SB 4.22.43
nispaditas ca kartsnyena
bhagavadbhir ghrnalubhih
sadhucchistam hi me sarvam
atmana saha kim dade
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
My dear brahmana, you have carried out the order thoroughly because you are also as compassionate as the Lord. It is my duty, therefore, to offer you something, but all I possess are but remnants of food taken by great saintly persons. What shall I give?
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The word sadhucchistam is significant in this verse. Prthu Maharaja got his kingdom from great saintly persons like Bhrgu and others just as one gets remnants of food. After the death of King Vena, the whole world was bereft of a popular ruler. There were so many catastrophes occurring that the great saintly persons, headed by Bhrgu, created the body of King Prthu out of the body of his dead father, King Vena. Since King Prthu was thus offered the kingdom by the virtue of the mercy of great saintly persons, he did not want to divide his kingdom among saints like the Kumaras. When a father is eating food, he may, out of compassion, offer the remnants of his food to his son. Although such food may be already chewed by the father, it cannot be offered to the father again. Prthu Maharaja’s position was something like that: whatever he possessed had already been chewed, and therefore he could not offer it to the Kumaras. Indirectly, however, he offered everything he possessed to the Kumaras, and consequently they utilized his possessions in whatever way they liked. The next verse clarifies this matter.