Devanagari
भिक्षोर्धर्म: शमोऽहिंसा तप ईक्षा वनौकस: ।
गृहिणो भूतरक्षेज्या द्विजस्याचार्यसेवनम् ॥ ४२ ॥
Verse text
bhikṣor dharmaḥ śamo ’hiṁsā
tapa īkṣā vanaukasaḥ
gṛhiṇo bhūta-rakṣejyā
dvijasyācārya-sevanam
Synonyms
bhikṣoḥ
—
of a sannyāsī
;
dharmaḥ
—
the main religious principle
;
śamaḥ
—
equanimity
;
ahiṁsā
—
nonviolence
;
tapaḥ
—
austerity
;
īkṣā
—
discrimination (between the body and the soul)
;
vana
—
in the forest
;
okasaḥ
—
of one dwelling, a vānaprastha
;
gṛhiṇaḥ
—
of a householder
;
bhūta
—
rakṣā — offering shelter to all living entities
;
ijyā
—
performance of sacrifice
;
dvi
—
jasya — of a brahmacārī
;
ācārya
—
the spiritual master
;
sevanam
—
serving .
Translation
The main religious duties of a sannyāsī are equanimity and nonviolence, whereas for the vānaprastha austerity and philosophical understanding of the difference between the body and soul are prominent. The main duties of a householder are to give shelter to all living entities and perform sacrifices, and the brahmacārī is mainly engaged in serving the spiritual master.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The main duties of a sannyāsī are equanimity and nonviolence, whereas the duties of the vānaprastha are austerity and philosophical understanding of the difference between the body and soul. The main duties of a householder are to give shelter to all living entities and to perform sacrifices, and the main duty of the brahmacārī is serving the guru.
The main activities of the four āśramas are stated.
Purport
The
brahmacārī
lives in the
āśrama
of the spiritual master and personally assists the
ācārya.
Householders generally are entrusted with the performance of sacrifice and Deity worship and should provide maintenance for all living entities. The
vānaprastha
must clearly understand the difference between body and soul in order to maintain his status of renunciation, and he should also perform austerities. The
sannyāsī
should fully absorb his body, mind and words in self-realization. Having thus achieved equanimity of mind, he is the best well-wisher of all living entities.