Chapter 3

Verse 18 (SB 4.3.18)

SB 4.3.18 • मूल श्लोक

नैताद‍ृशानां स्वजनव्यपेक्षया गृहान्प्रतीयादनवस्थितात्मनाम् । येऽभ्यागतान् वक्रधियाभिचक्षते आरोपितभ्रूभिरमर्षणाक्षिभि: ॥ १८ ॥

Transliteration

naitādṛśānāṁ sva-jana-vyapekṣayā gṛhān pratīyād anavasthitātmanām ye ’bhyāgatān vakra-dhiyābhicakṣate āropita-bhrūbhir amarṣaṇākṣibhiḥ

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

na — not; etādṛśānām — like this; sva-jana — kinsmen; vyapekṣayā — depending on that; gṛhān — in the house of; pratīyāt — one should go; anavasthita — disturbed; ātmanām — mind; ye — those; abhyāgatān — guests; vakra-dhiyā — with a cold reception; abhicakṣate — looking at; āropita-bhrūbhiḥ — with raised eyebrows; amarṣaṇa — angry; akṣibhiḥ — with the eyes.

Translation

“One should not go to anyone’s house, even on the consideration of his being a relative or a friend, when the man is disturbed in his mind and looks upon the guest with raised eyebrows and angry eyes.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda

However low a person may be, he is never unkind to his children, wife and nearest kin; even a tiger is kind to its cubs, for within the animal kingdom the cubs are treated very nicely. Since Satī was the daughter of Dakṣa, however cruel and contaminated he might be, naturally it was expected that he would receive her very nicely. But here it is indicated by the word anavasthita that such a person cannot be trusted. Tigers are very kind to their cubs, but it is also known that sometimes they eat them. Malicious persons should not be trusted, because they are always unsteady. Thus Satī was advised not to go to her father’s house because to accept such a father as a relative and to go to his house without being properly invited was not suitable.