Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.17.48
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyRoyal Duties Allow Emergency Alternatives
“A king or other member of the royal order who cannot maintain himself by his normal occupation may act as a vaiśya, may live by hunting or may act as a brāhmaṇa by teaching others Vedic knowledge. But he may not under any circumstances adopt the profession of a śūdra.”
What the purport teaches
- A king or other member of the royal order may adopt another livelihood when his normal occupation cannot maintain him.
- In such an emergency, he may act as a vaiśya, live by hunting, or teach Vedic knowledge as a brāhmaṇa.
- He may not, under any circumstances, adopt the profession of a śūdra.
Try this today
List the three emergency livelihoods permitted here and the one that is excluded.
Ask yourself
What distinction does this verse make between permitted alternatives and firm limits?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.