Shloka 30
Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Homecoming, Sacrificial Assembly, and Instruction on Devotional Kingship
दौहित्रादीनृते मृत्यो: शोच्यान् धर्मविमोहितान् । वर्गस्वर्गापवर्गाणां प्रायेणैकात्म्यहेतुना ॥ ३० ॥
dauhitrādīn ṛte mṛtyoḥ śocyān dharma-vimohitān varga-svargāpavargāṇāṁ prāyeṇaikātmya-hetunā
Though vile persons like my father Vena—grandson of Death personified—are deluded upon the path of dharma and are to be lamented, all great souls agree that the giver of dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa, or ascent to heaven is, in truth, one alone: the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
King Vena, the father of Pṛthu Mahārāja, was condemned by the brāhmaṇas and saintly persons because of his denying the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and rejecting the method of satisfying Him by performance of Vedic sacrifice. In other words, he was an atheist, who did not believe in the existence of God, and who consequently stopped all Vedic ritualistic ceremonies in his kingdom. Pṛthu Mahārāja considered King Vena’s character abominable because Vena was foolish regarding the execution of religious performances. Atheists are of the opinion that there is no need to accept the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be successful in religion, economic development, sense gratification or liberation. According to them, dharma, or religious principles, are meant to establish an imaginary God to encourage one to become moral, honest and just so that the social orders may be maintained in peace and tranquillity. Furthermore, they say that actually there is no need to accept God for this purpose, for if one follows the principles of morality and honesty, that is sufficient. Similarly, if one makes nice plans and works very hard for economic development, automatically the result of economic development will come. Similarly, sense gratification also does not depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for if one earns enough money by any process, one will have sufficient opportunity for sense gratification. Insofar as liberation is concerned, they say that there is no need to talk of liberation because after death everything is finished. Pṛthu Mahārāja, however, did not accept the authority of such atheists, headed by his father, who was the grandson of death personified. Generally, a daughter inherits the qualities of her father, and a son gets the qualities of his mother. Thus Mṛtyu’s daughter, Sunīthā, got all the qualities of her father, and Vena inherited the qualities of his mother. A person who is always subjected to the rules and regulations of repeated birth and death cannot accommodate anything beyond materialistic ideas. Since King Vena was such a man, he did not believe in the existence of God. Modern civilization agrees with the principles of King Vena, but factually if we scrutinizingly study all the conditions of religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, we must accept the principles of the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Vedic literature, religion consists only of the codes of law given by God.
FAQs
This verse teaches that grief for relatives arises from confusion about dharma; only death is truly unavoidable, and lamentation rooted in bodily identification is misplaced.
While instructing his subjects, Pṛthu Mahārāja emphasized spiritual clarity and detachment—showing that dharmic vision frees one from sorrow born of ‘I’ and ‘mine’.
Remember what is inevitable (death) and reduce ego-based attachment; practice dharmic reflection and devotion so emotions are guided by wisdom rather than possessiveness.