Ideal Family Life

Verse 1 (bhagavata.7.14.1)

श्रीयुधिष्ठिर उवाच गृहस्थ एतां पदवीं विधिना येन चाञ्जसा । यायाद्देवऋषे ब्रूहि मादृशो गृहमूढधीः ॥ १ ॥

śrī-yudhiṣṭhira uvāca gṛhastha etāṁ padavīṁ vidhinā yena cāñjasā yāyād deva-ṛṣe brūhi mādṛśo gṛha-mūḍha-dhīḥ

Shri Yudhishthira said: O divine sage, tell me by what rule a householder — one like myself, whose mind is bewildered by household life — may easily attain that same path.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.7.14.2)

श्रीनारद उवाच गृहेष्ववस्थितो राजन्क्रियाः कुर्वन्यथोचिताः । वासुदेवार्पणं साक्षादुपासीत महामुनीन् ॥ २ ॥

śrī-nārada uvāca gṛheṣv avasthito rājan kriyāḥ kurvan yathocitāḥ vāsudevārpaṇaṁ sākṣād upāsīta mahā-munīn

Shri Narada said: O King, remaining in the household, performing his proper duties, and directly offering their results to Vasudeva, he should also serve the great sages.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.7.14.3)

शृण्वन्भगवतोऽभीक्ष्णमवतारकथामृतम् । श्रद्दधानो यथाकालमुपशान्तजनावृतः ॥ ३ ॥

śṛṇvan bhagavato ’bhīkṣṇam avatāra-kathāmṛtam śraddadhāno yathā-kālam upaśānta-janāvṛtaḥ

Constantly listening, with faith, to the nectarean accounts of the Lord's incarnations, at the proper time, and surrounded by peaceful people —

Verse 4 (bhagavata.7.14.4)

सत्सङ्गाच्छनकैः सङ्गमात्मजायात्मजादिषु । विमुञ्चेन्मुच्यमानेषु स्वयं स्वप्नवदुत्थितः ॥ ४ ॥

sat-saṅgāc chanakaiḥ saṅgam ātma-jāyātmajādiṣu vimuñcen mucyamāneṣu svayaṁ svapnavad utthitaḥ

— through the association of saints, he should gradually loosen his attachment to wife, children and the rest, as they too are gradually released from him, awakening as though from a dream.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.7.14.5)

यावदर्थमुपासीनो देहे गेहे च पण्डितः । विरक्तो रक्तवत्तत्र नृलोके नरतां न्यसेत् ॥ ५ ॥

yāvad-artham upāsīno dehe gehe ca paṇḍitaḥ virakto raktavat tatra nṛ-loke naratāṁ nyaset

The wise man, attending to body and household only to the extent necessary, though outwardly appearing attached, should remain inwardly detached, and thus fulfill his role among humankind.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.7.14.6)

ज्ञातयः पितरौ पुत्रा भ्रातरः सुहृदोऽपरे । यद्वदन्ति यदिच्छन्ति चानुमोदेत निर्ममः ॥ ६ ॥

jñātayaḥ pitarau putrā bhrātaraḥ suhṛdo ’pare yad vadanti yad icchanti cānumodeta nirmamaḥ

Whatever his relatives, parents, sons, brothers and other well-wishers say, and whatever they wish, he should simply agree with, free from any sense of possessiveness.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.7.14.7)

दिव्यं भौमं चान्तरीक्षं वित्तमच्युतनिर्मितम् । तत्सर्वमुपयुञ्जान एतत्कुर्यात्स्वतो बुधः ॥ ७ ॥

divyaṁ bhaumaṁ cāntarīkṣaṁ vittam acyuta-nirmitam tat sarvam upayuñjāna etat kuryāt svato budhaḥ

Wealth that comes from the heavens, from the earth, or from the sky — all of it fashioned by the infallible Lord — the wise man, while making use of it, should of his own accord follow this rule of taking only what is needed.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.7.14.8)

यावद् भ्रियेत जठरं तावत् स्वत्वं हि देहिनाम् । अधिकं योऽभिमन्येत स स्तेनो दण्डमर्हति ॥ ८ ॥

yāvad bhriyeta jaṭharaṁ tāvat svatvaṁ hi dehinām adhikaṁ yo ’bhimanyeta sa steno daṇḍam arhati

Only as much as is needed to fill the belly is truly one's own; whoever claims more than that as his own is a thief, and deserves punishment.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.7.14.9)

मृगोष्ट्रखरमर्काखुसरीसृप्खगमक्षिकाः । आत्मनः पुत्रवत् पश्येत्तैरेषामन्तरं कियत् ॥ ९ ॥

mṛgoṣṭra-khara-markākhu- sarīsṛp khaga-makṣikāḥ ātmanaḥ putravat paśyet tair eṣām antaraṁ kiyat

One should look upon the deer, the camel, the donkey, the monkey, the mouse, the reptile, the bird and the fly as one's own children — for how much difference, after all, is there between them?

Verse 10 (bhagavata.7.14.10)

त्रिवर्गं नातिकृच्छ्रेण भजेत गृहमेध्यपि । यथादेशं यथाकालं यावद्दैवोपपादितम् ॥ १० ॥

tri-vargaṁ nātikṛcchreṇa bhajeta gṛha-medhy api yathā-deśaṁ yathā-kālaṁ yāvad-daivopapāditam

Even the householder should pursue the threefold goal — dharma, artha and kama — without excessive struggle, according to place and time, and only to the extent that providence provides.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.7.14.11)

आश्वाघान्तेऽवसायिभ्यः कामान्संविभजेद्यथा । अप्येकामात्मनो दारां नृणां स्वत्वग्रहो यतः ॥ ११ ॥

āśvāghānte ’vasāyibhyaḥ kāmān saṁvibhajed yathā apy ekām ātmano dārāṁ nṛṇāṁ svatva-graho yataḥ

He should distribute what is needed even to dogs, the fallen, and the outcaste, according to their wants; for the sense of possessiveness that binds people extends even to one's single, most intimate wife.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.7.14.12)

जह्याद् यदर्थे स्वान्प्राणान्हन्याद्वा पितरं गुरुम् । तस्यां स्वत्वं स्त्रियां जह्याद्यस्तेन ह्यजितो जितः ॥ १२ ॥

jahyād yad-arthe svān prāṇān hanyād vā pitaraṁ gurum tasyāṁ svatvaṁ striyāṁ jahyād yas tena hy ajito jitaḥ

For whose sake a man may give up his own life, or even slay his father or his teacher — whoever gives up his sense of possessiveness toward such a wife has, by that very act, conquered the Unconquerable.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.7.14.13)

कृमिविड्भस्मनिष्ठान्तं क्वेदं तुच्छं कलेवरम् । क्व तदीयरतिर्भार्या क्वायमात्मा नभश्छदिः ॥ १३ ॥

kṛmi-viḍ-bhasma-niṣṭhāntaṁ kvedaṁ tucchaṁ kalevaram kva tadīya-ratir bhāryā kvāyam ātmā nabhaś-chadiḥ

Where is this trivial body, destined to end as worms, stool or ashes — and where is the attraction to that same body in a wife? And where, by contrast, is this Self, which pervades like the very sky?

Verse 14 (bhagavata.7.14.14)

सिद्धैर्यज्ञावशिष्टार्थैः कल्पयेद् वृत्तिमात्मनः । शेषे स्वत्वं त्यजन्प्राज्ञः पदवीं महतामियात् ॥ १४ ॥

siddhair yajñāvaśiṣṭārthaiḥ kalpayed vṛttim ātmanaḥ śeṣe svatvaṁ tyajan prājñaḥ padavīṁ mahatām iyāt

He should sustain himself with what remains after sacrifice, already accomplished; and the wise man, giving up his claim of ownership over the remainder too, attains the path of the great souls.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.7.14.15)

देवानृषीन् नृभूतानि पितृनात्मानमन्वहम् । स्ववृत्त्यागतवित्तेन यजेत पुरुषं पृथक् ॥ १५ ॥

devān ṛṣīn nṛ-bhūtāni pitṝn ātmānam anvaham sva-vṛttyāgata-vittena yajeta puruṣaṁ pṛthak

Day after day, with wealth earned by his own occupation, he should worship the Supreme Person separately in the forms of the gods, the sages, human beings and living creatures, the ancestors, and his own self.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.7.14.16)

यर्ह्यात्मनोऽधिकाराद्याः सर्वाः स्युर्यज्ञसम्पदः । वैतानिकेन विधिना अग्निहोत्रादिना यजेत् ॥ १६ ॥

yarhy ātmano ’dhikārādyāḥ sarvāḥ syur yajña-sampadaḥ vaitānikena vidhinā agni-hotrādinā yajet

When one is fully qualified and possesses all the means required for sacrifice, he should worship through the vaitanika rites, such as the Agnihotra, according to prescribed procedure.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.7.14.17)

न ह्यग्निमुखतोऽयं वै भगवान्सर्वयज्ञभुक् । इज्येत हविषा राजन्यथा विप्रमुखे हुतैः ॥ १७ ॥

na hy agni-mukhato ’yaṁ vai bhagavān sarva-yajña-bhuk ijyeta haviṣā rājan yathā vipra-mukhe hutaiḥ

O King, Bhagavan, the enjoyer of all sacrifice, is not worshiped through oblations offered into the mouth of fire as much as He is through offerings placed into the mouth of a brahmana.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.7.14.18)

तस्माद् ब्राह्मणदेवेषु मर्त्यादिषु यथार्हतः । तैस्तैः कामैर्यजस्वैनं क्षेत्रज्ञं ब्राह्मणाननु ॥ १८ ॥

tasmād brāhmaṇa-deveṣu martyādiṣu yathārhataḥ tais taiḥ kāmair yajasvainaṁ kṣetra-jñaṁ brāhmaṇān anu

Therefore, worship this knower of the field — the Supreme within all — through the brahmanas and the gods, and through mortal beings as well, according to what is fitting, with the appropriate offerings, following the brahmanas' example.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.7.14.19)

कुर्यादपरपक्षीयं मासि प्रौष्ठपदे द्विजः । श्राद्धं पित्रोर्यथावित्तं तद्बन्धूनां च वित्तवान् ॥ १९ ॥

kuryād apara-pakṣīyaṁ māsi prauṣṭha-pade dvijaḥ śrāddhaṁ pitror yathā-vittaṁ tad-bandhūnāṁ ca vittavān

A twice-born who has the means should perform the shraddha rite for his parents during the dark fortnight of the month of Proshthapada [Bhadrapada], according to his wealth, and likewise for their relatives.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.7.14.20)

अयने विषुवे कुर्याद् व्यतीपाते दिनक्षये । चन्द्रादित्योपरागे च द्वादश्यां श्रवणेषु च ॥ २० ॥

ayane viṣuve kuryād vyatīpāte dina-kṣaye candrādityoparāge ca dvādaśyāṁ śravaṇeṣu ca

He should perform it at the solstices, at the equinoxes, during the Vyatipata yoga, on the day when the lunar day is diminished, during an eclipse of the moon or the sun, on the twelfth lunar day, and under the Shravana nakshatra;

Verse 21 (bhagavata.7.14.21)

तृतीयायां शुक्लपक्षे नवम्यामथ कार्तिके । चतसृष्वप्यष्टकासु हेमन्ते शिशिरे तथा ॥ २१ ॥

tṛtīyāyāṁ śukla-pakṣe navamyām atha kārtike catasṛṣv apy aṣṭakāsu hemante śiśire tathā

on the third lunar day of the bright fortnight, on the ninth lunar day of Kartika, on all four Ashtaka days of the winter and cool seasons;

Verse 22 (bhagavata.7.14.22)

माघे च सितसप्तम्यां मघाराकासमागमे । राकया चानुमत्या च मासर्क्षाणि युतान्यपि ॥ २२ ॥

māghe ca sita-saptamyāṁ maghā-rākā-samāgame rākayā cānumatyā ca māsarkṣāṇi yutāny api

on the bright seventh lunar day of Magha, when the Magha nakshatra coincides with the full moon, on the days of raka and anumati, and on the days when each month's own nakshatra falls together with the full or nearly-full moon;

Verse 23 (bhagavata.7.14.23)

द्वादश्यामनुराधा स्याच्छ्रवणस्तिस्र उत्तराः । तिसृष्वेकादशी वासु जन्मर्क्षश्रोणयोगूयुक् ॥ २३ ॥

dvādaśyām anurādhā syāc chravaṇas tisra uttarāḥ tisṛṣv ekādaśī vāsu janmarkṣa-śroṇa-yoga-yuk

on the twelfth lunar day conjoined with Anuradha, Shravana, or any of the three Uttara nakshatras; on the eleventh lunar day conjoined with those same three; and also on the day joined with one's own birth-star or with the Shravana nakshatra.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.7.14.24)

त एते श्रेयसः काला नृणां श्रेयोविवर्धनाः । कुर्यात्सर्वात्मनैतेषु श्रेयोऽमोघं तदायुषः ॥ २४ ॥

ta ete śreyasaḥ kālā nṝṇāṁ śreyo-vivardhanāḥ kuryāt sarvātmanaiteṣu śreyo ’moghaṁ tad-āyuṣaḥ

These are the auspicious times that increase the well-being of human beings; on these occasions, one should perform, with one's whole heart, auspicious acts that make one's life fruitful.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.7.14.25)

एषु स्नानं जपो होमो व्रतं देवद्विजार्चनम् । पितृदेवनृभूतेभ्यो यद्दत्तं तद्ध्यनश्वरम् ॥ २५ ॥

eṣu snānaṁ japo homo vrataṁ deva-dvijārcanam pitṛ-deva-nṛ-bhūtebhyo yad dattaṁ tad dhy anaśvaram

Bathing, chanting, fire-offerings, vows, and worship of the gods and the twice-born performed during these times, and whatever is given to the ancestors, the gods, human beings and other creatures then, becomes imperishable.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.7.14.26)

संस्कारकालो जायाया अपत्यस्यात्मनस्तथा । प्रेतसंस्था मृताहश्च कर्मण्यभ्युदये नृप ॥ २६ ॥

saṁskāra-kālo jāyāyā apatyasyātmanas tathā preta-saṁsthā mṛtāhaś ca karmaṇy abhyudaye nṛpa

O King, similarly these times are auspicious for the sacraments of one's wife, one's children and oneself, for funeral rites, for the death-anniversary rites, and for undertakings meant to bring prosperity.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.7.14.27)

अथ देशान्प्रवक्ष्यामि धर्मादिश्रेयआवहान् । स वै पुण्यतमो देशः सत्पात्रं यत्र लभ्यते ॥ २७ ॥

atha deśān pravakṣyāmi dharmādi-śreya-āvahān sa vai puṇyatamo deśaḥ sat-pātraṁ yatra labhyate

Now I shall describe the places that bring the blessing of dharma and other benefits: that place is most sacred where a worthy recipient may be found.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.7.14.28)

बिम्बं भगवतो यत्र सर्वमेतच्चराचरम् । यत्र ह ब्राह्मणकुलं तपोविद्यादयान्वितम् ॥ २८ ॥

bimbaṁ bhagavato yatra sarvam etac carācaram yatra ha brāhmaṇa-kulaṁ tapo-vidyā-dayānvitam

— that place where this entire universe, moving and unmoving, is the very image of Bhagavan, and where there dwells a community of brahmanas endowed with austerity, learning and compassion,

Verse 29 (bhagavata.7.14.29)

यत्र यत्र हरेरर्चा स देशः श्रेयसां पदम् । यत्र गङ्गादयो नद्यः पुराणेषु च विश्रुताः ॥ २९ ॥

yatra yatra harer arcā sa deśaḥ śreyasāṁ padam yatra gaṅgādayo nadyaḥ purāṇeṣu ca viśrutāḥ

wherever there is an image of Hari duly worshiped, that place is the abode of all blessing; and so too are the places where the Ganga and other rivers celebrated in the Puranas flow.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.7.14.30)

सरांसि पुष्करादीनि क्षेत्राण्यर्हाश्रितान्युत । कुरुक्षेत्रं गयशिरः प्रयागः पुलहाश्रमः ॥ ३० ॥

sarāṁsi puṣkarādīni kṣetrāṇy arhāśritāny uta kurukṣetraṁ gaya-śiraḥ prayāgaḥ pulahāśramaḥ

The sacred lakes such as Pushkara, and the sacred fields where the worthy dwell — Kurukshetra, the head of Gaya, Prayaga, and Pulaha's hermitage;

Verse 31 (bhagavata.7.14.31)

नैमिषं फाल्गुनं सेतुः प्रभासोऽथ कुशस्थली । वाराणसी मधुपुरी पम्पा बिन्दुसरस्तथा ॥ ३१ ॥

naimiṣaṁ phālgunaṁ setuḥ prabhāso ’tha kuśa-sthalī vārāṇasī madhu-purī pampā bindu-saras tathā

Naimisha, the Phalgu river, Setubandha, Prabhasa, Dvaraka, Varanasi, Mathura, Pampa, and likewise Bindu-sarovara —

Verse 32 (bhagavata.7.14.32)

नारायणाश्रमो नन्दा सीतारामाश्रमादयः । सर्वे कुलाचला राजन्महेन्द्रमलयादयः ॥ ३२ ॥

nārāyaṇāśramo nandā sītā-rāmāśramādayaḥ sarve kulācalā rājan mahendra-malayādayaḥ

Narayanashrama, the Nanda river, the hermitages of Sita and Rama and the like — O King, and all the great kula-mountains, Mahendra, Malaya and the rest —

Verse 33 (bhagavata.7.14.33)

एते पुण्यतमा देशा हरेरर्चाश्रिताश्च ये । एतान्देशान्निषेवेत श्रेयस्कामो ह्यभीक्ष्णशः । धर्मो ह्यत्रेहितः पुंसां सहस्राधिफलोदयः ॥ ३३ ॥

ete puṇyatamā deśā harer arcāśritāś ca ye etān deśān niṣeveta śreyas-kāmo hy abhīkṣṇaśaḥ dharmo hy atrehitaḥ puṁsāṁ sahasrādhi-phalodayaḥ

these are the most sacred places, together with wherever an image of Hari is enshrined. One who desires true well-being should visit these places again and again, for dharma performed here yields a thousandfold and more.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.7.14.34)

पात्रं त्वत्र निरुक्तं वै कविभिः पात्रवित्तमैः । हरिरेवैक उर्वीश यन्मयं वै चराचरम् ॥ ३४ ॥

pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ harir evaika urvīśa yan-mayaṁ vai carācaram

As for the worthy recipient here — the sages most learned in what makes a recipient worthy have declared: O lord of the earth, it is Hari alone, of whose being this entire moving and unmoving universe is made.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.7.14.35)

देवर्ष्यर्हत्सु वै सत्सु तत्र ब्रह्मात्मजादिषु । राजन्यदग्रपूजायां मतः पात्रतयाच्युतः ॥ ३५ ॥

devarṣy-arhatsu vai satsu tatra brahmātmajādiṣu rājan yad agra-pūjāyāṁ mataḥ pātratayācyutaḥ

O King, even in the presence of the gods, the sages, and other worthy ones — including the sons of Brahma themselves — it was the infallible Lord who was declared the fit recipient of the first worship.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.7.14.36)

जीवराशिभिराकीर्ण अण्डकोशाङ्घ्रिपो महान् । तन्मूलत्वादच्युतेज्या सर्वजीवात्मतर्पणम् ॥ ३६ ॥

jīva-rāśibhir ākīrṇa aṇḍa-kośāṅghripo mahān tan-mūlatvād acyutejyā sarva-jīvātma-tarpaṇam

The great cosmic egg, filled with countless living beings, is like a tree; since the infallible Lord is its very root, worship of Acyuta is the satisfaction of the self of all living beings.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.7.14.37)

पुराण्यनेन सृष्टानि नृतिर्यगृषिदेवताः । शेते जीवेन रूपेण पुरेषु पुरुषो ह्यसौ ॥ ३७ ॥

purāṇy anena sṛṣṭāni nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-devatāḥ śete jīvena rūpeṇa pureṣu puruṣo hy asau

By Him were created the bodily cities of humans, animals, sages and gods; and that same Purusha resides within these cities in the form of the individual living being.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.7.14.38)

तेष्वेव भगवान् राजंस्तारतम्येन वर्तते । तस्मात्पात्रं हि पुरुषो यावानात्मा यथेयते ॥ ३८ ॥

teṣv eva bhagavān rājaṁs tāratamyena vartate tasmāt pātraṁ hi puruṣo yāvān ātmā yatheyate

O King, Bhagavan is present within these very bodies according to gradation; therefore, a person is a worthy recipient of worship precisely to the degree that the Self is manifest within him.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.7.14.39)

दृष्ट्वा तेषां मिथो नृणामवज्ञानात्मतां नृप । त्रेतादिषु हरेरर्चा क्रियायै कविभिः कृता ॥ ३९ ॥

dṛṣṭvā teṣāṁ mitho nṛṇām avajñānātmatāṁ nṛpa tretādiṣu harer arcā kriyāyai kavibhiḥ kṛtā

O King, seeing that human beings, in the Treta age and after, had begun mutually to disregard this truth about one another, the sages established the worship of Hari's image, so that such worship could still be rightly performed.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.7.14.40)

ततोऽर्चायां हरिं केचित् संश्रद्धाय सपर्यया । उपासत उपास्तापि नार्थदा पुरुषद्विषाम् ॥ ४० ॥

tato ’rcāyāṁ hariṁ kecit saṁśraddhāya saparyayā upāsata upāstāpi nārthadā puruṣa-dviṣām

From then on, some, with faith, worship Hari in His deity form with due ceremony; yet even this worship yields no benefit for those who bear hatred toward His devotees.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.7.14.41)

पुरुषेष्वपि राजेन्द्र सुपात्रं ब्राह्मणं विदुः । तपसा विद्यया तुष्टया धत्ते वेदं हरेस्तनुम् ॥ ४१ ॥

puruṣeṣv api rājendra supātraṁ brāhmaṇaṁ viduḥ tapasā vidyayā tuṣṭyā dhatte vedaṁ hares tanum

O foremost of kings, among persons the brahmana is known as the most worthy recipient, for through austerity, learning and contentment he bears within himself the Veda, which is Hari's own form.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.7.14.42)

नन्वस्य ब्राह्मणा राजन्कृष्णस्य जगदात्मनः । पुनन्तः पादरजसा त्रिलोकीं दैवतं महत् ॥ ४२ ॥

nanv asya brāhmaṇā rājan kṛṣṇasya jagad-ātmanaḥ punantaḥ pāda-rajasā tri-lokīṁ daivataṁ mahat

Indeed, O King, the brahmanas are the great deity of Krishna, the Self of the universe, purifying the three worlds with the dust of their feet.