Shrimad Bhagavatham is a fascinating work, indeed, talking both of God and God's devotees.
One of them is Ambarisha, who ruled a big chunk of the world for a long time.
I was reading this Ambarisha Charitram today. The story set me thinking about a very unique way of governance that was employed by him. First, here are the excerpts from the Bhagavatham (SB) pertaining to this story ( Canto 9).
SB 9.4.15-16: Sukadeva Gosvami said: Maharaja Ambarisha, the most fortunate personality, achieved the rule of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and achieved inexhaustible, unlimited opulence and prosperity on earth. Although such a position is rarely obtained, Maharaja Ambarisha did not care for it at all, for he knew very well that all such opulence is material. Like that which is imagined in a dream, such opulence will ultimately be destroyed. The King knew that any nondevotee who attains such opulence merges increasingly into material nature's mode of darkness.
SB 9.4.17: Maharaja Ambarisha was a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, and of the saintly persons who are the Lord's devotees. Because of this devotion, he thought of the entire universe as being as insignificant as a piece of stone.
SB 9.4.18-20: Maharaja Ambarisha always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Krishna, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Krishna or about Krishna. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Krishna, Krishna's temples and Krishna's places like Mathura and Vrindavana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasi offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasada. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Maharaja Ambarisha never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.
SB 9.4.21: In performing his prescribed duties as king, Maharaja Ambarisha always offered the results of his royal activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is the enjoyer of everything and is beyond the perception of material senses. He certainly took advice from brahmanas who were faithful devotees of the Lord, and thus he ruled the planet earth without difficulty.
SB 9.4.22: In desert countries where there flowed the River Sarasvati, Maharaja Ambarisha performed great sacrifices like the asvamedha-yajna and thus satisfied the master of all yajnas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such sacrifices were performed with great opulence and suitable paraphernalia and with contributions of dakshina to the brahmanas, who were supervised by great personalities like Vasishtha, Asita and Gautama, representing the king, the performer of the sacrifices.
SB 9.4.23: In the sacrifice arranged by Maharaja Ambarisha, the members of the assembly and the priests [especially hota, udgata, brahma and adhvaryu] were gorgeously dressed, and they all looked exactly like demigods. They eagerly saw to the proper performance of the yajna.
SB 9.4.24: The citizens of the state of Maharaja Ambarisha were accustomed to chanting and hearing about the glorious activities of the Personality of Godhead. Thus they never aspired to be elevated to the heavenly planets, which are extremely dear even to the demigods.
SB 9.4.25: Those who are saturated with the transcendental happiness of rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead are uninterested even in the achievements of great mystics, for such achievements do not enhance the transcendental bliss felt by a devotee who always thinks of Krishna within the core of his heart.
SB 9.4.26: The king of this planet, Maharaja Ambarisha, thus performed devotional service to the Lord and in this endeavor practiced severe austerity. Always satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his constitutional activities, he gradually gave up all material desires.
SB 9.4.27: Maharaja Ambarisha gave up all attachment to household affairs, wives, children, friends and relatives, to the best of powerful elephants, to beautiful chariots, carts, horses and inexhaustible jewels, and to ornaments, garments and an inexhaustible treasury. He gave up attachment to all of them, regarding them as temporary and material.
What set me thinking was the way he ruled. He was unlike the archetypal Kshatriya King that you would imagine - fighting wars, levying taxes, punishing the guilty etc etc... doing whatever it took, to rule the country. Instead, not only did he devote his entire resources and time on Bhakti and religion, but he was also influencing, an successfully so, his wards to do the same. This rather Utopian environment resulted in the perfect governance that possibly could not have been achieved by the "regular way" of ruling.
The question that arose in my mind is - was Ambarisha verring away from Kshatriya Dharma, and indulged in activities that could be construed as "unbecoming" of a Kshatriya? Was he failing to do his duty, in the name of being a devotee of Narayana?
Perhaps not. Let me explain why.
What really is the objective of any ruler? To keep the country safe ( protect), to keep his subjects happy and prosperous. Is there any prescription of HOW one to govern? Absolutely not! As long as the goals are met, it does not matter which methodology was employed.
Ambarisha's country was certainly well protected and safe. The people indeed were happy and prosperous, and crime was non-existent. And all of this was achieved by Bhakti, not through manifest "Rajoguna". So then, is this wrong? I most certainly do not think so. Do you?
One of them is Ambarisha, who ruled a big chunk of the world for a long time.
I was reading this Ambarisha Charitram today. The story set me thinking about a very unique way of governance that was employed by him. First, here are the excerpts from the Bhagavatham (SB) pertaining to this story ( Canto 9).
SB 9.4.15-16: Sukadeva Gosvami said: Maharaja Ambarisha, the most fortunate personality, achieved the rule of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and achieved inexhaustible, unlimited opulence and prosperity on earth. Although such a position is rarely obtained, Maharaja Ambarisha did not care for it at all, for he knew very well that all such opulence is material. Like that which is imagined in a dream, such opulence will ultimately be destroyed. The King knew that any nondevotee who attains such opulence merges increasingly into material nature's mode of darkness.
SB 9.4.17: Maharaja Ambarisha was a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, and of the saintly persons who are the Lord's devotees. Because of this devotion, he thought of the entire universe as being as insignificant as a piece of stone.
SB 9.4.18-20: Maharaja Ambarisha always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Krishna, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Krishna or about Krishna. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Krishna, Krishna's temples and Krishna's places like Mathura and Vrindavana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasi offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasada. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Maharaja Ambarisha never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.
SB 9.4.21: In performing his prescribed duties as king, Maharaja Ambarisha always offered the results of his royal activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is the enjoyer of everything and is beyond the perception of material senses. He certainly took advice from brahmanas who were faithful devotees of the Lord, and thus he ruled the planet earth without difficulty.
SB 9.4.22: In desert countries where there flowed the River Sarasvati, Maharaja Ambarisha performed great sacrifices like the asvamedha-yajna and thus satisfied the master of all yajnas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such sacrifices were performed with great opulence and suitable paraphernalia and with contributions of dakshina to the brahmanas, who were supervised by great personalities like Vasishtha, Asita and Gautama, representing the king, the performer of the sacrifices.
SB 9.4.23: In the sacrifice arranged by Maharaja Ambarisha, the members of the assembly and the priests [especially hota, udgata, brahma and adhvaryu] were gorgeously dressed, and they all looked exactly like demigods. They eagerly saw to the proper performance of the yajna.
SB 9.4.24: The citizens of the state of Maharaja Ambarisha were accustomed to chanting and hearing about the glorious activities of the Personality of Godhead. Thus they never aspired to be elevated to the heavenly planets, which are extremely dear even to the demigods.
SB 9.4.25: Those who are saturated with the transcendental happiness of rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead are uninterested even in the achievements of great mystics, for such achievements do not enhance the transcendental bliss felt by a devotee who always thinks of Krishna within the core of his heart.
SB 9.4.26: The king of this planet, Maharaja Ambarisha, thus performed devotional service to the Lord and in this endeavor practiced severe austerity. Always satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his constitutional activities, he gradually gave up all material desires.
SB 9.4.27: Maharaja Ambarisha gave up all attachment to household affairs, wives, children, friends and relatives, to the best of powerful elephants, to beautiful chariots, carts, horses and inexhaustible jewels, and to ornaments, garments and an inexhaustible treasury. He gave up attachment to all of them, regarding them as temporary and material.
What set me thinking was the way he ruled. He was unlike the archetypal Kshatriya King that you would imagine - fighting wars, levying taxes, punishing the guilty etc etc... doing whatever it took, to rule the country. Instead, not only did he devote his entire resources and time on Bhakti and religion, but he was also influencing, an successfully so, his wards to do the same. This rather Utopian environment resulted in the perfect governance that possibly could not have been achieved by the "regular way" of ruling.
The question that arose in my mind is - was Ambarisha verring away from Kshatriya Dharma, and indulged in activities that could be construed as "unbecoming" of a Kshatriya? Was he failing to do his duty, in the name of being a devotee of Narayana?
Perhaps not. Let me explain why.
What really is the objective of any ruler? To keep the country safe ( protect), to keep his subjects happy and prosperous. Is there any prescription of HOW one to govern? Absolutely not! As long as the goals are met, it does not matter which methodology was employed.
Ambarisha's country was certainly well protected and safe. The people indeed were happy and prosperous, and crime was non-existent. And all of this was achieved by Bhakti, not through manifest "Rajoguna". So then, is this wrong? I most certainly do not think so. Do you?
