Devanagari
नैतादृशानां स्वजनव्यपेक्षया
गृहान्प्रतीयादनवस्थितात्मनाम् ।
येऽभ्यागतान् वक्रधियाभिचक्षते
आरोपितभ्रूभिरमर्षणाक्षिभि: ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
naitādṛśānāṁ sva-jana-vyapekṣayā
gṛhān pratīyād anavasthitātmanām
ye ’bhyāgatān vakra-dhiyābhicakṣate
āropita-bhrūbhir amarṣaṇākṣibhiḥ
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
etādṛśānām
—
like this
;
sva
—
jana — kinsmen
;
vyapekṣayā
—
depending on that
;
gṛhān
—
in the house of
;
pratīyāt
—
one should go
;
anavasthita
—
disturbed
;
ātmanām
—
mind
;
ye
—
those
;
abhyāgatān
—
guests
;
vakra
—
dhiyā — with a cold reception
;
abhicakṣate
—
looking at
;
āropita
—
bhrūbhiḥ — with raised eyebrows
;
amarṣaṇa
—
angry
;
akṣibhiḥ
—
with the eyes .
Translation
One should not go to anyone’s house, even on the consideration of his being a relative or a friend, when the man is disturbed in his mind and looks upon the guest with raised eyebrows and angry eyes.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One should not go to the houses of persons who have disturbed minds, who will look at the guests with crooked mind, raised brows and angry glances, while considering them to be relatives.
Even a father of this nature should be rejected. One should not go, considering that they are relatives. If one goes, one should go thinking of them as enemies. “But even the low minded have affection for their children and husbands.” Even this is not certain for those with disturbed minds. They will see you with angry eyes and raised brows.
Purport
However low a person may be, he is never unkind to his children, wife and nearest kin; even a tiger is kind to its cubs, for within the animal kingdom the cubs are treated very nicely. Since Satī was the daughter of Dakṣa, however cruel and contaminated he might be, naturally it was expected that he would receive her very nicely. But here it is indicated by the word
anavasthita
that such a person cannot be trusted. Tigers are very kind to their cubs, but it is also known that sometimes they eat them. Malicious persons should not be trusted, because they are always unsteady. Thus Satī was advised not to go to her father’s house because to accept such a father as a relative and to go to his house without being properly invited was not suitable.