614 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 14

brahmanah sama-drk santo
dindnam samupeksakah

sravate brahma tasyapi
bhinna-bhandat payo yatha

brahmanah—a brahmana; sama-drk—equipoised; sdntah—peaceful;
dinanam-—the poor; samupeksakah—grossly neglecting; sravate—diminishes;
brahma-—spiritual power; tasya—his; api—certainly ; bhinna-bhandat—from
a cracked pot; payah—water; yatha—just as.

TRANSLATION

The great sages began to think that although a brahmana is peaceful and
impartial because he is equal to everyone, it is still not his duty to neglect
poor humans. By such neglect, a brahmana’s spiritual power diminishes, just
as water kept in a cracked pot leaks out.

PURPORT

Brahmanas, the topmost section of human society, are mostly devotees.
They are generally not aware of the happenings within the material world
because they are always busy in their activities for spiritual advancement.
Nonetheless, when there is a calamity in human society, they cannot re-
main impartial. If they do not do something to relieve the distressed con-
dition of human society, it is said that due to such neglect their spiritual
knowledge diminishes. Almost all the sages go to the Himalayas for their
personal benefit, but Prahlada Maharaja said that he did not want liberation
alone. He decided to wait until he was able to deliver all the fallen souls of
the world.

In their elevated condition, the brahmanas are called Vaisnavas. There
are two types of brahmanas—namely, brahmana-pandita and brahmana-
vaisnava. A qualified brahmana is naturally very learned, but when his
learning is advanced in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
he becomes a bradhmana-vaisnava. Unless one becomes a Vaisnava, one’s
perfection of brahminical culture is incomplete.

The saintly persons considered very wisely that although King Vena
was very sinful, he was nonetheless born in a family descending from
Dhruva Maharaja. Therefore the semina in the family must be protected by
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kesava. As such, the sages wanted
