Devanagari
द्वितीयं प्राप्यानुपूर्व्याज्जन्मोपनयनं द्विज: ।
वसन् गुरुकुले दान्तो ब्रह्माधीयीत चाहूत: ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
dvitīyaṁ prāpyānupūrvyāj
janmopanayanaṁ dvijaḥ
vasan gurukule dānto
brahmādhīyīta cāhūtaḥ
Synonyms
dvitīyam
—
second
;
prāpya
—
achieving
;
ānupūrvyāt
—
by the gradual process of purificatory ceremonies
;
janma
—
birth
;
upanayanam
—
Gāyatrī initiation
;
dvijaḥ
—
a twice-born member of society
;
vasan
—
residing
;
gurukule
—
in the āśrama of the spiritual master
;
dāntaḥ
—
self-controlled
;
brahma
—
the Vedic literatures
;
adhīyīta
—
should study
;
ca
—
and also understand
;
āhūtaḥ
—
being summoned by the spiritual master .
Translation
The twice-born member of society achieves second birth through the sequence of purificatory ceremonies culminating in Gāyatrī initiation. Being summoned by the spiritual master, he should reside within the guru’s āśrama and with a self-controlled mind carefully study the Vedic literature.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
A member of the three upper varṇas achieves second birth with Gāyatrī mantra after purification. Being summoned by the guru, residing within the guru’s āśrama, the person carefully studies the Vedas with a controlled mind.
With the intention of describing the duties of the householder, by which the duties of the varṇas are naturally revealed, Kṛṣṇa first describes the first āśrama in nine verses. The second-born belong to the three upper varṇas. After grabhādhāna--saṁskāra and then physical birth (ānupūrvyāt), one attains Gāyatrī mantra through the upanaya-saṁskāra. One then studies the Vedas, being called by the guru. The word ca indicates the student should also deliberate on the meaning.
Purport
The term
dvija,
or “twice-born,” here indicates the three superior classes, namely
brāhmaṇas,
kṣatriyas
and
vaiśyas,
who all receive the Gāyatrī
mantra,
which signifies their second birth through spiritual initiation. One’s first birth is biological, or seminal, and does not necessarily indicate that one is intelligent or enlightened. A young
brāhmaṇa
boy, if qualified, may be initiated with Gāyatrī
mantra
at the age of twelve, and
kṣatriyas
and
vaiśyas
a few years later. In order to become enlightened with spiritual knowledge, the boy resides within the
gurukula,
or
āśrama
of the spiritual master. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has established similar
gurukulas
all over the world and is issuing a great call to civilized human beings to arrange for the proper education of their children. Every young boy and girl should learn to be self-controlled and should become enlightened through study of authorized Vedic literatures. In this way, unlike ordinary animals, insects, fish and birds, etc., an enlightened human being may take birth twice and thus become perfect in the knowledge that leads to ultimate liberation. The word
ānupūrvyāt
in this verse indicates the system of
saṁskāras,
or purificatory rites, beginning with
garbhādhāna-saṁskāra,
or the purification of the sexual act. Generally,
śūdras
and those who do not follow the Vedic system are not attracted to such purificatory ceremonies; therefore they remain ignorant of spiritual life and envious of the bona fide spiritual master. Those whose character has been civilized by a systematic cleansing process give up the tendency to be argumentative and whimsical and instead become submissive and eager to learn in the presence of a bona fide spiritual master.