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TEXT 20 karmanaiva hi samsiddhim
SYNONYMS  karmana--by
work; eva--even; hi--certainly; samsiddhim--perfection;
asthitah--situated;
janaka-adayah--Janaka and other kings;
loka-sangraham--educating
the people in general; eva--also;
api--for the sake of; sampasyan--by
considering; kartum--to act; arhasi--deserve.
TRANSLATION Even kings
like Janaka and others attained the perfectional stage by performance of
prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of educating the people
in general, you should perform your work.
PURPORT Kings like Janaka
and others were all self-realized souls; consequently they had no obligation
to perform the prescribed duties in the Vedas. Nonetheless they
performed all prescribed activities just to set examples for the people
in general. Janaka was the father of Sita, and father-in-law of Lord Sri
Rama. Being a great devotee of the Lord, he was transcendentally situated,
but because he was the king of Mithila (a subdivision of Bihar province
in India), he had to teach his subjects how to fight righteously in battle.
He and his subjects fought to teach people in general that violence is
also necessary in a situation where good arguments fail. Before the Battle
of Kuruksetra, every effort was made to avoid the war, even by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, but the other party was determined to fight. So
for such a right cause, there is a necessity for fighting. Although one
who is situated in Krsna consciousness may not have any interest in the
world, he still works to teach the public how to live and how to act. Experienced
persons in Krsna consciousness can act in such a way that others will follow,
and this is explained in the following verse.
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