Devanagari
सुशीलो मितभुग्दक्ष: श्रद्दधानो जितेन्द्रिय: ।
यावदर्थं व्यवहरेत् स्त्रीषु स्त्रीनिर्जितेषु च ॥ ६ ॥
Verse text
suśīlo mita-bhug dakṣaḥ
śraddadhāno jitendriyaḥ
yāvad-arthaṁ vyavaharet
strīṣu strī-nirjiteṣu ca
Synonyms
su
—
śīlaḥ — very polite and well-behaved
;
mita
—
bhuk — eating only exactly what he needs, neither more nor less
;
dakṣaḥ
—
expert or without laziness, always busy
;
śraddadhānaḥ
—
possessing full faith in the instructions of the śāstra and the spiritual master
;
jita
—
indriyaḥ — having full control over the senses
;
yāvat
—
artham — as much as necessary
;
vyavaharet
—
should behave externally
;
strīṣu
—
unto women
;
strī
—
nirjiteṣu — men who are henpecked, controlled by women
;
ca
—
also .
Translation
A brahmacārī should be quite well-behaved and gentle and should not eat or collect more than necessary. He must always be active and expert, fully believing in the instructions of the spiritual master and the śāstra. Fully controlling his senses, he should associate only as much as necessary with women or those controlled by women.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
A brahmacārī should be well behaved, in control of his eating, industrious, faithful, in control of his senses, and should interact with women and men who are controlled by women only as much as necessary.
He may have to go to householders to beg, or go to the guru’s house (assuming the guru is married) to do service. That much he can interact with women.
Purport
A
brahmacārī
should be very careful not to mix with women or with men addicted to women. Although when he goes out to beg alms it is necessary to talk with women and with men very much attached to women, this association should be very short, and he should talk with them only about begging alms, and not more. A
brahmacārī
should be very careful in associating with men who are attached to women.