चित्रकेतुरिति ख्यातो यस्यासीत् कामधुङ्मही ॥१०॥
ÄsÄ«d rÄjÄ sÄrvabhaumaḥ
śūraseneṣu vai nṛpa
citraketur iti khyÄto
yasyÄsÄ«t kÄmadhuá¹… mahÄ«
ÄsÄ«t - there was; rÄjÄ - one king; sÄrva-bhaumaḥ - an emperor of the entire surface of the globe; śūraseneá¹£u - in the country known as Śūrasena; vai - indeed; ná¹›pa - O King; citraketuḥ - Citraketu; iti - thus; khyÄtaḥ - celebrated; yasya - of whom; ÄsÄ«t - was; kÄma-dhuk - supplying all the necessities; mahÄ« - the earth.
O King Parīkṣit, in the province of Śūrasena there was a king named Citraketu, who ruled the entire earth. During his reign, the earth produced all the necessities for life.
Here the most significant statement is that the earth completely produced all the necessities of life during the time of King Citraketu. As stated in the Īśopaniṣad:
Ä«Å›ÄvÄsyam idaá¹ sarvaá¹
yat kiñca jagatyÄá¹ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjÄ«thÄ
mÄ gá¹›dhaḥ kasya svid dhanam
“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.†Kṛṣṇa, the supreme controller, has created the material world, which is completely perfect and free from scarcity. The Lord supplies the necessities of all living entities. These necessities come from the earth, and thus the earth is the source of supply. When there is a good ruler, that source produces the necessities of life abundantly. However, when there is not such a good ruler, there will be scarcity. This is the significance of the word kÄmadhuk. Elsewhere in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (1.10.4) it is said, kÄmaá¹ vavará¹£a parjanyaḥ sarva-kÄma-dughÄ mahÄ«: “During the reign of MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira, the clouds showered all the water that people needed, and the earth produced all the necessities of men in profusion.†We have experience that in some seasons the rains produce abundance and in other seasons there is scarcity. We have no control over the earth’s productiveness, for it is naturally under the full control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By His order, the Lord can make the earth produce sufficiently or insufficiently. If a pious king rules the earth according to the Å›Ästric injunctions, there will naturally be regular rainfall and sufficient produce to provide for all men. There will be no question of exploitation, for everyone will have enough. Black-marketeering and other corrupt dealings will then automatically stop. Simply ruling the land cannot solve man’s problems unless the leader has spiritual capabilities. He must be like MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira, ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja or RÄmacandra. Then all the inhabitants of the land will be extremely happy.
