Study a Verse

• Although Ṛṣabhadeva knew all the Vedic instructions perfectly well, He nonetheless followed the instructions of the brāhmaṇas in order to perfectly maintain the social order.
• Men trained perfectly as brāhmaṇas should know all Vedic literature, and the benefit derived from this literature should be distributed to the general populace.
• In this way, one can learn how to control the mind and senses and thus gradually advance to spiritual perfection.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Responsibility → Renunciation. Leadership is set beside the renounced ideal.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 5: Priyavrata and Ṛṣabhadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 4: The Characteristics of Ṛṣabhadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

To follow social customs, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva for a while became a student in the gurukula, and after returning, He followed the orders of His guru and accepted a wife named Jayantī, who had been given to Him by the King of heaven, Indra. He begot a hundred sons in the womb of Jayantī.