Devanagari
दक्षिणां गुरवे दद्यादृत्विग्भ्यश्च यथार्हत: ।
अन्नाद्येनाश्वपाकांश्च प्रीणयेत्समुपागतान् ॥ ५५ ॥
Verse text
dakṣiṇāṁ gurave dadyād
ṛtvigbhyaś ca yathārhataḥ
annādyenāśva-pākāṁś ca
prīṇayet samupāgatān
Synonyms
dakṣiṇām
—
some contribution of money or gold
;
gurave
—
unto the spiritual master
;
dadyāt
—
one should give
;
ṛtvigbhyaḥ ca
—
and to the priests engaged by the spiritual master
;
yathā
—
arhataḥ — as far as possible
;
anna
—
adyena — by distributing prasāda
;
āśva
—
pākān — even to the caṇḍālas, persons habituated to eating the flesh of dogs
;
ca
—
also
;
prīṇayet
—
one should please
;
samupāgatān
—
because they have assembled there for the ceremony .
Translation
One should satisfy the spiritual master and assistant priests by giving them cloth, ornaments, cows and also some monetary contribution. And by distributing prasāda one should satisfy everyone assembled, including even the lowest of men, the caṇḍālas [eaters of dog flesh].
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One should give the guru and the priests donations. And as far as possible, by distributing prasāda one should satisfy everyone assembled, including even the lowest of men.
Purport
In the Vedic system,
prasāda
is distributed, as recommended here, without discrimination as to who may take the
prasāda.
Regardless of whether one be a
brāhmaṇa, śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya,
or even the lowest of men, a
caṇḍāla,
he should be welcome to accept
prasāda.
However, when the
caṇḍālas,
the lower class or poorer class, are taking
prasāda,
this does not mean that they have become Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu. Nārāyaṇa is situated in everyone’s heart, but this does not mean Nārāyaṇa is a
caṇḍāla
or poor man. The Māyāvāda philosophy of accepting a poor man as Nārāyaṇa is the most envious and atheistic movement in Vedic culture. This mentality should be completely given up. Everyone should be given the opportunity to take
prasāda,
but this does not mean that everyone has the right to become Nārāyaṇa.