Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
samyag vyavasitÄ buddhis
tava rÄjará¹£i-sattama
vÄsudeva-kathÄyÄá¹ te
yaj jÄtÄ naiá¹£á¹hikÄ« ratiḥ
Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; samyak - completely; vyavasitÄ - fixed; buddhiḥ - intelligence; tava - of Your Majesty; rÄja-ṛṣi-sattama - O best of rÄjará¹£is, saintly kings; vÄsudeva-kathÄyÄm - in hearing about the topics of VÄsudeva, Kṛṣṇa; te - your; yat - because; jÄtÄ - developed; naiá¹£á¹hikÄ« - without cessation; ratiḥ - attraction or ecstatic devotional service.
Kṛṣṇa-kathÄ is compulsory for the rÄjará¹£i, or executive head of government. This is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (imaá¹ rÄjará¹£ayo viduḥ). Unfortunately, however, in this age the governmental power is gradually being captured by third-class and fourth-class men who have no spiritual understanding, and society is therefore very quickly becoming degraded. Kṛṣṇa-kathÄ must be understood by the executive heads of government, for otherwise how will people be happy and gain relief from the pangs of materialistic life? One who has fixed his mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be understood to have very sharp intelligence in regard to the value of life. MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it was rÄjará¹£i-sattama, the best of all saintly kings, and Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« was muni-sattama, the best of munis. Both of them were elevated because of their common interest in kṛṣṇa-kathÄ. The exalted position of the speaker and the audience will be explained very nicely in the next verse. Kṛṣṇa-kathÄ is so enlivening that MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it forgot everything material, even his personal comfort in relation to food and drink. This is an example of how the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should spread all over the world to bring both the speaker and the audience to the transcendental platform and back home, back to Godhead.