Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 9
King Vena’s Tyranny, the Sages’ Counsel, and the Birth of Niṣāda
अराजकभयादेष कृतो राजातदर्हण: । ततोऽप्यासीद्भयं त्वद्य कथं स्यात्स्वस्ति देहिनाम् ॥ ९ ॥
arājaka-bhayād eṣa kṛto rājātad-arhaṇaḥ tato ’py āsīd bhayaṁ tv adya kathaṁ syāt svasti dehinām
無政府状態から国を救おうとして、賢者たちは資格のないヴェーナを王にした。しかし今や、王自身が民を苦しめている。どうして人々は幸せになれようか。
In Bhagavad-gītā (18.5) it is stated that even in the renounced order one should not give up sacrifice, charity and penance. The brahmacārīs must perform sacrifices, the gṛhasthas must give in charity, and those in the renounced order of life (the vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs ) must practice penance and austerities. These are the procedures by which everyone can be elevated to the spiritual platform. When the sages and saintly persons saw that King Vena had stopped all these functions, they became concerned about the people’s progress. Saintly people preach God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because they are anxious to save the general populace from the dangers of animalistic life. There must be a good government to see that the citizens are actually executing their religious rituals, and thieves and rogues must be curbed. When this is done, the people can advance peacefully in spiritual consciousness and make their lives successful.
FAQs
This verse states that people made a ruler out of fear of anarchy, yet fear still persisted—implying that social arrangements alone cannot remove fear from embodied life.
They were warning Vena that he had been elevated only to prevent social chaos, but because he was unqualified and irreligious, society remained fearful and unsafe.
Choose leadership grounded in dharma, but also understand that lasting fearlessness comes from spiritual life—cultivating devotion and inner discipline, not merely external governance.