Canto 9, Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Verse 1 (SB 9.4.1)

First Verse

SB 9.4.2

SB 9.4.1 • मूल श्लोक

श्रीशुक उवाच नाभागो नभगापत्यं यं ततं भ्रातर: कविम् । यविष्ठं व्यभजन् दायं ब्रह्मचारिणमागतम् ॥ १ ॥

Transliteration

śrī-śuka uvāca nābhāgo nabhagāpatyaṁ yaṁ tataṁ bhrātaraḥ kavim yaviṣṭhaṁ vyabhajan dāyaṁ brahmacāriṇam āgatam

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; nābhāgaḥ — Nābhāga; nabhaga-apatyam — was the son of Mahārāja Nabhaga; yam — unto whom; tatam — the father; bhrātaraḥ — the elder brothers; kavim — the learned; yaviṣṭham — the youngest; vyabhajan — divided; dāyam — the property; brahmacāriṇam — having accepted the life of a brahmacārī perpetually (naiṣṭhika); āgatam — returned.

Translation

“Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The son of Nabhaga named Nābhāga lived for a long time at the place of his spiritual master. Therefore, his brothers thought that he was not going to become a gṛhastha and would not return. Consequently, without providing a share for him, they divided the property of their father among themselves. When Nābhāga returned from the place of his spiritual master, they gave him their father as his share.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda

There are two kinds of brahmacārīs. One may return home, marry and become a householder, whereas the other, known as bṛhad-vrata, takes a vow to remain a brahmacārī perpetually. The bṛhad-vrata brahmacārī does not return from the place of the spiritual master; he stays there, and later he directly takes sannyāsa. Because Nābhāga did not return from the place of his spiritual master, his brothers thought that he had taken bṛhadvrata-brahmacarya. Therefore, they did not preserve his share, and when he returned they gave him their father as his share.