Devanagari
वैखानसा वालखिल्यौदुम्बरा: फेनपा वने ।
न्यासे कुटीचक: पूर्वं बह्वोदो हंसनिष्क्रियौ ॥ ४३ ॥
Verse text
vaikhānasā vālakhilyau-
dumbarāḥ phenapā vane
nyāse kuṭīcakaḥ pūrvaṁ
bahvodo haṁsa-niṣkriyau
Synonyms
vaikhānasāḥ
—
the section of men who retire from active life and live on half-boiled meals
;
vālakhilya
—
one who quits his former stock of grains on receipt of more
;
audumbarāḥ
—
one who lives on what he gets from the direction towards which he starts after rising from bed
;
phenapāḥ
—
one who lives on the fruits which automatically fall from the tree
;
vane
—
in the forest
;
nyāse
—
in the order of renunciation
;
kuṭīcakaḥ
—
life in the family without attachment
;
pūrvam
—
in the beginning
;
bahvodaḥ
—
giving up all material activities and engaging fully in transcendental service
;
haṁsa
—
fully engaged in transcendental knowledge
;
niṣkriyau
—
stopping all kinds of activities .
Translation
The four divisions of retired life are the vaikhānasas, vālakhilyas, audumbaras and phenapas. The four divisions of the renounced order of life are the kuṭīcakas, bahvodas, haṁsas and niṣkriyas. All these were manifested from Brahmā.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
From Brahmā’s mouths starting from the eastern mouth arose the four divisions of vanapraṣṭhas: vaikhṇasa, vālakhilya, audumbara and phenapa. From Brahmā’s four mouths arose the four types of sannyasīs: kuṭīcaka, bahvoda, haṁsa and niṣkriya.
The vaikhānasa vanapraṣṭha lives on wild grains. The vālakhilya gives away accumulated grains on gaining new grains. The audumbara lives off what he acquires by walking in the direction he sees on getting up the morning. The phenapa lives off grains or fruit which have naturally fallen on the ground. These are the different types of vanapraṣṭha arising from their different means of sustenance. There are four types of sannyasīs. The kuṭicaka mainly concenterates on karma in his own hermitage. The bahvoda rejects action and mainly concentrates on jṣāna. The haṁsa is fixed in knowledge. The niśkriya has attained realization. The later types in the list are superior to the previous ones.
Purport
The
varṇāśrama-dharma,
or the institution of the four divisions and orders of social and spiritual life, is not a new invention of the modern age, as proposed by the less intelligent. It is an institution established by Brahmā from the beginning of the creation. This is also confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gītā
(4.13)
:
cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam.