FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.28

वृद्धावनाथौ पितरौ नान्यबन्धू तपस्विनौ । अहो मयाधुना त्यक्तावकृतज्ञेन नीचवत् ॥ २८ ॥
vṛddhāv anāthau pitarau
[vriddhaav anaathau pitarau]
nānya-bandhū tapasvinau
[naanya-bandhoo tapasvinau]
aho mayādhunā tyaktāv
[aho mayaadhunaa tyaktaav]
akṛtajñena nīcavat
[akritajnena neechavat]
Word-for-word
vṛddhau — old anāthau — who had no other person to look after their comforts pitarau — my father and mother na anya-bandhū — who had no other friend tapasvinau — who underwent great difficulties aho — alas mayā — by me adhunā — at that moment tyaktau — were given up akṛta-jñena — ungrateful nīca-vat — like the most abominable low-class person.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vṛddhāv anāthau pitarau
vṛddhau
old
anāthau
who had no other person to look after their comforts
pitarau
my father and mother
nānya-bandhū tapasvinau
na anya-bandhū
who had no other friend
tapasvinau
who underwent great difficulties
aho mayādhunā tyaktāv
aho
alas
mayā
by me
adhunā
at that moment
tyaktau
were given up
akṛtajñena nīcavat
akṛta-jñena
ungrateful
nīca-vat
like the most abominable low-class person.
My father and mother were old and had no other son or friend to look after them. Because I did not take care of them, they lived with great difficulty. Alas, like an abominable lower-class man, I ungratefully left them in that condition.
Purport

According to Vedic civilization, everyone has the responsibility for taking care of brāhmaṇas, old men, women, children and cows. This is the duty of everyone, especially an upper-class person. Because of his association with a prostitute, Ajāmila abandoned all his duties. Regretting this, Ajāmila now considered himself quite fallen.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Ungrateful and fallen, in this life I gave up my aged mother and father with no shelter and no friends, who thus underwent great difficulties. Adhunā means “in this life.”
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
He admits abandoning his aged parents to live in difficulty without their only son. Negligence of those who depended on us is itself a heavy debt that no excuse erases.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom have I left to fend for themselves when I was the one who could have helped?
  • Is there an old debt of care I could still try to repay?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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