SB 1.4.11 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

नमन्ति यत्पादनिकेतमात्मन: शिवायहानीय धनानि शत्रव: । कथं स वीर: श्रियमङ्ग दुस्त्यजां युवैषतोत्स्रष्टुमहो सहासुभि: ॥ ११ ॥

Verse text

namanti yat-pāda-niketam ātmanaḥ śivāya hānīya dhanāni śatravaḥ kathaṁ sa vīraḥ śriyam aṅga dustyajāṁ yuvaiṣatotsraṣṭum aho sahāsubhiḥ

Synonyms

namanti — bow down ; yat — pāda — whose feet ; niketam — under ; ātmanaḥ — own ; śivāya — welfare ; hānīya — used to bring about ; dhanāni — wealth ; śatravaḥ — enemies ; katham — for what reason ; saḥ — he ; vīraḥ — the chivalrous ; śriyam — opulences ; aṅga — O Sūta Gosvāmī ; dustyajām — insuperable ; yuvā — in full youth ; aiṣata — desired ; utsraṣṭum — to give up ; aho — exclamation ; saha — with ; asubhiḥ — life .

Translation

He was such a great emperor that all his enemies would come and bow down at his feet and surrender all their wealth for their own benefit. He was full of youth and strength, and he possessed kingly opulences that were difficult to give up. Why did he want to give up everything, including his life?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Why did this brave young man, to whose feet enemies brought wealth and clearly bowed down for their own benefit, desire to give up such wealth, which is difficult to give up, along with his life airs?

Purport

There was nothing undesirable in his life. He was quite a young man and could enjoy life with power and opulence. So there was no question of retiring from active life. There was no difficulty in collecting the state taxes because he was so powerful and chivalrous that even his enemies would come to him and bow down at his feet and surrender all wealth for their own benefit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a pious king. He conquered his enemies, and therefore the kingdom was full of prosperity. There was enough milk, grains and metals, and all the rivers and mountains were full of potency. So materially everything was satisfactory. Therefore, there was no question of untimely giving up his kingdom and life. The sages were eager to hear about all this.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Pāda-niketam means “foot-stool.” Ha means “clearly.” Parīkṣit was young, not old but desired (aiṣata) to give up all the wealth, along with even his life airs (asubhiḥ).