SB 10.64.14 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स्वलङ्कृतेभ्यो गुणशीलवद्‍भ्य: सीदत्कुटुम्बेभ्य ऋतव्रतेभ्य: । तप:श्रुतब्रह्मवदान्यसद्‍भ्य: प्रादां युवभ्यो द्विजपुङ्गवेभ्य: ॥ १४ ॥ गोभूहिरण्यायतनाश्वहस्तिन: कन्या: सदासीस्तिलरूप्यशय्या: । वासांसि रत्नानि परिच्छदान् रथा- निष्टं च यज्ञैश्चरितं च पूर्तम् ॥ १५ ॥

Verse text

sv-alaṅkṛtebhyo guṇa-śīlavadbhyaḥ sīdat-kuṭumbebhya ṛta-vratebhyaḥ tapaḥ-śruta-brahma-vadānya-sadbhyaḥ prādāṁ yuvabhyo dvija-puṅgavebhyaḥ go-bhū-hiraṇyāyatanāśva-hastinaḥ kanyāḥ sa-dāsīs tila-rūpya-śayyāḥ vāsāṁsi ratnāni paricchadān rathān iṣṭaṁ ca yajṣaiś caritaṁ ca pūrtam

Synonyms

su — well ; alaṅkṛtebhyaḥ — who were ornamented ; guṇa — good qualities ; śīla — and character ; vadbhyaḥ — who possessed ; sīdat — distressed ; kuṭumbebhyaḥ — whose families ; ṛta — to truth ; vratebhyaḥ — dedicated ; tapaḥ — for austerity ; śruta — well known ; brahma — in the Vedas ; vadānya — vastly learned ; sadbhyaḥ — saintly ; prādām — I gave ; yuvabhyaḥ — who were young ; dvija — to brāhmaṇas ; pum — gavebhyaḥ — most exceptional ; go — cows ; bhū — land ; hiraṇya — gold ; āyatana — houses ; aśva — horses ; hastinaḥ — and elephants ; kanyāḥ — marriageable daughters ; sa — with ; dāsīḥ — maidservants ; tila — sesame ; rūpya — silver ; śayyāḥ — and beds ; vāsāṁsi — clothing ; ratnāni — jewels ; paricchadān — furniture ; rathān — chariots ; iṣṭam — worship executed ; ca — and ; yajṣaiḥ — by Vedic fire sacrifices ; caritam — done ; ca — and ; pūrtam — pious works .

Translation

I first honored the brāhmaṇas who were recipients of my charity by decorating them with fine ornaments. Those most exalted brāhmaṇas, whose families were in need, were young and possessed of excellent character and qualities. They were dedicated to truth, famous for their austerity, vastly learned in the Vedic scriptures and saintly in their behavior. I gave them cows, land, gold and houses, along with horses, elephants and marriageable girls with maidservants, as well as sesame, silver, fine beds, clothing, jewels, furniture and chariots. In addition, I performed Vedic sacrifices and executed various pious welfare activities.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I first honored the brāhmaṇas who were recipients of my charity by decorating them with fine ornaments. Those most exalted brāhmaṇas, whose families were in need, were young and possessed of excellent character and qualities. They were dedicated to truth, famous for their austerity, vastly learned in the Vedic scriptures and saintly in their behavior. I gave them cows, land, gold and houses, along with horses, elephants and marriageable girls with maidservants, as well as sesame, silver, fine beds, clothing, jewels, furniture and chariots. In addition, I performed Vedic sacrifices and executed various pious welfare activities. KB 10.64.14-15 He stated that these valuably decorated cows had not been given to any worthless persons but had been distributed to first-class brāhmaṇas, whom he had also decorated with nice garments and gold ornaments. The brāhmaṇas were well qualified, and since none of them were rich, their family members were always in want for the necessities of life. A real brāhmaṇa never hoards money for a luxurious life, like the kṣatriyas or the vaiśyas, but always keeps himself poverty-stricken, knowing that money diverts the mind to materialistic ways of life. To live in this way is the vow of a qualified brāhmaṇa, and all of these brāhmaṇas were well situated in that exalted vow. They were well learned in Vedic knowledge. They executed the required austerities and penances in their lives and were liberal, meeting the standard of qualified brāhmaṇas. They were equally friendly to everyone; above all, they were young and quite fit to act as qualified brāhmaṇas. Besides the cows, they were also given land, gold, houses, horses and elephants. Those who were not married were given wives, maidservants, grain, silver, utensils, garments, jewels, household furniture, chariots, etc. This charity was nicely performed as a sacrifice according to the Vedic rituals. The King also stated that not only had he bestowed gifts upon the brāhmaṇas, but he had performed other pious activities, such as digging wells, planting trees on the roadside and installing ponds along the highways.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This verse gives details of the acts of charity. "I gave to brahmanas who were well known for austerity (tapa sruta) and well versed in the vedas (brahmani vadanya) because of study." This verse describes other things he gave in charity. He gave (pradanam) to the brahmanas, who are mentioned in the previous verse, and also made (caritam) tanks and wells.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Now he describes the good qualities of the recipients of charity. I first decorated them with gold earrings and other ornaments. They had good physical features (guṇa) and good internal dispositions (śīla) with honesty and gentleness. They had performed vratas carefully for their upliftment. dharmaś ca satyaṁ ca damas tapaś ca; amātsaryaṁ hrīs titikṣānasūyā yajñaś ca dānaṁ ca dhṛtiḥ śrutaṁ ca; mahāvratā dvādaśa brāhmaṇasya The twelve vratas of the brāhmaṇa are dharma, truthfulness, control of the senses, austerity, lack of envy, shyness, tolerance, lack of indignation, sacrifice, charity, fortitude and learning. Mahābhārata These brāhmaṇas performed vratas without duplicity (ṛta-vratebhyaḥ). Tapa means dedicated to daily rituals like sandhyā-vandana. Satyam means inclined to follow proper behavior (sadbhyaḥ). They were youthful, in order to perform dharma properly. They were the best among all the brāhmaṇas. I gave them the cows with devotion (pra—adām), washing their feet etc. Not only did I give cows, but many other objects. Go means bulls. Āyatana means houses. Paricchada means umbrellas, cāmaras and other utensils. I gave all of this. (Verb is understood.) The word ca mentioned twice in the last line indicates the predominance of the charity over the sacrifices, and that these acts were done in the proper way.