Shloka 49
Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Homecoming, Sacrificial Assembly, and Instruction on Devotional Kingship
अहो वयं ह्यद्य पवित्रकीर्ते त्वयैव नाथेन मुकुन्दनाथा: । य उत्तमश्लोकतमस्य विष्णो- र्ब्रह्मण्यदेवस्य कथां व्यनक्ति ॥ ४९ ॥
aho vayaṁ hy adya pavitra-kīrte tvayaiva nāthena mukunda-nāthāḥ ya uttamaślokatamasya viṣṇor brahmaṇya-devasya kathāṁ vyanakti
Dear King Pṛthu, your fame is supremely pure, for you proclaim the sacred narrations of Viṣṇu—the Brahmaṇya-deva—most glorified by the highest hymns. By our good fortune, having you as our lord, we feel ourselves living directly under Mukunda’s shelter.
The citizens declared that through being under the protection of Mahārāja Pṛthu, they were directly under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding is the proper situation of social steadiness within this material world. Since it is stated in the Vedas that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the maintainer and leader of all living entities, the king or the executive head of the government must be a representative of the Supreme Person. Then he can claim honor exactly like the Lord’s. How a king or leader of society can become the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also indicated in this verse by the statement that because Pṛthu Mahārāja was preaching the supremacy and the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, he was therefore a proper representative of the Lord. To remain under the jurisdiction or administration of such a king or leader is the perfect status for human society. The primary responsibility of such a king or leader is to protect the brahminical culture and the cows in his state.
FAQs
This verse says the citizens feel blessed because their king reveals the narrations of Viṣṇu; hearing and receiving such kathā makes one’s life purified and fixes one’s shelter in Mukunda.
Because Pṛthu’s rule and teachings were spiritually uplifting—by his exemplary leadership and his speaking of Viṣṇu’s glories, he purified the people and led them toward devotion.
Regularly hear, read, and discuss Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and other Viṣṇu-centered teachings, and align daily duties with dharma—this keeps Mukunda as the central refuge of one’s life.