प्रचेतसः पितुर्वाक्यं शिरसादाय साधवः ।
दिशं प्रतीचीं प्रययुस्तपस्यादृतचेतसः ॥१९॥
maitreya uvÄca
pracetasaḥ pitur vÄkyaá¹
Å›irasÄdÄya sÄdhavaḥ
diśaṠpratīcīṠprayayus
tapasy Ädá¹›ta-cetasaḥ
maitreyaḥ uvÄca - the great sage Maitreya continued to speak; pracetasaḥ - all the sons of King PrÄcÄ«nabarhi; pituḥ - of the father; vÄkyam - words; Å›irasÄ - on the head; ÄdÄya - accepting; sÄdhavaḥ - all pious; diÅ›am - direction; pratÄ«cÄ«m - western; prayayuḥ - went away; tapasi - in austerities; Ädá¹›ta - accepting seriously; cetasaḥ - in the heart.
The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, because of their pious nature, all the sons of PrÄcÄ«nabarhi very seriously accepted the words of their father with heart and soul, and with these words on their heads, they went toward the west to execute their father’s order.
In this verse sÄdhavaḥ, meaning “pious†or “well-behaved,†is very important, especially at the present moment. It is derived from the word sÄdhu. A perfect sÄdhu is one who is always engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PrÄcÄ«nabarhi’s sons are described as sÄdhavaḥ because of their complete obedience to their father. The father, king and spiritual master are supposed to be representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such they have to be respected as the Supreme Lord. It is the duty of the father, the spiritual master and the king to regulate their subordinates in such a way that they ultimately become fully unalloyed devotees of the Supreme Lord. That is the duty of the superiors, and it is the duty of the subordinates to obey their orders perfectly and in a disciplined way. The word Å›irasÄ, “on their heads,†is also significant, for the PracetÄs accepted the orders of their father and carried them on their heads, which means they accepted them in complete surrender.
