SB 12.3.38 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

शूद्रा: प्रतिग्रहीष्यन्ति तपोवेषोपजीविन: । धर्मं वक्ष्यन्त्यधर्मज्ञा अधिरुह्योत्तमासनम् ॥ ३८ ॥

Verse text

śūdrāḥ pratigrahīṣyanti tapo-veṣopajīvinaḥ dharmaṁ vakṣyanty adharma-jṣā adhiruhyottamāsanam

Synonyms

śūdrāḥ — lowly, common workers ; pratigrahīṣyanti — will accept religious charity ; tapaḥ — by shows of austerity ; veṣa — and by dressing as mendicants ; upajīvinaḥ — earning their living ; dharmam — the principles of religion ; vakṣyanti — will speak about ; adharma — jṣāḥ — those who know nothing about religion ; adhiruhya — mounting ; uttama — āsanam — a high seat .

Translation

Uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant’s dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śūdras will accept charity and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant's dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.

Purport

The epidemic of bogus gurus, swamis, priests and so forth is explicitly described here.