158 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 14

a—even up to; sva—the dog; agha—sinful animals or living entities;
ante avaséyibhyah—unto the canddlas, the lowest of men (dog-eaters
and hog-eaters) ; kaman—the necessities of life; sammvibhajet—should
divide; yatha—as much as (deserved); api—even; ekam—one;
atmanah—own; déram—the wife; nrnam—of the people in general;
svatva-grahah—the wife is accepted as being identical with one’s self;
yatah—because of which.

TRANSLATION

Dogs, fallen persons and untouchables, including candalas [dog-
eaters], should all be maintained with their proper necessities,
which should be contributed by the householders. Even one’s wife
at home, with whom one is most intimately attached, should be
offered for the reception of guests and people in general.

PURPORT

Although in modern society the dog is accepted as part of one’s house-
hold paraphernalia, in the Vedic system of household life the dog is un-
touchable; as mentioned here, a dog may be maintained with proper
food, but it cannot be allowed to enter one’s house, what to speak of the
bedroom. Outcastes or untouchable canddlas should also be provided
with the necessities for life. The word used in this connection is yathd,
which means “‘as much as deserved.” The outcastes should not be given
money with which to indulge in more than they need, for otherwise they
will misuse it. At the present moment, for example, low-class men are
generally paid quite amply, but instead of using their money to cultivate
knowledge and advance in life, such low-class men use their extra money
for wine-drinking and similar sinful activities. As mentioned in
Bhagavad-gita (4.13), cdtur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-
vibhagasah: there must be four divisions of human society according to
the work and qualities of men. Men with the lowest qualities cannot do
any work that requires higher intelligence. However, although such a
division of men must exist according to their quality and work, it is sug-
gested herewith that everyone must have the necessities of life. The com-
munists of the present day are in favor of supplying the necessities of life
to everyone, but they consider only the human beings and not the lower
animals. The Bhagavatam’s principles are so broad, however, that it
