maitreya uvÄca
iti sandiÅ›ya bhagavÄn
bÄrhiá¹£adair abhipÅ«jitaḥ
paÅ›yatÄá¹ rÄja-putrÄṇÄá¹
tatraivÄntardadhe haraḥ
maitreyaḥ uvÄca - the great sage Maitreya continued to speak; iti - thus; sandiÅ›ya - giving instruction; bhagavÄn - the most powerful lord; bÄrhiá¹£adaiḥ - by the sons of King Barhiá¹£at; abhipÅ«jitaḥ - being worshiped; paÅ›yatÄm - while they were looking on; rÄja-putrÄṇÄm - the sons of the King; tatra - there; eva - certainly; antardadhe - became invisible; haraḥ - Lord Åšiva.
This chapter contains a great lesson concerning the monarchical kingdom in the days of yore. When King Barhiá¹£at was considering retiring from the royal duties, he sent his sons to perform austerities in order to become perfect kings for the welfare of the citizens. At the same time, King Barhiá¹£at was being instructed by the great sage NÄrada about the material world and the living entity who wants to enjoy it. It is therefore very clear how the kings and princes were trained to take charge of a kingdom. Welfare activities for the benefit of the citizens were aimed at understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The human form of life is especially meant for understanding God, our relationship with Him and our activities in His service. Because the kings took charge of the spiritual education of the citizens, both the king and the citizens were happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this regard, we should remember that the monarchical hierarchy of PrÄcÄ«nabarhiá¹£at comes from MahÄrÄja Dhruva, a great devotee of the Lord and the most celebrated disciple of NÄrada Muni. King PrÄcÄ«nabarhiá¹£at was then too much engaged in fruitive activities due to performing different types of yajñas. One can actually be promoted to higher planetary systems or to the heavenly kingdoms by performing various yajñas, but there is no question of liberation or going back home, back to Godhead. When the great sage NÄrada saw that a descendant of MahÄrÄja Dhruva was being misled by fruitive activities, NÄrada took compassion upon him and personally came to instruct him about the ultimate benediction of life, bhakti-yoga. How NÄrada Muni indirectly introduced the bhakti-yoga system to King PrÄcÄ«nabarhiá¹£at is very interestingly described in this Twenty-fifth Chapter.