Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 9
Bhagavān’s Avatāras, Their Protections (Poṣaṇa), and the Limits of Knowing Him
यद्वेनमुत्पथगतं द्विजवाक्यवज्र- निष्प्लुष्टपौरुषभगं निरये पतन्तम् । त्रात्वार्थितो जगति पुत्रपदं च लेभे दुग्धा वसूनि वसुधा सकलानि येन ॥ ९ ॥
yad venam utpatha-gataṁ dvija-vākya-vajra- niṣpluṣṭa-pauruṣa-bhagaṁ niraye patantam trātvārthito jagati putra-padaṁ ca lebhe dugdhā vasūni vasudhā sakalāni yena
เมื่อมหาราชเวนะหลงออกนอกทางธรรม บรรดาพราหมณ์ได้สาปด้วยวาจาดุจสายฟ้า เผาผลาญบุญและเดชของเขา จนเขากำลังตกสู่นรก พระผู้เป็นเจ้าโดยพระกรุณาอันไร้เหตุจึงอวตารเป็นโอรสชื่อปฤถุ ทรงกู้เวนะจากนรก และทรงรีดน้ำนมจากแผ่นดินให้บังเกิดพืชผลและทรัพย์นานาประการ।
According to the system of varṇāśrama-dharma, the pious and learned brāhmaṇas were the natural guardians of society. The brāhmaṇas, by their learned labor of love, would instruct the administrator-kings how to rule the country in complete righteousness, and thus the process would go on as a perfect welfare state. The kings or the kṣatriya administrators would always consult the council of learned brāhmaṇas. They were never autocratic monarchs. The scriptures like Manu-saṁhitā and other authorized books of the great sages were guiding principles for ruling the subjects, and there was no need for less intelligent persons to manufacture a code of law in the name of democracy. The less intelligent mass of people have very little knowledge of their own welfare, as a child has very little knowledge of its future well-being. The experienced father guides the innocent child towards the path of progress, and the childlike mass of people need similar guidance. The standard welfare codes are already there in the Manu-saṁhitā and other Vedic literatures. The learned brāhmaṇas would advise the king in terms of those standard books of knowledge and with reference to the particular situation of time and place. Such brāhmaṇas were not paid servants of the king, and therefore they had the strength to dictate to the king on the principles of scriptures. This system continued even up to the time of Mahārāja Candragupta, and the brāhmaṇa Cāṇakya was his unpaid prime minister.
FAQs
This verse says Vena deviated from dharma and, struck by the thunderbolt-like words of the brāhmaṇas, lost his royal potency and fell toward hell—showing that adharma leads to ruin and suffering.
The verse indicates that when sages implored deliverance, the Lord accepted a filial role in the world—referring to the divine arrangement by which Pṛthu appears in Vena’s line to restore order and rescue the situation.
It teaches responsible leadership and stewardship: when dharmic governance and gratitude replace exploitation, nature and society become nourishing and prosperous.