FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.18.25

दुर्मना भगवान् काव्य: पौरोहित्यं विगर्हयन् । स्तुवन् वृत्तिं च कापोतीं दुहित्रा स ययौ पुरात् ॥ २५ ॥
durmanā bhagavān kāvyaḥ
[durmanaa bhagavaan kaavyah]
paurohityaṁ vigarhayan
[paurohityam vigarhayan]
stuvan vṛttiṁ ca kāpotīṁ
[stuvan vrittim cha kaapoteem]
duhitrā sa yayau purāt
[duhitraa sa yayau puraat]
durmanāḥ — being very unhappy bhagavān — the most powerful kāvyaḥ — Śukrācārya paurohityam — the business of priesthood vigarhayan — condemning stuvan — praising vṛttim — the profession ca — and kāpotīm — of collecting grains from the field duhitrā — with his daughter saḥ — he (Śukrācārya) yayau — went purāt — from his own residence.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
durmanā bhagavān kāvyaḥ
durmanāḥ
being very unhappy
bhagavān
the most powerful
kāvyaḥ
Śukrācārya
paurohityaṁ vigarhayan
paurohityam
the business of priesthood
vigarhayan
condemning
stuvan vṛttiṁ ca kāpotīṁ
stuvan
praising
vṛttim
the profession
ca
and
kāpotīm
of collecting grains from the field
duhitrā sa yayau purāt
duhitrā
with his daughter
saḥ
he (Śukrācārya)
yayau
went
purāt
from his own residence.
As Śukrācārya listened to what had happened to Devayānī, his mind was very much aggrieved. Condemning the profession of priesthood and praising the profession of uñcha-vṛtti [collecting grains from the fields], he left home with his daughter.

When a brāhmaṇa adopts the profession of a kapota, or pigeon, he lives by collecting grains from the field. This is called uñcha-vṛtti. A brāhmaṇa who takes to this uñcha-vṛtti profession is called first class because he depends completely on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and does not beg from anyone. Although the profession of begging is allowed for a brāhmaṇa or sannyāsī, one does better if he can avoid such a profession and completely depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead for maintenance. Śukrācārya was certainly very sorry that because of his daughter’s complaint he had to go to his disciple to beg some mercy, which he was obliged to do because he had accepted the profession of priesthood. In his heart, Śukrācārya did not like his profession, but since he had accepted it, he was obliged to go unwillingly to his disciple to settle the grievance submitted by his daughter.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukrācārya, unhappy, condemning the profession of priesthood, praised the profession of collecting grains from the fields. He then left home with his daughter. Kāpotīm means living by collecting grains from the field.
Śukrācārya condemns priesthood and praises uṣcha-vṛtti — collecting grains from the field — leaving home with his daughter. Even great brāhmaṇas can be moved by family hurt to question their own way of life.
Reflection Questions
  • Where has family hurt made me question a vocation I had taken for granted?
  • What more austere, dignified path has appealed to me precisely because of dependency-pain?
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 18