Devanagari
तथेति गुरुपुत्रोक्तमनुज्ञायेदमब्रवीत् ।
धर्मो ह्यस्योपदेष्टव्यो राज्ञां यो गृहमेधिनाम् ॥ ५१ ॥
Verse text
tatheti guru-putroktam
anujṣāyedam abravīt
dharmo hy asyopadeṣṭavyo
rājṣāṁ yo gṛha-medhinām
Synonyms
tathā
—
in this way
;
iti
—
thus
;
guru
—
putra — uktam — advised by Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the sons of Śukrācārya
;
anujṣāya
—
accepting
;
idam
—
this
;
abravīt
—
said
;
dharmaḥ
—
the duty
;
hi
—
indeed
;
asya
—
unto Prahlāda
;
upadeṣṭavyaḥ
—
to be instructed
;
rājṣām
—
of the kings
;
yaḥ
—
which
;
gṛha
—
medhinām — who are interested in householder life .
Translation
After hearing these instructions of Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the sons of his spiritual master, Hiraṇyakaśipu agreed and requested them to instruct Prahlāda in that system of occupational duty which is followed by royal householder families.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Accepting the instructions of Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, Hiraṇyakaśipu said, “Instruct Prahlāda on the duties of householder kings.”
Anjṣāya means “accepting.”
Purport
Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted Prahlāda Mahārāja to be trained as a diplomatic king in ruling the kingdom, the country or the world, but not to be advised about renunciation or the renounced order of life. The word
dharma
here does not refer to some religious faith. As clearly stated,
dharmo hy asyopadeṣṭavyo rājṣāṁ yo gṛha-medhinām.
There are two kinds of royal families — one whose members are simply attached to household life and the other consisting of
rājarṣis,
kings who govern with ruling power but are as good as great saints. Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to become a
rājarṣi,
whereas Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted him to become a king attached to sense enjoyment (
gṛha-medhinām
). Therefore in the Āryan system there is
varṇāśrama-dharma,
by which everyone should be educated according to his position in society’s division of
varṇa
(
brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya
and
śūdra
) and
āśrama
(
brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha
and
sannyāsa
).
A devotee purified by devotional service is always in the transcendental position above the mundane qualities. Thus the difference between Prahlāda Mahārāja and Hiraṇyakaśipu was that Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to keep Prahlāda in mundane attachment whereas Prahlāda was above the modes of material nature. As long as one is under the control of material nature, his occupational duty is different from that of a person not under such control. One’s real
dharma,
or occupational duty, is described in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(
dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam
). As described to his order carriers by Dharmarāja, or Yamarāja, a living being is a spiritual identity, and therefore his occupational duty is also spiritual. The real
dharma
is that which is advised in
Bhagavad-gītā:
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.
One must give up one’s material occupational duties, just as one must give up his material body. Whatever one’s occupational duty, even according to the
varṇāśrama
system, one must give it up and engage in one’s spiritual function. One’s real
dharma,
or occupational duty, is explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya
—
kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’:
every living being is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is one’s real occupational duty.