aṣṭau māsān nipītaḿ yad
bhūmyāś coda-mayaḿ vasu
sva-gobhir moktum ārebhe
parjanyaḥ kāla āgate
ashtau -- eight; masan -- during months; nipitam -- drunk; yat -- which: bhumyah -- of the earth; ca -- and; uda-mayam -- consisting of water; vasu -- the wealth; sva-gobhih -- by his own rays; moktum -- to release; arebhe -- began; parjanyah -- the sun; kale -- the proper time; agate -- when it arrived.
The acaryas compare the sun's evaporating the earth's wealth of water to a king's collecting taxes. In Volume One, Chapter Twenty, of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Srila Prabhupada explains this analogy as follows: "Clouds are accumulated water drawn from the land by the sunshine. Continually for eight months the sun evaporates all kinds of water from the surface of the globe, and this water is accumulated in the shape of clouds, which are distributed as water when there is need. Similarly, a government exacts various taxes from the citizens, which the citizens are able to pay by their different material activities: agriculture, trade and industry. Thus the government can also exact taxes in the form of income tax and sales tax. This is compared to the sun drawing water from the earth. When there is again need of water on the surface of the globe, the same sunshine converts the water into clouds and distributes it all over the globe. Similarly, the taxes collected by the government must be distributed to the people as educational work, public work, sanitation work and so on. This is essential for a good government. The government should not simply exact taxes for useless squandering; the tax collection should be utilized for the public welfare of the state."