Devanagari
शमो दमस्तप: शौचं सन्तोष: क्षान्तिरार्जवम् ।
ज्ञानं दयाच्युतात्मत्वं सत्यं च ब्रह्मलक्षणम् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ
santoṣaḥ kṣāntir ārjavam
jṣānaṁ dayācyutātmatvaṁ
satyaṁ ca brahma-lakṣaṇam
Synonyms
śamaḥ
—
control of the mind
;
damaḥ
—
control of the senses
;
tapaḥ
—
austerity and penance
;
śaucam
—
cleanliness
;
santoṣaḥ
—
satisfaction
;
kṣāntiḥ
—
forgiveness (being unagitated by anger)
;
ārjavam
—
simplicity
;
jṣānam
—
knowledge
;
dayā
—
mercy
;
acyuta
—
ātmatvam — accepting oneself as an eternal servant of the Lord
;
satyam
—
truthfulness
;
ca
—
also
;
brahma
—
lakṣaṇam — the symptoms of a brāhmaṇa. .
Translation
The symptoms of a brāhmaṇa are control of the mind, control of the senses, austerity and penance, cleanliness, satisfaction, forgiveness, simplicity, knowledge, mercy, truthfulness, and complete surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The symptoms of a brāhmaṇa are control of the mind, control of the senses, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, forgiveness, simplicity, knowledge, mercy, truthfulness, and complete surrender to Viṣṇu.
The unique qualities of each varṇa are now described in four verses. Acyutātmatvam means “absorbing the mind in Viṣṇu.”
Purport
In the institution of
varṇāśrama-dharma,
the symptoms of a
brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha,
and
sannyāsī
are all described. The ultimate aim is
acyutātmatvam
— to think always of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu. To make advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to become a
brāhmaṇa,
with the above-mentioned symptoms.