SB 4.20.17
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 17
- maitreya uvāca
- sa itthaṁ loka-guruṇā
- viṣvaksenena viśva-jit
- anuśāsita ādeśaṁ
- śirasā jagṛhe hareḥ
SYNONYMS
maitreyaḥ uvāca — Maitreya said; saḥ — he; ittham — thus; loka-guruṇā — by the supreme master of all people; viṣvaksenena — by the Personality of Godhead; viśva-jit — the conqueror of the world (Mahārāja Pṛthu); anuśāsitaḥ — being ordered; ādeśam — instructions; śirasā — on the head; jagṛhe — accepted; hareḥ — of the Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
The great saint Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, in this way Mahārāja Pṛthu, the conqueror of the entire world, accepted the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead on his head.
PURPORT
One should accept the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by bowing down at the lotus feet of the Lord. This means that anything spoken by the Personality of Godhead should be taken as it is, with great care and attention and with great respect. It is not our business to amend the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or make additions or alterations, as it has become a custom for many so-called scholars and svāmīs who comment on the words of Bhagavad-gītā . Here the practical example of how to accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is shown by Pṛthu Mahārāja. This is the way to receive knowledge through the paramparā system.