Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.45.7
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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mātaram
—
mother
Listed first — even before pitā in this verse's order. In dharma-śāstra mātṛ-devo bhava (Taittirīya) is the primary upāsanā for the householder. Kṛṣṇa is grounding the entire chapter's apology to Devakī in this priority.
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bhāryām sādhvīm
—
chaste wife
Bhāryā = one to be supported (bhṛ); sādhvī = chaste. The compound sets the standard — the dharma of maintaining wife presumes her chastity-bhakti, just as her chastity presumes his support. Mutual.
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gurum
—
a spiritual master
Listed alongside mother and father — Gauḍīyas treat guru as a third parent, the dīkṣā-pitṛ. Foreshadowing the gurukula episode that closes this very chapter (verses 30-48).
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prapannam
—
one who has come for shelter
From pra-√pad — to fall forward, to surrender. The technical term of śaraṇāgati. Bhagavān Himself promises in BG 18.66 to protect the prapanna; refusing one is to refuse the dharma Bhagavān keeps.
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śvasan - mṛtaḥ
—
breathing dead
Compound — breathing yet dead. A live corpse. Kṛṣṇa's diagnosis is severe: failure of these seven duties hollows the body out, leaving only respiration without a living dharma inside.
"One who does not support (abibhrat) mother, father, etc. though living, is considered dead."
Vṛddham means the elders of the family. A man, though capable (kalpaḥ), who fails to support his elderly parents, is considered dead, though he still breathes. If he is incapable, the effects are less.
He should support elders, or an old father and a chaste wife. Gurus and brāhmaṇas should always be supported (even if not old). Wives etc. are mentioned, though not related to the case at hand. Those capable are at fault by not supporting them. If not capable, the fault does not apply. Thus Vasudeva and Devakī are not at fault since they were incapable.
- Which of these categories of dependent have you been quietly failing?
- What single act this week could move you from 'dead while breathing' toward life?
A breathing man who fails to provide for mother, father, chaste wife, infant child, guru, brāhmaṇa, or refugee is, śāstra says, already a corpse. Kṛṣṇa lists the seven the way a physician lists the pulses — if any one is missing, the body that walks is not alive.
In the Rāmāyaṇa, King Daśaratha holds the principle prapanna-rakṣaṇa so strictly that he sends his beloved Rāma to the forest rather than break a vow given to Kaikeyī as refuge for her wishes. The ideal kṣatriya treats the prapanna as inviolable even at the cost of his own life.
Kṛṣṇa, listing prapannam in this verse alongside mother and guru, locates the refuge-seeker among the dearmost dependents — a Gauḍīya touchstone, because śaraṇāgati (taking refuge in Bhagavān) presumes a Lord who Himself honors that bond toward those who take refuge in His servants.
My note
Source: vedabase.io