Devanagari
कच्चिन्नाभिहतोऽभावै: शब्दादिभिरमङ्गलै: ।
न दत्तमुक्तमर्थिभ्य आशया यत्प्रतिश्रुतम् ॥ ४० ॥
Verse text
kaccin nābhihato ’bhāvaiḥ
śabdādibhir amaṅgalaiḥ
na dattam uktam arthibhya
āśayā yat pratiśrutam
Synonyms
kaccit
—
whether
;
na
—
could not
;
abhihataḥ
—
addressed by
;
abhāvaiḥ
—
unfriendly
;
śabda
—
ādibhiḥ — by sounds
;
amaṅgalaiḥ
—
inauspicious
;
na
—
did not
;
dattam
—
give in charity
;
uktam
—
is said
;
arthibhyaḥ
—
unto one who asked
;
āśayā
—
with hope
;
yat
—
what
;
pratiśrutam
—
promised to be paid .
Translation
Has someone addressed you with unfriendly words or threatened you? Could you not give charity to one who asked, or could you not keep your promise to someone?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Were you struck by harsh words without affection? Did you fail to give what you had promised to someone who requested from you and then remained silent?
Purport
A
kṣatriya
or a rich man is sometimes visited by persons who are in need of money. When they are asked for a donation, it is the duty of the possessor of wealth to give in charity in consideration of the person, place and time. If a
kṣatriya
or a rich man fails to comply with this obligation, he must be very sorry for this discrepancy. Similarly, one should not fail to keep his promise to give in charity. These discrepancies are sometimes causes of despondency, and thus failing, a person becomes subjected to criticism, which might also be the cause of Arjuna’s plight.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Were you beaten (abhihataḥ) by words without love (abhāvaiḥ)? Did you fail to give what you promised to persons who were wanting (arthibhyaḥ) something with a desire (āśayā) to attain it? And did you remain silent?