durdhará¹£as tejasevÄgnir
mahendra iva durjayaḥ
titiká¹£ayÄ dharitrÄ«va
dyaur ivÄbhīṣá¹a-do nṛṇÄm
durdhará¹£aḥ - unconquerable; tejasÄ - by prowess; iva - like; agniḥ - fire; mahÄ-indraḥ - the King of heaven; iva - likened; durjayaḥ - insuperable; titiká¹£ayÄ - by tolerance; dharitrÄ« - the earth; iva - like; dyauḥ - the heavenly planets; iva - like; abhīṣá¹a-daḥ - fulfilling desires; nṛṇÄm - of human society.
It is the duty of a king to give protection to the citizens and to fulfill their desires. At the same time, the citizens must obey the laws of the state. MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu maintained all the standards of good government, and he was so invincible that no one could disobey his orders any more than a person could stop heat and light emanating from a fire. He was so strong and powerful that he was compared to the King of heaven, Indra. In this age modern scientists have been experimenting with nuclear weapons, and in a former age they used to release brahmÄstras, but all these brahmÄstras and nuclear weapons are insignificant compared to the thunderbolt of the King of heaven. When Indra releases a thunderbolt, even the biggest hills and mountains crack. On the other hand, MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu was as tolerant as the earth itself, and he fulfilled all the desires of his citizens just like torrents of rain from the sky. Without rainfall, it is not possible to fulfill one’s various desires on this planet. As stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (3.14), parjanyÄd anna-sambhavaḥ: food grains are produced only because rain falls from the sky, and without grains, no one on the earth can be satisfied. Consequently, an unlimited distribution of mercy is compared to the water falling from the clouds. MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu distributed his mercy incessantly, much like rainfall. In other words, MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu was softer than a rose flower and harder than a thunderbolt. In this way he ruled over his kingdom.