SB 11.18.35 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यद‍ृच्छयोपपन्नान्नमद्याच्छ्रेष्ठमुतापरम् । तथा वासस्तथा शय्यां प्राप्तं प्राप्तं भजेन्मुनि: ॥ ३५ ॥

Verse text

yadṛcchayopapannānnam adyāc chreṣṭham utāparam tathā vāsas tathā śayyāṁ prāptaṁ prāptaṁ bhajen muniḥ

Synonyms

yadṛcchayā — of its own accord ; upapanna — acquired ; annam — food ; adyāt — he should eat ; śreṣṭham — first class ; uta — or ; aparam — low class ; tathā — similarly ; vāsaḥ — clothing ; tathā — similarly ; śayyām — bedding ; prāptam prāptam — whatever is automatically obtained ; bhajet — should accept ; muniḥ — the sage .

Translation

A sage should accept the food, clothing and bedding — be they of excellent or inferior quality — that come of their own accord.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

A sage should accept the food, clothing and bedding—be they of excellent or inferior quality—that come of their own accord. Because of not making effort what he receives may be tasty or insipid. But the sage should not rejoice or refuse what he receives by expressing himself with words.

Purport

Sometimes excellent, sumptuous food will come without endeavor, and at other times tasteless food appears. A sage should not become happily excited when a sumptuous plate is brought to him, nor should he angrily refuse ordinary food that comes of its own accord. If no food comes at all, as mentioned in the previous verse, one must endeavor to avoid starvation. From these verses it appears that even a saintly sage must have a good dose of common sense.