dharma-pÄlo nara-patiḥ
sa tu samrÄḠbá¹›hac-chravÄḥ
sÄká¹£Än mahÄ-bhÄgavato
rÄjará¹£ir haya-medhayÄá¹
ká¹£ut-tá¹›á¹-Å›rama-yuto dÄ«no
naivÄsmac chÄpam arhati
dharma-pÄlaḥ - the protector of religion; nara-patiḥ - the King; saḥ - he; tu - but; samrÄá¹ - Emperor; bá¹›hat - highly; Å›ravÄḥ - celebrated; sÄká¹£Ät - directly; mahÄ-bhÄgavataḥ - the first-class devotee of the Lord; rÄja-ṛṣiḥ - saint amongst the royal order; haya-medhayÄá¹ - great performer of horse sacrifices; ká¹£ut - hunger; tṛṠ- thirst; Å›rama-yutaḥ - tired and fatigued; dÄ«naḥ - stricken; na - never; eva - thus; asmat - by us; Å›Äpam - curse; arhati - deserves.
After explaining the general codes relating to the royal position and asserting that the king can do no wrong and therefore is never to be condemned, the sage ÅšamÄ«ka wanted to say something about Emperor ParÄ«ká¹£it specifically. The specific qualification of MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it is summarized herein. The King, even calculated as a king only, was most celebrated as a ruler who administered the religious principles of the royal order. In the Å›Ästras the duties of all castes and orders of society are prescribed. All the qualities of a ká¹£atriya mentioned in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (18.43) were present in the person of the Emperor. He was also a great devotee of the Lord and a self-realized soul. Cursing such a king, when he was tired and fatigued with hunger and thirst, was not at all proper. ÅšamÄ«ka Ṛṣi thus admitted from all sides that MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it was cursed most unjustly. Although all the brÄhmaṇas were aloof from the incident, still for the childish action of a brÄhmaṇa boy the whole world situation was changed. Thus Ṛṣi ÅšamÄ«ka, a brÄhmaṇa, took responsibility for all deterioration of the good orders of the world.