SB 10.89.23
Devanāgarī
ब्रह्मद्विष: शठधियो लुब्धस्य विषयात्मन: । क्षत्रबन्धो: कर्मदोषात् पञ्चत्वं मे गतोऽर्भक: ॥ २३ ॥
Text
brahma-dviṣaḥ śaṭha-dhiyo lubdhasya viṣayātmanaḥ kṣatra-bandhoḥ karma-doṣāt pañcatvaṁ me gato ’rbhakaḥ
Synonyms
brahma—againstbrāhmaṇas;dviṣaḥ—hateful;śaṭha—duplicitous;dhiyaḥ—whose mentality;lubdhasya—avaricious;viṣaya-ātmanaḥ—addicted to sense gratification;kṣatra-bandhoḥ—of an unqualifiedkṣatriya;karma—in the performance of duties;doṣāt—because of discrepancies;pañcatvam—death;me—my;gataḥ—met;arbhakaḥ—son.
Translation
[The brāhmaṇa said:] This duplicitous, greedy enemy of brāhmaṇas, this unqualified ruler addicted to sense pleasure, has caused my son’s death by some discrepancies in the execution of his duties.
Purport
Presuming that he himself had done nothing to cause his son’s death, the brāhmaṇa thought it reasonable to blame King Ugrasena. In the Vedic social system, the monarch is considered responsible for everything occurring in his kingdom, good or bad. Even in a democracy, a manager who takes charge of some group or project should accept personal responsibility for any failure rather than, as is so common today, trying to place the blame on his subordinates or superiors.