Devanagari
वैश्यवृत्त्या तु राजन्यो जीवेन्मृगययापदि ।
चरेद् वा विप्ररूपेण न श्ववृत्त्या कथञ्चन ॥ ४८ ॥
Verse text
vaiśya-vṛttyā tu rājanyo
jīven mṛgayayāpadi
cared vā vipra-rūpeṇa
na śva-vṛttyā kathaṣcana
Synonyms
vaiśya
—
of the mercantile class
;
vṛttyā
—
by the occupation
;
tu
—
indeed
;
rājanyaḥ
—
a king
;
jīvet
—
may maintain himself
;
mṛgayayā
—
by hunting
;
āpadi
—
in an emergency or disastrous situation
;
caret
—
may act
;
vā
—
or
;
vipra
—
rūpeṇa — in the form of a brāhmaṇa
;
na
—
never
;
śva
—
of the dog
;
vṛttyā
—
by the profession
;
kathaṣcana
—
in any circumstance .
Translation
A king or other member of the royal order who cannot maintain himself by his normal occupation may act as a vaiśya, may live by hunting or may act as a brāhmaṇa by teaching others Vedic knowledge. But he may not under any circumstances adopt the profession of a śūdra.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
A king or other member of the royal order who cannot maintain himself by his normal occupation may act as a vaiśya, or by hunting, or may act as a brāhmaṇa by teaching others Vedic knowledge. But he may not under any circumstances adopt the profession of a śūdra.
He may teach others the Vedas as a brāhmaṇa does.