His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Maharaja Rsabhadeva, an incarnation of Krsna who many years ago was emperor of the whole world, instructed this verse to his sons. In former ages there was only one king on this planet. In every planet, not only on this planet but on all others also, there is a predominating personality, who is commonly called a king or emperor, or in some cases a predominating Deity.

For instance, on the moon the predominating personality is called Candra, and on the sun the predominating Deity or emperor at the present moment is called Vivasvan. The predominating Deities or emperors in each and every important planet are mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. This indicates that the author of the Srimad-Bhagavatam has complete knowledge, not only of this universe but also of the spiritual sky which lies beyond this universe. In the spiritual sky there are many planets, and in those planets the predominating Deity is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In the material universe the predominating personalities are human beings, as in our own planetary system, and their features are exactly like ours-two hands, two legs, one head, etc.-but they are very pious and God conscious.

On the various planets in the material universe there are different gradations of human beings. On this planet, for example, in some sections of the world there are slaves and uncivilized persons, and in some portions of the world there are civilized, God conscious and intelligent persons. Just as there are different types of human beings on this planet, so there are different living beings on other planets. The higher and lower statuses of the living entities are calculated in terms of Krsna consciousness. Of course consciousness is everywhere; every living entity, including the animals, has some form of consciousness, but that consciousness which is not Krsna consciousness is of a lower grade. When one is completely conscious of Krsna, his consciousness is considered to be in the highest position.