SB 1.19.20 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 20
Na va idam rajarshi varya chitram Bhavatsu krishnam samanuvratesu Ye adhyasanam rajakirita justam Sadya juhur bhagawat parswakamah.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Na—neither, Va—like this, Idam—this, Rajarsi—saintly king, Varya—the chief, Chitram—astonishing, Bhavatsu—unto you all, Krishnam—Lord Krishna, Samanuvartesu—unto those who are strictly in the line of, Ye—who, Adhyasanam—seated on the throne, Rajakirita—helmets of kings, Justam—decorated, Sadya—immediately, Juhur—gave up, Bhagawat—the Personality of Godhead, Parswakama—desiring to achieve association.
TRANSLATION
Oh the chief of the saintly kings, for you all the Kings of the Pandu dynasty, who are all strictly in the line of Lord Sri Krishna, it is not at all astonishing to give up your throne which is decorated with the helmets of many kings for the sake of achieving the eternal association of the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
Foolish politicians who hold political administrative posts for sometime, do think that the temporary post occupied by him is the highest material gain of his life and therefore they stick up to that post upto the last moment of his life without knowing it that achievement of liberation as one of the associates of the Lord in His eternal abode is the highest gain of life. The human life is meant for achieving this end of life going back to home back to Godhead. The Lord has assured us in the Bhagwat Geeta more than many times that by achieving the success of going back to Godhead, in His eternal abode is the highest achievement of success. Prahlad Maharaj while praying to the Lord Nrisingah said it as follows, "Oh my Lord I am very much afraid of the materialistic way of life and I am not the least afraid of your present ghastly ferocious feature as Nrisinghadeva. This materialistic way of life is something like a grinding stone and thus we are being crushed by the great machine. We are fallen in this horrible whirlpool of the waves of ups and downs of life and thus my Lord I pray at your lotus feet to call me back to your eternal abode as one of your servitors which is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life. I have a very bitter experience of materialistic way of life. In whichever species of life I have taken my birth compelled by the force of reaction of my own activities, I have very bitterly experienced two things specially namely separation from my beloved and meeting with what is not wanted by me. And to counter act them, the remedies which I undertook were more dangerous than the mischieves themselves. So I am drifted from one point to the other birth after birth and I pray therefore for giving me a shelter at your lotus feet."
The Pandava kings who are more than many saints of the world know the bitter results of materialistic way of life. They are never captivated by the glare of the imperial throne occupied by them and they seek always the opportunity of being called by the Lord to associate with Him eternally. Maharaj Parikshit was a worthy grand-son of Maharaj Yudhisthir. Maharaj Yudhisthir timely gave up the attraction of the imperial throne giving over the charge of administration to his grand-son and similarly Maharaj Parikshit the grandson of Maharaj Yudhisthir, gave up the attraction of the imperial throne timely, giving over the charge of administration to his son Janmenjaya. That is the way of all the kings in the dynasty because they are all strictly in the line of Lord Krishna. As such the devotees of the Lord are never enchanted by the glare of the materialistic way of life and they live impartially unattached to the objects of attraction of the false illusory materialistic way of life.