SB 11.17.43 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

शिलोञ्छवृत्त्या परितुष्टचित्तो धर्मं महान्तं विरजं जुषाण: । मय्यर्पितात्मा गृह एव तिष्ठ- न्नातिप्रसक्त: समुपैति शान्तिम् ॥ ४३ ॥

Verse text

śiloṣcha-vṛttyā parituṣṭa-citto dharmaṁ mahāntaṁ virajaṁ juṣāṇaḥ mayy arpitātmā gṛha eva tiṣṭhan nāti-prasaktaḥ samupaiti śāntim

Synonyms

śila — uṣcha — of gleaning grains ; vṛttyā — by the occupation ; parituṣṭa — fully satisfied ; cittaḥ — whose consciousness ; dharmam — religious principles ; mahāntam — magnanimous and hospitable ; virajam — purified of material desire ; juṣāṇaḥ — cultivating ; mayi — in Me ; arpita — dedicated ; ātmā — whose mind ; gṛhe — at home ; eva — even ; tiṣṭhan — remaining ; na — not ; ati — very ; prasaktaḥ — attached ; samupaiti — achieves ; śāntim — liberation .

Translation

A brāhmaṇa householder should remain satisfied in mind by gleaning rejected grains from agricultural fields and marketplaces. Keeping himself free of personal desire, he should practice magnanimous religious principles, with consciousness absorbed in Me. In this way a brāhmaṇa may stay at home as a householder without very much attachment and thus achieve liberation.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Satisfied by maintenance through collecting grains from the field or market, engaging in generous acts like receiving guests, being without material desire, absorbing his mind in me, the householder, remaining in this āśrama without much attachment, attains liberation. Uṣcha means collecting grains which fall in the market. Śila is collecting grains from the field. Satisfied with these occupations, he attains liberation. He should engage in (juṣānaḥ) receiving guests (mahāntam) and be without desires (virajam). Remaining in the household āśrama, he attains liberation.

Purport

Mahāntam refers to magnanimous religious principles such as very hospitably receiving guests, even those who are uninvited and unexpected. Householders must always be magnanimous and charitable to others, being alert to curb unnecessary affection and attachment in family life. In the past, very renounced brāhmaṇa householders would collect grains that had fallen on the ground in the marketplace or those that had been left behind in the fields after harvesting. The most important item here is mayy arpitātmā, or fixing the mind in Lord Kṛṣṇa. Despite his material situation, anyone who constantly meditates upon the Lord can become a liberated soul. As stated in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.187): īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv api avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate “A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness [or, in other words, in the service of Kṛṣṇa] with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person, even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.”