Study a Verse

• Mahāntam refers to magnanimous religious principles such as very hospitably receiving guests, even those who are uninvited and unexpected.
• Householders must always be magnanimous and charitable to others, being alert to curb unnecessary affection and attachment in family life.
• In the past, very renounced brāhmaṇa householders would collect grains that had fallen on the ground in the marketplace or those that had been left behind in the fields after harvesting.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Uncertainty → Clarity. The coming separation makes the instruction personally urgent.

Chapters 10–20 of Canto 11: Kṛṣṇa's teachings on self, yoga and wisdom. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 17: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Description of the Varṇāśrama System

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

If a brāhmaṇa considers that his consciousness is contaminated by engaging in these occupations, he may sustain his existence by collecting grains from the fields. If he is disturbed by poverty, the brāhmaṇa may out of necessity accept the business of a kṣatriya or vaiśya, but he should never take the occupation of a śūdra.