SB 11.17.49 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

शूद्रवृत्तिं भजेद् वैश्य: शूद्र: कारुकटक्रियाम् । कृच्छ्रान्मुक्तो न गर्ह्येण वृत्तिं लिप्सेत कर्मणा ॥ ४९ ॥

Verse text

śūdra-vṛttiṁ bhajed vaiśyaḥ śūdraḥ kāru-kaṭa-kriyām kṛcchrān mukto na garhyeṇa vṛttiṁ lipseta karmaṇā

Synonyms

śūdra — of the śūdras ; vṛttim — occupation ; bhajet — may accept ; vaiśyaḥ — a vaiśya ; śūdraḥ — a śūdra ; kāru — of the artisan ; kaṭa — straw baskets and mats ; kriyām — making ; kṛcchrāt — from the difficult situation ; muktaḥ — freed ; na — not ; garhyeṇa — by that which is inferior ; vṛttim — livelihood ; lipseta — one should desire ; karmaṇā — by work .

Translation

A vaiśya, or mercantile man, who cannot maintain himself may adopt the occupation of a śūdra, and a śūdra who cannot find a master can engage in simple activities like making baskets and mats of straw. However, all members of society who have adopted inferior occupations in emergency situations must give up those substitute occupations when the difficulties have passed.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

A vaiśya, or mercantile man, who cannot maintain himself may adopt the occupation of a śūdra, and a śūdra who cannot find a master can engage in simple activities like making baskets and mats of straw. However, all members of society must give up those substitute occupations when the difficulties have passed. All these people, when free of difficulties, must revert to their original occupation.