Text 17] The Perfect Society: Four Social Classes 39
TRANSLATION

As an alternative, a brahmana may also take to the vaisya’s oc-
cupational duty of agriculture, cow protection, or trade. He may
depend on that which he has received without begging, he may beg
in the paddy field every day, he may collect paddy left in a field by
its proprietor, or he may collect food grains left here and there in
the shops of grain dealers. These are four means of livelihood that
may also be adopted by brahmanas. Among these four, each of
them in succession is better than the one preceding it.

PURPORT

A brahmana is sometimes offered land and cows in charity, and thus
for his livelihood he may act in the same way as a vaisya, by cultivating
land, giving protection to cows and trading off his surpluses. A better
process, however, is to pick up grains from a-field or from a dealer’s shop
without begging.

TEXT 17
TAT aa aA WAT: |
~ c
Ad VATA TITY TAT: 12911
Jaghanyo nottamam vrttim
anapadi bhajen narah
rte rajanyam Gpatsu
sarvesam api sarvasah

jaghanyah—low (person); na—not; uttamam—high; vrttim—means
of livelihood; anaépadi—when there is no social upheaval; bhajet-—may
accept; narah—a man; rte—except; rajanyam—the profession of the
ksatriyas; Gpatsu—at times of emergency; sarvesam—of everyone in
every status of life; api—certainly; sarvasah—all professions or occupa-
tional duties.

TRANSLATION

Except in a time of emergency, lower persons should not accept
the occupational duties of those who are higher. When there is
such an emergency, of course, everyone but the ksatriya may ac-
cept the means of livelihood of others.
