TEXT 5
te tu brahmana-devasya
vatsalyam viksya samstutam
pritah klinna-dhiyas tasmai
pratyarpyedam babhasire
SYNONYMS
tethe hota, brahma and other priests; tubut; brahmana-devasyaof Lord Ramacandra, who loved the brahmanas so much; vatsalyamthe paternal affection; viksyaafter seeing; samstutamworshiped with prayers; pritahbeing very pleased; klinna-dhiyahwith melted hearts; tasmaiunto Him (Lord Ramacandra); pratyarpyareturning; idamthis (all the land given to them); babhasirespoke.
TRANSLATION
All the brahmanas who were engaged in the various activities of the sacrifice were very pleased with Lord Ramacandra, who was greatly affectionate and favorable to the brahmanas. Thus with melted hearts they returned all the property received from Him and spoke as follows.
PURPORT
In the previous chapter it was said that the prajas, the citizens, strictly followed the system of varnasrama-dharma. The brahmanas acted exactly like brahmanas, the ksatriyas exactly like ksatriyas, and so on. Therefore, when Lord Ramacandra gave everything in charity to the brahmanas, the brahmanas, being qualified, wisely considered that brahmanas are not meant to possess property to make a profit from it. The qualifications of a brahmana are given in Bhagavad-gita (18.42):.
Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousnessthese are the qualities by which the brahmanas work. The brahminical character offers no scope for possessing land and ruling citizens; these are the duties of a ksatriya. Therefore, although the brahmanas did not refuse Lord Ramacandras gift, after accepting it they returned it to the King. The brahmanas were so pleased with Lord Ramacandras affection toward them that their hearts melted. They saw that Lord Ramacandra, aside from being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was fully qualified as a ksatriya and was exemplary in character. One of the qualifications of a ksatriya is to be charitable. A ksatriya, or ruler, levies taxes upon the citizens not for his personal sense gratification but to give charity in suitable cases. Danam isvara-bhavah. On one hand, ksatriyas have the propensity to rule, but on the other they are very liberal with charity. When Maharaja Yudhisthira gave charity, he engaged Karna to take charge of distributing it. Karna was very famous as Data Karna. The word data 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 ksatriyas duty is to give charity, and a brahmanas duty is to accept charity, but not more than needed to maintain body and soul together. Therefore, when the brahmanas were given so much land by Lord Ramacandra, they returned it to Him and were not greedy.
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