SB 12.3.9-13
nahuṣo bharato ’rjunaḥ
māndhātā sagaro rāmaḥ
khaṭvāṅgo dhundhuhā raghuḥ
śaryātiḥ śantanur gayaḥ
bhagīrathaḥ kuvalayāśvaḥ
kakutstho naiṣadho nṛgaḥ
rāvaṇo loka-rāvaṇaḥ
namuciḥ śambaro bhaumo
hiraṇyākṣo ’tha tārakaḥ
rājāno ye maheśvarāḥ
sarve sarva-vidaḥ śūrāḥ
sarve sarva-jito ’jitāḥ
kṛtvoccair martya-dharmiṇaḥ
kathāvaśeṣāḥ kālena
hy akṛtārthāḥ kṛtā vibho
According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, and as confirmed by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the King Rāma mentioned here is not the incarnation of Godhead Rāmacandra. Pṛthu Mahārāja is understood to be an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who completely exhibited the characteristics of an earthly king, claiming proprietorship over the entire earth. A saintly king like Pṛthu Mahārāja, however, controls the earth on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas a demon such as Hiraṇyakaśipu or Rāvaṇa tries to exploit the earth for his personal sense gratification. Nevertheless, both saintly kings and demons must leave the earth. In this way their political supremacy is ultimately neutralized by the force of time.
Modern political leaders cannot even temporarily control the entire earth, nor are their opulences and intelligence unlimited. Possessing hopelessly fragmented power, enjoying a minuscule life span, and lacking deep existential intelligence, modern leaders inevitably are symbols of frustration and misdirected ambition.
