SB 7.11.16 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

वार्ता विचित्रा शालीनयायावरशिलोञ्छनम् । विप्रवृत्तिश्चतुर्धेयं श्रेयसी चोत्तरोत्तरा ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

vārtā vicitrā śālīna- yāyāvara-śiloṣchanam vipra-vṛttiś caturdheyaṁ śreyasī cottarottarā

Synonyms

vārtā — the occupational means of livelihood for the vaiśya (agriculture, cow protection, and trade) ; vicitrā — various types ; śālīna — livelihood achieved without effort ; yāyāvara — going to the field to beg for some paddy ; śila — picking up the grains left in the field by the proprietor ; uṣchanam — picking up the grains that have fallen from bags in shops ; vipra — vṛttiḥ — the means of livelihood for the brāhmaṇas ; caturdhā — four different kinds ; iyam — this ; śreyasī — better ; ca — also ; uttara — uttarā — the latter compared to the former .

Translation

As an alternative, a brāhmaṇa may also take to the vaiśya’s occupational duty of agriculture, cow protection, or trade. He may depend on that which he has received without begging, he may beg in the paddy field every day, he may collect paddy left in a field by its proprietor, or he may collect food grains left here and there in the shops of grain dealers. These are four means of livelihood that may also be adopted by brāhmaṇas. Among these four, each of them in succession is better than the one preceding it.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The brāhmaṇa may also adopt four other means of livelihood. He may depend on that which he has received without begging, he may beg every day, he may collect paddy left in a field by its proprietor, or he may collect food grains left here and there in the shops of grain dealers. Among these four, each of them in succession is better than the one preceding it. This verse describes alternative occupations for the brāhmaṇa. There are various other occupations for the brāhmaṇa. Śālīna means receiving food without begging. Yāyāvara means begging for one day’s grains. Śila means collecting left over grains from the field. Uṣchanam means collecting grains which have fallen on the ground in the market and left there.

Purport

A brāhmaṇa is sometimes offered land and cows in charity, and thus for his livelihood he may act in the same way as a vaiśya, by cultivating land, giving protection to cows and trading off his surpluses. A better process, however, is to pick up grains from a field or from a dealer’s shop without begging.