SB 4.23.36

TEXT 36

TEXT

विजयाभिमुखो राजा श्रुत्वैतदभियाति यान् ।
बलिं तस्मै हरन्त्यग्रे राजानः पृथवे यथा ॥ ३६ ॥

vijayabhimukho raja

srutvaitad abhiyati yan

balim tasmai haranty agre

rajanah prthave yatha

vijaya-abhimukhah-one who is about to start for victory; raja-king; srutva-hearing; etat-this; abhiyati-starts; yan-on the chariot; balim-taxes; tasmai-unto him; haranti-present; agre-before; rajanah-other kings; prthave-unto King Prthu; yatha-as it was done.

TRANSLATION

If a king, who is desirous of attaining victory and ruling power, chants the narration of Prthu Maharaja three times before going forth on his chariot, all subordinate kings will automatically render all kinds of taxes unto him-as they rendered them unto Maharaja Prthu-simply upon his order.

PURPORT

Since a ksatriya king naturally desires to rule the world, he wishes to make all other kings subordinate to him. This was also the position many years ago when Prthu Maharaja was ruling over the earth. At that time he was the only emperor on this planet. Even five thousand years ago, Maharaja Yudhisthira and Maharaja Pariksit were the sole emperors of this planet. Sometimes the subordinate kings rebelled, and it was necessary for the emperor to go and chastise them. This process of chanting the narrations of the life and character of Prthu Maharaja is recommended for conquering kings if they want to fulfill their desire to rule the world.