प्रजासु पितृवत्स्निग्धः किङ्करो ब्रह्मवादिनाम् ॥१७॥
mÄtá¹›-bhaktiḥ para-strÄ«á¹£u
patnyÄm ardha ivÄtmanaḥ
prajÄsu pitá¹›vat snigdhaḥ
kiá¹…karo brahma-vÄdinÄm
mÄtá¹›-bhaktiḥ - as respectful as one is to his mother; para-strÄ«á¹£u - to other women; patnyÄm - to his own wife; ardhaḥ - half; iva - like; Ätmanaḥ - of his body; prajÄsu - unto the citizens; pitá¹›-vat - like a father; snigdhaḥ - affectionate; kiá¹…karaḥ - servant; brahma-vÄdinÄm - of the devotees who preach the glories of the Lord.
The King will respect all women as if they were his own mother, and he will treat his own wife as the other half of his body. He will be just like an affectionate father to his citizens, and he will treat himself as the most obedient servant of the devotees, who always preach the glories of the Lord.
A learned man treats all women except his wife as his mother, looks on others’ property as garbage in the street, and treats others as he would treat his own self. These are the symptoms of a learned person as described by CÄṇakya Paṇá¸ita. This should be the standard for education. Education does not mean having academic degrees only. One should execute what he has learned in his personal life. These learned characteristics were verily manifest in the life of King Pá¹›thu. Although he was the king, he treated himself as a servant of the Lord’s devotees. According to Vedic etiquette, if a devotee came to a king’s palace, the king would immediately offer his own seat to him. The word brahma-vÄdinÄm is very significant. Brahma-vÄdÄ« refers to the devotees of the Lord. Brahman, ParamÄtmÄ and BhagavÄn are different terms for the Supreme Brahman, and the Supreme Brahman is Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is accepted in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (10.12) by Arjuna (paraá¹ brahma paraá¹ dhÄma). Thus the word brahma-vÄdinÄm refers to the devotees of the Lord. The state should always serve the devotees of the Lord, and the ideal state should conduct itself according to the instructions of the devotee. Because King Pá¹›thu followed this principle, he is highly praised.
