

Avoiding False Prestige

Pṛthu Mahārāja explains that accepting praise for unmanifested qualities is a form of cheating. He prefers to wait until he has actually performed the deeds.

"King Pṛthu said: O gentle sūta, māgadha and other devotee offering prayers, the qualities of which you have spoken are not distinct in me. Why then should you praise me for all these qualities when I do not shelter these features?"
"O gentle reciters, offer such prayers in due course of time, when the qualities of which you have spoken actually manifest themselves in me. The gentle who offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not attribute such qualities to a human being."
"How could an intelligent man competent enough to possess such exalted qualities allow his followers to praise him if he did not actually have them?"
"As a person with a sense of honor and magnanimity does not like to hear about his abominable actions, a person who is very famous and powerful does not like to hear himself praised."
"Praising a man by saying that if he were educated he might have become a great scholar or great personality is nothing but a process of cheating. A foolish person who agrees to accept such praise does not know that such words simply insult him."

Redirecting Praise to God

He insists that since the Lord is the source of all qualities, He alone should be glorified.

"King Pṛthu continued: My dear devotees, headed by the sūta, just now I am not very famous for my personal activities because I have not done anything praiseworthy you could glorify."
"The ancient, eternal Godhead, who is foremost amongst all great personalities, obtained the opulence of His staunch reputation, which purifies the entire universe, by worshiping the lotus feet of those brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas."

Prayers for One Million Ears

After performing ninety-nine horse sacrifices, Pṛthu Mahārāja is visited by Lord Viṣṇu. The Lord offers him any benediction. Pṛthu rejects liberation (mokṣa) and asks only for the facility to hear about the Lord constantly.

Rejection of Liberation

Pṛthu Mahārāja argues that if liberation means merging into the Lord's existence without hearing His glories, he does not want it. He prefers the life of a devotee, even if it means birth and death.

"My dear Lord, I therefore do not wish to have the benediction of merging into Your existence, a benediction in which there is no existence of the nectarean beverage of Your lotus feet."
"I want the benediction of at least one million ears, for thus I may be able to hear about the glories of Your lotus feet from the mouths of Your pure devotees."
"My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering. The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devotees."
"Please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son's demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me."
"Such benedictions are available automatically, even in the lives of living entities suffering in hellish conditions. My dear Lord, You can certainly bestow merging into Your existence, but I do not wish to have such a benediction."

The Value of Hearing

King Pṛthu compares the words of the pure devotees to saffron dust that restores the memory of the fallen soul.

"My dear highly glorified Lord, if one, in the association of pure devotees, hears even once the glories of Your activities, he does not, unless he is nothing but an animal, give up the association of devotees."
"When the transcendental vibration from the mouths of great devotees carries the aroma of the saffron dust of Your lotus feet, the forgetful living entity gradually remembers his eternal relationship with You."
"The perfection of chanting and hearing about Your glories was accepted even by the goddess of fortune, who desired to hear of Your unlimited activities and transcendental glories."

Reception of the Four Kumāras

When the four Kumāras (Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana, and Sanat-kumāra) visit his kingdom, Pṛthu Mahārāja receives them with the highest honor. He inquires from them about the ultimate goal of life, showing that even a great king must take instruction from liberated souls.

Honoring the Sages

Pṛthu Mahārāja welcomes the sages, acknowledging their mercy in visiting a householder. He offers them everything he possesses.

"King Pṛthu spoke: My dear great sages, auspiciousness personified, it's very difficult for even the mystic yogīs to see you. Indeed, you are very rarely seen. I don't know what kind of pious activity I performed for you to grace me by appearing before me."
"The King said: O brāhmaṇa, O powerful one, formerly Lord Viṣṇu showed me His causeless mercy, indicating that you would come to my house, and to confirm that blessing, you have all come."
"Pṛthu welcomed the four Kumāras, saying: From the beginning of your birth you strictly observed the vows of celibacy, and although you are experienced in the path of liberation, you are keeping yourselves just like small children."
"The King continued: Therefore, my dear brāhmaṇas, my life, wife, children, home, furniture and household paraphernalia, my kingdom, strength, land and especially my treasury are all offered unto you."

Inquiry on the Goal of Life

King Pṛthu asks the Kumāras how a person entangled in material life can achieve liberation.

"I am completely assured that personalities like you are the only friends for persons who are blazing in the fire of material existence. I therefore ask you how in this material world we can very soon achieve the ultimate goal of life."
"Pṛthu Mahārāja inquired from the sages about persons entangled in this dangerous material existence because of their previous actions; could such persons, whose only aim is sense gratification, be blessed with any good fortune?"
"Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: How can such persons, who have rendered unlimited service by explaining the path of self-realization in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, be repaid except by folded palms containing water for their satisfaction?"

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

This article is a thematic compilation of the teachings presented in the Vaniquotes category Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Prthu Maharaja. We invite you to visit the link to read the complete collection of verses presented in alphabetical order.