SB 11.23.6

SB 11.23.6

Devanagari

अवन्तिषु द्विज: कश्चिदासीदाढ्यतम: श्रिया । वार्तावृत्ति: कदर्यस्तु कामी लुब्धोऽतिकोपन: ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

avantiṣu dvijaḥ kaścid āsīd āḍhyatamaḥ śriyā vārtā-vṛttiḥ kadaryas tu kāmī lubdho ’ti-kopanaḥ

Synonyms

avantiṣu in the Avantī country ; dvijaḥ brāhmaṇa ; kaścit a certain ; āsīt there was ; āḍhya tamaḥ — very rich ; śriyā with opulences ; vārtā by business ; vṛttiḥ earning his livelihood ; kadaryaḥ miserly ; tu but ; kāmī lusty ; lubdhaḥ greedy ; ati kopanaḥ — very prone to anger .

Translation

In the country of Avantī there once lived a certain brāhmaṇa who was very rich and gifted with all opulences, and who was engaged in the occupation of commerce. But he was a miserly person — lusty, greedy and very prone to anger.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the country of Avantī there once lived a brāhmaṇa who was very rich and who was engaged in commerce. But he was infamous since he was lusty, greedy and very prone to anger. He lived in Mālava and maintained himself by agriculture and commerce. Kadaryaḥ means reproachable. It is said: ātmānaṁ dharma-kṛtyaṁ ca putra-dārāṁś ca pīḍayan | devatātithi-bhṛtyāṁś ca sa kadarya iti smṛtaḥ || The person who makes himself, performance of dharma, his wive, children, the devatās and guests suffer is reproachable.

Purport

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the Avantī country is the district of Malwa. This brāhmaṇa was extremely wealthy, doing business in agriculture, banking and so on. Being a miser, he suffered agony when his hard-earned wealth was lost, as will be described by the Lord Himself.