Shloka 18
समुद्रान्तां वसुमतीं वसुपूर्णा तु सर्वतः । सतां ब्राह्मणसात्कृत्वा जगामास्तं तदा नृप:,उस समय राजा मान्धाता सब ओरसे धन-धान्यसे सम्पन्न समुद्रपर्यन्त पृथ्वीको ब्राह्मणोंके अधीन करके सूर्यके समान अस्त हो गये
samudrāntāṃ vasumatīṃ vasupūrṇā tu sarvataḥ | satāṃ brāhmaṇasātkṛtvā jagāmāstaṃ tadā nṛpaḥ ||
Nārada said: Having made the earth—bounded by the ocean and filled everywhere with wealth—subject to the righteous brāhmaṇas, King Māndhātṛ then passed into setting, like the sun. The verse frames his end as the ethical culmination of kingship: prosperity is not hoarded for personal glory but placed under the guardianship of the virtuous, with the brāhmaṇas representing dharma, learning, and restraint.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal of righteous kingship: even when a ruler possesses an ocean-bounded, prosperous realm, he should subordinate power and wealth to dharma—symbolized by entrusting it to the virtuous brāhmaṇas—and accept life’s impermanence, departing without clinging.
Nārada recounts that King Māndhātṛ, after ruling a wealthy earth, placed the realm under the authority/guardianship of righteous brāhmaṇas and then departed from the world, compared to the sun setting.