FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.14.20

యామాశ్రిత్యేన్ద్రియారాతీన్దుర్జయానితరాశ్రమై: । వయం జయేమ హేలాభిర్దస్యూన్దుర్గపతిర్యథా ॥ ౨౦ ॥
yām āśrityendriyārātīn
[yaam aashrityendriyaaraateen]
durjayān itarāśramaiḥ
[durjayaan itaraashramaih]
vayaṁ jayema helābhir
[vayam jayema helaabhir]
dasyūn durga-patir yathā
[dasyoon durga-patir yathaa]
yām — whom āśritya — taking shelter of indriya — senses arātīn — enemies durjayān — difficult to conquer itara — other than the householders āśramaiḥ — by orders of society vayam — we jayema — can conquer helābhiḥ — easily dasyūn — invading plunderers durga-patiḥ — a fort commander yathā — as.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yām āśrityendriyārātīn
yām
whom
āśritya
taking shelter of
indriya
senses
durjayān itarāśramaiḥ
arātīn
enemies
vayaṁ jayema helābhir
dasyūn durga-patir yathā
durjayān
difficult to conquer
itara
other than the householders
āśramaiḥ
by orders of society
vayam
we
jayema
can conquer
helābhiḥ
easily
dasyūn
invading plunderers
durga-patiḥ
a fort commander
yathā
as.
As a fort commander very easily conquers invading plunderers, by taking shelter of a wife one can conquer the senses, which are unconquerable in the other social orders.

Of the four orders of human society — the student, or brahmacārī order, the householder, or gṛhastha order, the retired, or vānaprastha order, and the renounced, or sannyāsī order — the householder is on the safe side. The bodily senses are considered plunderers of the fort of the body. The wife is supposed to be the commander of the fort, and therefore whenever there is an attack on the body by the senses, it is the wife who protects the body from being smashed. The sex demand is inevitable for everyone, but one who has a fixed wife is saved from the onslaught of the sense enemies. A man who possesses a good wife does not create a disturbance in society by corrupting virgin girls. Without a fixed wife, a man becomes a debauchee of the first order and is a nuisance in society — unless he is a trained brahmacārī, vānaprastha or sannyāsī. Unless there is rigid and systematic training of the brahmacārī by the expert spiritual master, and unless the student is obedient, it is sure that the so-called brahmacārī will fall prey to the attack of sex. There are so many instances of falldown, even for great yogīs like Viśvāmitra. A gṛhastha is saved, however, because of his faithful wife. Sex life is the cause of material bondage, and therefore it is prohibited in three āśramas and is allowed only in the gṛhastha-āśrama. The gṛhastha is responsible for producing first-quality brahmacārīs, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Just as a commander easily defeats thieves, , we easily conquer of the senses, our enemies, by taking shelter of the wife, whereas the other āśramas find the senses difficult to conquer. If the thieves occupy the fort, they plunder the citizens. But how can they conquer the commander of the fort? The fort is material enjoyment, which destroys fallen brahmacaris and others, but not the householders. The householders do not create severe karmas since they regulate their enjoyment by rules of scripture.
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