यदसौ लोकपालानां बिभर्त्योजः स्वतेजसा ॥२३॥
nÄvadhyeyaḥ prajÄ-pÄlaḥ
prajÄbhir aghavÄn api
yad asau loka-pÄlÄnÄá¹
bibharty ojaḥ sva-tejasÄ
na - never; avadhyeyaḥ - to be insulted; prajÄ-pÄlaḥ - the king; prajÄbhiḥ - by the citizens; aghavÄn - ever sinful; api - even though; yat - because; asau - he; loka-pÄlÄnÄm - of many kings; bibharti - maintains; ojaḥ - prowess; sva-tejasÄ - by personal influence.
It is the duty of all citizens in a state never to insult the king, even though he sometimes appears to have done something very sinful. Because of his prowess, the king is always more influential than all other ruling chiefs.
According to Vedic civilization the king is supposed to be the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is called nara-nÄrÄyaṇa, indicating that NÄrÄyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in human society as the king. It is etiquette that neither a brÄhmaṇa nor a ká¹£atriya king is ever insulted by the citizens; even though a king appears to be sinful, the citizens should not insult him. But in the case of Vena it appears that he was cursed by the nara-devatÄs; therefore, it was concluded that his sinful activities were very grievous.
