Text 6
rājñāṁ vṛttiṁ karādāna-
daṇḍa-śulkādi-dāruṇām
manyamāno dīrgha-sattra-
vyājena visasarja ha
rājñām — of the kings; vṛttim — source of livelihood; kara — taxes; ādāna — realization; daṇḍa — punishment; śulka — fines; ādi — etc.; dāruṇām — which are very severe; manyamānaḥ — thinking like that; dīrgha — long; sattra — sacrifice; vyājena — on the plea; visasarja — gave up; ha — in the past.
Whenever Antardhāna, the supreme royal power, had to exact taxes, punish his citizens or fine them severely, he was not willing to do so. Consequently he retired from the execution of such duties and engaged himself in the performance of different sacrifices.
It is clear herein that the king sometimes has to perform duties which are not very desirable just because he is the king. Similarly, Arjuna was not at all willing to fight because fighting or killing one’s own kinsmen and family members is not at all desirable. Nonetheless, the kṣatriyas had to perform such undesirable actions as a matter of duty. Mahārāja Antardhāna was not very happy while exacting taxes or punishing the citizens for their criminal activities; therefore, on the plea of performing sacrifices, he retired from the royal majestic power at a very early age.