अपि तेऽनामयं स्वस्ति प्रकृतीनां तथात्मनः ।
यथा प्रकृतिभिर्गुप्तः पुमान् राजा च सप्तभिः ॥१७॥
aá¹…girÄ uvÄca
api te 'nÄmayaá¹ svasti
praká¹›tÄ«nÄá¹ tathÄtmanaḥ
yathÄ praká¹›tibhir guptaḥ
pumÄn rÄjÄ ca saptabhiḥ
aá¹…girÄḥ uvÄca - the great sage Aá¹…girÄ said; api - whether; te - of you; anÄmayam - health; svasti - auspiciousness; praká¹›tÄ«nÄm - of your royal elements (associates and paraphernalia); tathÄ - as well as; Ätmanaḥ - of your own body, mind and soul; yathÄ - like; praká¹›tibhiḥ - by the elements of material nature; guptaḥ - protected; pumÄn - the living being; rÄjÄ - the king; ca - also; saptabhiḥ - by seven.
The great sage Aá¹…girÄ said: My dear King, I hope that your body and mind and your royal associates and paraphernalia are well. When the seven properties of material nature [the total material energy, the ego and the five objects of sense gratification] are in proper order, the living entity within the material elements is happy. Without these seven elements one cannot exist. Similarly, a king is always protected by seven elements — his instructor (svÄmÄ« or guru), his ministers, his kingdom, his fort, his treasury, his royal order and his friends.
As it is quoted by ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« in his BhÄgavatam commentary:
svÄmy-amÄtyau janapadÄ
durga-draviṇa-sañcayÄḥ
daṇá¸o mitraá¹ ca tasyaitÄḥ
sapta-praká¹›tayo matÄḥ
A king is not alone. He first has his spiritual master, the supreme guide. Then come his ministers, his kingdom, his fortifications, his treasury, his system of law and order, and his friends or allies. If these seven are properly maintained, the king is happy. Similarly, as explained in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (dehino ’smin yathÄ dehe), the living entity, the soul, is within the material covering of the mahat-tattva, ego and pañca-tanmÄtrÄ, the five objects of sense gratification. When these seven are in proper order, the living entity is in a mood of pleasure. Generally when the associates of the king are quiet and obedient, the king can be happy. Therefore the great sage Aá¹…girÄ á¹šá¹£i inquired about the King’s personal health and the good fortune of his seven associates. When we inquire from a friend whether everything is well, we are concerned not only with his personal self but also with his family, his source of income, and his assistants or servants. All of them must be well, and then a person can be happy.
