प्रीताः क्लिन्नधियस्तस्मै प्रत्यर्प्येदं बभाषिरे ॥५॥
te tu brÄhmaṇa-devasya
vÄtsalyaá¹ vÄ«ká¹£ya saá¹stutam
prÄ«tÄḥ klinna-dhiyas tasmai
pratyarpyedaá¹ babhÄá¹£ire
te - the hotÄ, brahmÄ and other priests; tu - but; brÄhmaṇa-devasya - of Lord RÄmacandra, who loved the brÄhmaṇas so much; vÄtsalyam - the paternal affection; vÄ«ká¹£ya - after seeing; saá¹stutam - worshiped with prayers; prÄ«tÄḥ - being very pleased; klinna-dhiyaḥ - with melted hearts; tasmai - unto Him (Lord RÄmacandra); pratyarpya - returning; idam - this (all the land given to them); babhÄá¹£ire - spoke.
All the brÄhmaṇas who were engaged in the various activities of the sacrifice were very pleased with Lord RÄmacandra, who was greatly affectionate and favorable to the brÄhmaṇas. Thus with melted hearts they returned all the property received from Him and spoke as follows.
In the previous chapter it was said that the prajÄs, the citizens, strictly followed the system of varṇÄÅ›rama-dharma. The brÄhmaṇas acted exactly like brÄhmaṇas, the ká¹£atriyas exactly like ká¹£atriyas, and so on. Therefore, when Lord RÄmacandra gave everything in charity to the brÄhmaṇas, the brÄhmaṇas, being qualified, wisely considered that brÄhmaṇas are not meant to possess property to make a profit from it. The qualifications of a brÄhmaṇa are given in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (18.42):
Å›amo damas tapaḥ Å›aucaá¹
ká¹£Äntir Ärjavam eva ca
jñÄnaá¹ vijñÄnam Ästikyaá¹
brahma-karma svabhÄvajam
“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness — these are the qualities by which the brÄhmaṇas work.†The brahminical character offers no scope for possessing land and ruling citizens; these are the duties of a ká¹£atriya. Therefore, although the brÄhmaṇas did not refuse Lord RÄmacandra’s gift, after accepting it they returned it to the King. The brÄhmaṇas were so pleased with Lord RÄmacandra’s affection toward them that their hearts melted. They saw that Lord RÄmacandra, aside from being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was fully qualified as a ká¹£atriya and was exemplary in character. One of the qualifications of a ká¹£atriya is to be charitable. A ká¹£atriya, or ruler, levies taxes upon the citizens not for his personal sense gratification but to give charity in suitable cases. DÄnam Ä«Å›vara-bhÄvaḥ. On one hand, ká¹£atriyas have the propensity to rule, but on the other they are very liberal with charity. When MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira gave charity, he engaged Karṇa to take charge of distributing it. Karṇa was very famous as DÄtÄ Karṇa. The word dÄtÄ refers to one who gives charity very liberally. The kings always kept a large quantity of food grains in stock, and whenever there was any scarcity of grains, they would distribute grains in charity. A ká¹£atriya’s duty is to give charity, and a brÄhmaṇa’s duty is to accept charity, but not more than needed to maintain body and soul together. Therefore, when the brÄhmaṇas were given so much land by Lord RÄmacandra, they returned it to Him and were not greedy.
