FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.18.16

आत्मवृत्तमविज्ञाय कत्थसे बहु भिक्षुकि । किं न प्रतीक्षसेऽस्माकं गृहान् बलिभुजो यथा ॥ १६ ॥
ātma-vṛttam avijñāya
[aatma-vrittam avijnaaya]
katthase bahu bhikṣuki
[katthase bahu bhikshuki]
kiṁ na pratīkṣase ’smākaṁ
[kim na prateekshase ’smaakam]
gṛhān balibhujo yathā
[grihaan balibhujo yathaa]
ātma-vṛttam — one’s own position avijñāya — without understanding katthase — you are talking madly bahu — so much bhikṣuki — beggar kim — whether na — not pratīkṣase — you wait asmākam — our gṛhān — at the house balibhujaḥ — crows yathā — like.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ātma-vṛttam avijñāya
ātma-vṛttam
one’s own position
avijñāya
without understanding
katthase bahu bhikṣuki
katthase
you are talking madly
bahu
so much
bhikṣuki
beggar
kiṁ na pratīkṣase ’smākaṁ
kim
whether
na
not
pratīkṣase
you wait
asmākam
our
gṛhān balibhujo yathā
gṛhān
at the house
balibhujaḥ
crows
yathā
like.
You beggar, since you don’t understand your position, why should you unnecessarily talk so much? Don’t all of you wait at our house, depending on us for your livelihood like crows?

Crows have no independent life; they fully depend on the remnants of foodstuffs thrown by householders into the garbage tank. Therefore, because a brāhmaṇa depends on his disciples, when Śarmiṣṭhā was heavily rebuked by Devayānī she charged Devayānī with belonging to a family of crowlike beggars. It is the nature of women to fight verbally at even a slight provocation. As we see from this incident, this has been their nature for a long, long time.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O beggar! You boast profusely without understanding your position. Do you brāhmaṇas not wait at our house like crows? Bali-bhujaḥ means crows.
Śarmiṣṭhā retorts: 'You beggar, you live in our house like crows.' The economic dependence of the lecturing party is named — and once named, even sacred status feels mortgaged.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I lecturing those whose hospitality I depend on?
  • How can I keep my dignity intact when I am, in fact, financially dependent?
📝 My note

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