FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.64.32

దుర్జరం బత బ్రహ్మస్వం భుక్తమగ్నేర్మనాగపి । తేజీయసోఽపి కిముత రాజ్ఞాం ఈశ్వరమానినామ్ ॥ ౩౨ ॥
durjaraṁ bata brahma-svaṁ
[durjaram bata brahma-svam]
bhuktam agner manāg api
[bhuktam agner manaag api]
tejīyaso ’pi kim uta
[tejeeyaso ’pi kim uta]
rājñāṁ īśvara-māninām
[raajnaam eeshvara-maaninaam]
durjaram — indigestible bata — indeed brahma — of a brāhmaṇa svam — the property bhuktam — consumed agneḥ — than fire manāk — a little api — even tejīyasaḥ — for one who is more intensely potent api — even kim uta — what then to speak of rājñām — for kings īśvara — controllers māninām — who presume themselves .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
durjaraṁ bata brahma-svaṁ
durjaram
indigestible
bata
indeed
brahma
of a brāhmaṇa
svam
the property
bhuktam agner manāg api
bhuktam
consumed
agneḥ
than fire
manāk
a little
api
even
tejīyaso ’pi kim uta
tejīyasaḥ
for one who is more intensely potent
api
even
kim uta
what then to speak of
rājñāṁ īśvara-māninām
rājñām
for kings
īśvara
controllers
māninām
who presume themselves .
  • durjaram — indigestible
    Dur (hard) + jara (digestion, from √jṛ). The metaphor of consumption is precise — brāhmaṇa-property is food that cannot be metabolised by the consumer. The body it enters becomes diseased.
  • brahma - svam — the property of a brāhmaṇa
    Brahma (brāhmaṇa) + sva (one's own). The technical term running through the next several verses. Gauḍīya commentators emphasise: it includes anything a brāhmaṇa owns or has rightful claim to — not only ritual implements but cows, fields, gifts already made.
  • agneḥ manāk api tejīyasaḥ — even more potent than fire, even a little
    Agni (fire) + manāk (slightly) + tejīyas (more powerful). Even one slightly more powerful than fire cannot digest a small portion. The grammar refuses any reading by which 'great kings' might be exempt: fire is the limit-case, and even fire fails.
  • īśvara - māninām — of those who presume themselves controllers
    Īśvara (controller) + mānin (proud, self-considering). The exact diagnosis: rulers who imagine they are īśvara. Gauḍīyas read the chapter's whole engine as built on this single compound — false īśvara-bhāva is what makes brāhmaṇa-property attractive in the first place.
[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] How indigestible is the property of a brāhmaṇa, even when enjoyed just slightly and by one more potent than fire! What then to speak of kings who try to enjoy it, presuming themselves lords.

Even those made powerful by austerity, mystic yoga and so on cannot enjoy property stolen from a brāhmaṇa, and what to speak of others.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] How indigestible is the property of a brāhmaṇa, even when enjoyed just slightly and by one more potent than fire! What then to speak of kings who try to enjoy it, presuming themselves lords.
Commentary

The property of a brahmana, even if tasted just a little, by theft or what not, cannot be enjoyed by even a person powerful as fire, with great sense of austerity.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Enjoying (stealing) a brāhmaṇa’s property produces great grief (durjaram) even for a person who can destroy sin by the power of his austerity or yoga (teīyasah). Bata indicates dismay. What to speak of the result for kings who cannot perform austerity or yoga, because of thinking themselves great. They will come to even greater grief. Or even enjoying a small portion of a brāhmaṇa’s property is indigestible for a person more powerful than fire.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Enjoying (stealing) a brāhmaṇa’s property produces great grief (durjaram). Bata indicates dismay. By thinking themselves controllers, kings become powerful. A great ascetic or jṣānī, more powerful than fire, enjoying a brāhmaṇa’s property even a little is indigestible. What to speak of kings.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Brahmacharya (Self-discipline / Restraint)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses

Agni eats whatever is offered; even Agni finds brāhmaṇa-property hard to digest. The verse uses fire — the strongest digestive in the universe — as its measure, and finds even fire over-matched. What then of a king's belly?

📝 My note

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