SB 11.17.33

SB 11.17.33

Devanagari

स्‍त्रीणां निरीक्षणस्पर्शसंलापक्ष्वेलनादिकम् । प्राणिनो मिथुनीभूतानगृहस्थोऽग्रतस्त्यजेत् ॥ ३३ ॥

Verse text

strīṇāṁ nirīkṣaṇa-sparśa- saṁlāpa-kṣvelanādikam prāṇino mithunī-bhūtān agṛhastho ’gratas tyajet

Synonyms

strīṇām in relation to women ; nirīkṣaṇa glancing ; sparśa touching ; saṁlāpa conversing ; kṣvelana joking or sporting ; ādikam and so on ; prāṇinaḥ living entities ; mithunī bhūtān — engaged in sex ; agṛha sthaḥ — a sannyāsī, vānaprastha or brahmacārī ; agrataḥ first of all ; tyajet should give up .

Translation

Those who are not married — sannyāsīs, vānaprasthas and brahmacārīs — should never associate with women by glancing, touching, conversing, joking or sporting. Neither should they ever associate with any living entity engaged in sexual activities.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Those who are not married—sannyāsīs, vānaprasthas and brahmacārīs—should from the beginning give up associating with women by glancing, touching, conversing, joking or sporting. Neither should they ever associate with any living entity engaged in sexual activities. Agṛhasthaḥ means a brahmacārs, vānaprastha or sannyāsī. Agrataḥ means “from the beginning.” He should avoid living beings like birds or insects engaged in sex life.

Purport

Prāṇinaḥ indicates all living entities, whether birds, bees or human beings. Among most species of life, sexual intercourse is preceded by diverse mating rituals. In human society, all types of entertainment (books, music, films) and all places of amusement (restaurants, shopping centers, resorts) are designed to stimulate the sexual urge and create an aura of “romance.” One who is not married — a sannyāsī, brahmacārī or vānaprastha — should rigidly avoid anything related to sex and of course should never see any living entity, whether bird, insect or human, engaging in the various phases of sexual intercourse. When a man jokes with a woman, an intimate, sexually charged atmosphere is immediately created, and this should also be avoided for those aspiring to practice celibacy. Even a householder who becomes attached to such activities will also fall down into the darkness of ignorance.