Prabhupāda: So in this verse it is descriptive, different parts of the world. So the important word is here, vijitya jagṛhe balim. Balim (referring to synonyms), I do not know how it is said "strength." Tax, tributes. The king, the emperor, would conquer a country and levy tax. Must give at least token. Doesn't matter even one pound or one dollar per year, but he must pay something, token. That means he agrees to become subordinate. Just like according to rent act, a poor man must pay something—it may be; in our country it is so—so that the landlord have the claim. Without rent, after some years it becomes his property.
So this conquering of other countries was not like the Napoleon conqueror or Hitler conqueror. No. As it will be evident from the character of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the idea was to keep the whole world Kṛṣṇa conscious. If certain countries, certain portion of the world, would not be Kṛṣṇa conscious, then this king would go and chastise them. Just like Kṛṣṇa used to kill the demons. There was one Pauṇḍraka. Even during Kṛṣṇa's time, he placed himself as Viṣṇu. He artificially made four hands. So he challenged Kṛṣṇa that, "I am Viṣṇu." So Kṛṣṇa immediately cut his head. So any imposter, pretender, representing as the incarnation of God or something like that, in those days the king could not tolerate; immediately cut his head, what to speak of thieves and rogues. So the king's going to other country, conquering, it did not mean that to acquire some possession, land possession. No, that was not the aim.
The aim was . . . all the fights in Mahābhārata or in Rāmāyaṇa, it was meant for chastising the godless. Godless. Just like Rāmacandra. Rāmacandra, Lord Rāmacandra, chastised Rāvaṇa. So He went to Laṅkā—they call Ceylon—and crossed the sea by making bridge. But what was the idea? The idea was that, "This rascal demon is a godless person; so therefore he must be punished." He was punished not alone. Anyone who joined with him, everyone was punished. But Lord Rāmacandra did not occupy the land for His kingdom. He installed his brother Vibhīṣaṇa, who was a devotee, in the place of Rāvaṇa. Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa was taking part in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and inducing Arjuna that, "You fight." Arjuna was not willing to fight, but He was inducing to fight. So what is the purpose? Because the other party represented thieves, rogues and demons.
So Kṛṣṇa wants therefore that somebody must be king who is His representative, devotee. That is the whole plan.
- yadā yadā hi dharmasya
- glānir bhavati bhārata
- abhyutthānam adharmasya
- tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
- (BG 4.7)
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya . . .
- (BG 4.8)
This is the purpose, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya, to establish religious principle. If people become irreligious, then the whole world becomes a hell. Just like at the present moment, anywhere you go, it is hellish condition. Nobody is peaceful, nobody is happy, although materially very much advanced. Political entanglement, social entanglement, religious entanglement, economic entanglement. Simply entanglement. No peaceful living, anywhere. Just like at the present moment, the whole world there is . . . what is that crisis? Power crisis?
Devotee: Energy crisis.
Prabhupāda: Energy crisis. Energy crisis. So crisis must be there. Otherwise, if you live peacefully, even within so many crisis, war and fighting, we are thinking this world is very nice, in spite of all these difficulties. Especially in the Western countries, every ten years there is a war: First World War, Second World War. Before that, Hundred Years War, Seven Years War, Trafalgar's war, Waterloo war. War, war, war. There cannot be any peaceful life, because everyone is rogue and rascal, so there must be war. There must be punishment by nature.
As soon as there is overpopulation . . . that is Malthus' theory also, that as soon as there is overpopulation, there must be something disturbance—war, pestilence, epidemic, and finished, finished. The extra population, unnecessary. Varṇa-saṅkara. They are called varṇa-saṅkara. Varṇa-saṅkara . . . because by nature there must be brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, by nature. That should be organized. Head is head, tail is tail, not that head, tail, everything is one. That is called varṇa-saṅkara. Kṛṣṇa . . . Arjuna has argued that if the family members . . . if the woman becomes widow, then there will be varṇa-saṅkara population. Varṇa-saṅkara population means a population who cannot say who is his father. That is varṇa-saṅkara. Or who is caste does he belong, what is his father, what is his family. No, nothing, no information. That is called varṇa-saṅkara. So when the varṇa-saṅkara population increases, then the whole world becomes hell.