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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
<< Canto 1, Creation >> << 19 - The Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī >>
<< VERSE 12 >>
सुखोपविष्टेष्वथ तेषु भूयः कृतप्रणामः स्वचिकीर्षितं यत् विज्ञापयामास विविक्तचेता उपस्थितोऽग्रेऽभिगृहीतपाणिः
sukhopaviṣṭeṣv atha teṣu bhūyaḥ kṛta-praṇāmaḥ sva-cikīrṣitaṁ yat vijñāpayām āsa vivikta-cetā upasthito ’gre ’bhigṛhīta-pāṇiḥ
WORD BY WORD
sukha happily; upaviṣṭeṣu all sitting down; atha thereupon; teṣu unto them (the visitors); bhūyaḥ again; kṛta-praṇāmaḥ having offered obeisances; sva his own; cikīrṣitam decision of fasting; yat who; vijñāpayām āsa submitted; vivikta-cetāḥ one whose mind is detached from worldly affairs; upasthitaḥ being present; agre before them; abhigṛhīta-pāṇiḥ humbly with folded hands;
TRANSLATION
| After all the ṛṣis and others had seated themselves comfortably, the King, humbly standing before them with folded hands, told them of his decision to fast until death.
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PURPORT
| Although the King had already decided to fast until death on the bank of the Ganges, he humbly expressed his decision to elicit the opinions of the great authorities present there. Any important decision, however firmly fixed, should be confirmed by some authority. That makes the matter perfect. This means that the monarchs who ruled the earth in those days were not irresponsible dictators. They scrupulously followed the authoritative decisions of the saints and sages in terms of Vedic injunction. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as a perfect king, followed the principles by consulting the authorities, even up to the last days of his life.
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