Why is a King needed?

Bhisma asked Yudhisthira if he wanted to enquire further. Yudhisthira asked: How is it that one man becomes the emperor of the world & rules innumerable other men? Actually, there is no difference between the ruler and the ruled, because both of them have the same kind of arms, legs, brain, hair, aspirations and so on

Bhisma replied: Dear son, during initial Satya yuga there was no government, no king, no chastiser & no chastised. Everyone lived righteously & protected one another so that there was no need for institutionalized government. Then in the course of time, conditions deteriorated as man’s perceptions and understanding became clouded

Virtue began to wane as people became greedier for material possessions. Due to an increase in the influence of the Rajo-guna (the mode of passion), people became very lusty & concomitantly, anger also became prominent. Due to anger people gradually lost all conception of what should be done & what not. Due to lust, sexual indulgence became prominent, and practically no more distinction was made between clean & unclean food

People began speaking whatever nonsense came into their heads & all distinction between virtue & vice became eradicated. Due to such confusion, the Vedic knowledge was forgotten so that even demigods became fearful

The demigods approached Lord Brahma, who then composed a lengthy treatise describing how the world of men should be governed. Because chastisement & the fear of it are the governing forces, Lord Brahma named this science Danda-niti (the science of chastisement

 

The dynasty of Kings thereafter ruled the earth until a descendent in that line, Anga, became a slave to uncontrolled passions & thus agreed to marry the mind born daughter of Mrtyu named Sunitha. Their son was Vena, and because his nature was wrathful & malicious, he behaved very sinfully towards all. Finally, the enraged Brahmanas killed wicked Vena by means of an empowered blade of Kusa grass

 

The Brahmanas, from Vena’s right arm, brought forth a divine personality named Prthu. This incarnation of Godhead appeared clad in armour & with weapons in his hands, fully conversant with all branches of Vedic knowledge

 

Prthu was imparted the science of Danda-niti by the Brahmanas & he became the protector of the Earth. As Prthu Maharaj milked the earth in the shape of a cow so that she supplied all necessities of life to all living beings. As the Earth became very glorious during His rule, she earned the name Prithvi. And as Prthu Maharaj satisfied all citizens, he was addressed as Raja

 

When we all become self-responsible and adhere to our prescribed duties, we all become leaders (and contributors). No one needs to guide us if we adhere to scriptural guidance and morally correct. We can visualize how drastically different our societies would look like where we all can live harmoniously and peacefully

 

At least we can start this in our family, our sphere of influence and then extend it further. We have collective responsibility

Thoughts? #gameoflife