Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

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<< VERSE 23 >>

brahma-dviṣaḥ śaṭha-dhiyo
lubdhasya viṣayātmanaḥ
kṣatra-bandhoḥ karma-doṣāt
pañcatvaṁ me gato ’rbhakaḥ

WORD BY WORD



TRANSLATION

[The brāhmaṇa said:] This duplicitous, greedy enemy of brāhmaṇas, this unqualified ruler addicted to sense pleasure, has caused my son’s death by some discrepancies in the execution of his duties.

PURPORT

Presuming that he himself had done nothing to cause his son’s death, the brāhmaṇa thought it reasonable to blame King Ugrasena. In the Vedic social system, the monarch is considered responsible for everything occurring in his kingdom, good or bad. Even in a democracy, a manager who takes charge of some group or project should accept personal responsibility for any failure rather than, as is so common today, trying to place the blame on his subordinates or superiors.

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